The Victoria Shamrocks defeated the Nanaimo Timbermen 15-8 on Wednesday night as the B.C. Junior A Lacrosse League made the first of two stops this week at the Cowichan Arena.
The Island rivals squared off at the Big Stick as part of 20th anniversary celebrations for the Cowichan Valley Lacrosse Association, which held ceremonies beforehand to recognize some top contributors over the two decades.
The Shamrocks held a 7-1 lead at the end of the first period, but the T-Men made a game of it in the second and the score was 9-6 for Victoria after 40 minutes.
Both teams boast CVLA products who made contributions on Wednesday night. Shamrocks captain Brian Robb had a goal and an assist, and Denton Macdonald added one helper. Brody Black also suited up for Victoria and played a physical game at the defensive end.
Colton Lidstone led the T-Men with two goals and three assists, and Thomas Vaesen had two goals and one helper, while Mat Jung collected one assist in a largely defensive role. Colin Jeffrey made 36 stops on a busy night in the Nanaimo net.
The game marked the first loss of 2019 for the T-Men, who fall to 4-1, while the Shamrocks improved their record to 5-3.
Nanaimo will look to improve their record in the Cowichan Arena this Saturday when they play host to the Langley Thunder at 3 p.m.