Bellies Take Game One in Nail-biter

It delivered. 

Western Lacrosse Association fans could tell by the way the 2025 season ended that the playoffs were going to be spectacular, and Game One of the semi-finals between the New Westminster Salmonbellies and the Victoria Shamrocks proved them right. It was a physical contest defined by remarkable defensive performances on both sides, with momentum swinging back and forth and the scoreline never safe until the final seconds.

Victoria opened the scoring just over a minute in, but Adam Wiedemann and Reece Callies combined on a perfect give-and-go to even things up. Wiedemann’s energy was contagious, but an unfortunate penalty gave the Shamrocks a power play they converted immediately. Haiden Dickson answered 25 seconds later, bulldozing through traffic to bury the tying goal. He was set up by beautiful passing from Ryan Martel and Tye Kurtz. Both teams were spinning the ball well despite relentless defensive pressure. Andrew Kew’s first of five put Victoria ahead once more before Dickson struck again, and Mitch Jones closed the frame with a late power play tally, giving New Westminster its first lead, 4-3, heading into intermission.

The second period was more of the same. Kew tied things up early before Kurtz unleashed his signature sidearm laser to restore the Salmonbellies’ lead on the power play. Phil Caputo added one for New Westminster and Kew responded yet again, but with just a second left on the clock Ryan Martel battled through a punishing hit to score a buzzer-beater, making it 7-5 Bellies at the break. It would be Martel’s final shift of the game as a big hit followed his shot.

Victoria surged early in the third, with Marshall and Jesse King scoring in quick succession to knot things at 7-7. Kurtz repeated his earlier heroics on the man advantage, but then a two-man Shamrocks power play swung momentum. Clarke Petterson and Kew combined to make it 9-8 Victoria, their third and fourth power play goals of the night. Incredibly, every man-advantage opportunity in the game ended in a goal—seven chances, seven conversions—but the Salmonbellies refused to back down. Tyler Pace tied it at 13:45 on a chaotic bouncing shot that back-spun through Chris Origlieri’s legs, then struck again less than 40 seconds later to give New Westminster the edge. Pace followed up with a slick feed to Mitch Jones, whose post-and-in finish made it 11-9. Jesse King closed the gap again, but Caputo restored the two-goal cushion with under a minute left, assisted by Will Malcom.Then Kew’s fifth of the night with 14 seconds remaining set up one last dramatic moment.

Tyrell Hamer-Jackson, dominant all night in the circle with a 19-6 record, cleanly secured possession off the draw, fought through a brutal double team along the boards, and allowed the Salmonbellies to call timeout. With the final seconds ticking away, Haiden Dickson held the ball under heavy pressure until the buzzer sounded, sealing a hard-fought 12-11 victory in front of a roaring Queen’s Park Arena crowd.

Tye Kurtz led the way for the Salmonbellies, earning first-star honours with two goals and six assists in a dominant offensive performance. The Shamrocks’ Marshal King claimed second star with two goals and five assists, while Tyrell Hamer-Jackson was named third star and B&B Contracting Beast of the Game after winning 19 face-offs, including the crucial final draw to seal the win. Both goaltenders stood tall in the high-paced battle, with Chris Origlieri stopping 46 of 58 shots (79.3%) and Frank Scigliano turning aside 43 of 54 (79.6%). New Westminster spread its scoring evenly, with five players—Kurtz, Mitch Jones, Tyler Pace, Haiden Dickson, and Phil Caputo—each scoring twice, while Ryan Martel and Adam Wiedemann added singles.

Game Two goes Wednesday, July 30th at 6:30 PM in Victoria, streaming live on WLATV, before the series returns to New Westminster on Tuesday, August 5th. Tickets for that game are on sale now at salmonbellies.com.

 Photos: Paul Horn & Bold Photos by Shelly