Warriors edge Shamrocks for second win of Minto Cup

Brampton, ON -- The Victoria Shamrocks and Whitby Warriors took it down to the wire in game four of the 2022 Minto Cup. Both teams went into overtime finishes on day one, but the Warriors forward Brock Haley prevented this one from going into overtime with a late goal to seal the Warrior's second win of the tournament.

The Victoria Shamrocks struck first as Shane Halliwell beat his defender with a face dodge to put the Shamrocks up 1-0. The Warriors took full advantage of their first powerplay opportunity as Gabriel Sorichetti snuck one past Adam Bland. Just seconds after, Adam Poitras scored in transition to give Whitby a 2-1 lead. The Shamrocks went on a two-goal run for the lead, as Patrick Dodds and Trent Dicicco added singles to put Victoria up 3-2 at the end of the first period.

Dodds scored his second goal of the night just under a minute into the second period, but the Warriors were not going to give up that easy. Whitby went on a two-goal run as Lucas Littlejohn and Brock Haley put away their firsts of the night. With things tied up at four, the Warriors had an opportunity to grab the lead after the Shamrocks headed to the penalty box, but Trent Dicicco instead scored shorthanded to give Victoria the lead. It turned into the Jake Darlison show as he went back-to-back scoring in transition giving Whitby the one-goal advantage. Patrick Dodds got himself a hattrick with an outside snipe, bringing this one back to a tie going into the third period.

Adam Poitras scored an identical goal to his first just ten seconds into the third period, giving Whitby a one-goal lead once again. A high-hit from the Warriors sent the Shamrocks back to their lethal powerplay, and Trent Dicicco netted his third tying this game up at 7-7. Dicicco and Dodds both scored their fourth of the evening just seconds apart, giving the Shamrocks their biggest lead of the night. The Warriors went on a quick three-goal run to give the lead back to Whitby, as Sorichetti scored back-to-back goals along with Poitras adding his third. A late effort in transition from Griffin Hall tied this up once again, but Brock Haley sealed the deal for the Warriors.

The Warriors take down the Shamrocks 11-10 in a true game of runs. With both the Warriors and the Beaches 2-0, the winner of tomorrow's game between the Victoria Shamrocks and the Edmonton Miners will determine who moves along to the semi-final.