The Armstrong Shamrocks won their fifth consecutive Thompson Okanagan Senior Lacrosse League championship Sunday afternoon on their home floor, downing the Kelowna Raiders 7-2 in the Rowcliffe Cup playoff tournament finale at the Nor-Val Sports Centre.
Armstrong captain Steve Clark scored twice, including a powerplay marker after the Raiders tried a desperation play and requested a pad measurement on veteran Shamrocks goalie Chad Pieper. The 10-minute delay in the game proved futile as Pieper’s pads were completely legal and the Raiders were assessed a delay of game penalty.
With the win the Shamrocks become the longest running dynasty in recent TOSLL history since the league re-started in 1994.
After losing on opening night in the regular season at home to the Raiders, Armstrong never tasted defeat again in 2019.
They rattled off seven straight wins to finish atop the league at 7-1, and went 3-0 to conclude the year on a 10-game winning streak.
Armstrong beat Kelowna 7-5 to open the round-robin playoff tournament Friday. The Raiders responded by thumping the Vernon Tigers 12-1 Saturday afternoon. The Tigers rejoined the league this season after a six-year break.
Armstrong punched their, and Kelowna’s, ticket to the final Saturday night by downing Vernon 13-4, the third straight result with that identical score between the two storied rivals.
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The Shamrocks will wrap up their season on Monday, Sept. 15, when they host Team Slovakia in an international friendly. The Slovaks are competing in Langley later in September at the World Indoor Lacrosse Championships.
The game will be played at the Hassen Arena, as the ice will be in at Nor-Val.
* The South Okanagan Flames stunned the hometown Kamloops Venom 16-15 in double overtime in the first game of the Thompson Okanagan Junior Lacrosse League final.
The Flames are appearing in their first-ever league championship, having dispatched the defending champion Vernon Tigers in a third-and-deciding semifinal game. The Venom received a bye to the best-of-five final after winning the regular season title.
roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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