Eastgate penalty shot winner helps Thunder edge Shamrocks

Parker Doyle (left) and Jacob Glass celebrate a first-period goal during the Langley Junior A Thunder's 7-6 BC Junior A Lacrosse League win over the Victoria Shamrocks on May 31 at Langley Events Centre. Ryan Molag photo

Mason Eastgate’s penalty shot goal with under four minutes remaining proved to be the difference for the Langley Junior A Thunder on Sunday afternoon.

Hosting the Victoria Shamrocks at Langley Events Centre, the score was tied at six when the Thunder’s Xavian Washington drew a penalty while on a breakaway, with Eastgate tapped to take the shot.

And the second-year forward converted, leaping through the crease and tucking the ball past Shamrocks goaltender Angus Snow.

“With the new rules this year, you're able to penetrate the cylinder, so just jumping through the crease, it's really an advantage to the player,” Eastgate explained what he was thinking as he prepared to take the shot.

It would be the final goal of the game, with the Thunder hanging on for the 7-6 victory, improving to 5-0-1 in the BC Junior A Lacrosse League standings. The Shamrocks fell to 3-3.

Langley jumped out to a 4-1 and led 4-2 after a period with Victoria cutting it to 5-4 with 20 minutes remaining. The Shamrocks scored twice in 11 seconds to briefly take the lead before Jacob Glass completed his hat trick 41 seconds later, setting the stage for Eastgate’s heroics.

Victoria outshot Langley 57-42 with Marcus Khan making 51 saves in the victory.

Of the Thunder's six games, three have been decided by a single goal, another was a one-goal game before Langley added two late insurance markers, and one went to overtime.

“We have a team that is going to stay in the fight, and we believe in each other, we believe in what we have in the room,” said Langley coach Matt Beers. “Those one-goal games, it's not easy, right? It shows a lot of adversity, and the players stepped up, and again, it was really nice to see them band together.

Khan is 3-0 on the season and his .875 save percentage is second only to his brother Caleb’s .880 save percentage.

“I think we're starting to find our identity. It's a good group of young players who don't quit, led by two incredible goalies. We've got a long way to go, but we're starting to figure out who we are as a team,” Beers said.

Glass paced the offence with a hat trick and four points with Cody Todd (2-1), Parker Doyle (1-2), and Austin Vanichuk (0-3) each finishing with three points.

Marcelo Carreiro led the Shamrocks with two goals and an assist while Snow made 35 saves.

Following Thursday's contest against the Coquitlam Adanacs — originally recorded as a 9-7 overtime win for Coquitlam — Langley filed a successful appeal with the BC Junior A Lacrosse League. Under the league's new overtime rules, games are decided in a five-minute sudden-death period. Since Coquitlam's winning goal came at the 6:26 mark of overtime, the game should have ended with the score tied after five minutes. The league subsequently amended the result to a tie.

The Thunder are back in action on June 4 as they host the New Westminster Salmonbellies with a 7:30 start time at Langley Events Centre.

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