The only thing hotter than Bear Mountain Arena on Saturday was the play of Coquitlam Adanacs' goalie Nick Rose.
Out-shot 57-39, the A's overcame extremely warm rink conditions and got a superb 48-save showing from Rose on way to an 11-9 triumph over the host Victoria Shamrocks.
The A's snatched home-floor advantage from the Shamrocks in the opening game in the best-of-seven Western Lacrosse Association semifinal series, with Game 2 set for Poirier Sports Complex at 7:45 p.m. today (Wednesday).
"Nick played unreal, he really played unreal," raved A's general manager Randy Delmonico. "Our defence was very strong. They [Shamrocks] had the ball for a good portion of the game... I would say for two-thirds of it.
"We got really out-shot but most of their shots were from the outside. As long as Nick can see the ball, we're usually okay."
The A's bolted to period leads of 4-2 and 9-5, then led 10-6 in the third before Victoria whipped in three straight goals to narrow the gap to one with 1:37 remaining. But Damon Edwards sealed with A's win with an empty net marker with 28 ticks to go.
"We didn't play that well to beat that team in their own barn," said Delmonico, who cited lost face-offs and loose balls as big factors in the Shamrocks' dominating ball possession. "It's nice to have won knowing we can play better."
Jason Jones sparked the A's offence with four goals, while leading-scorer Dane Dobbie added three along with three assists. Kevin Olson pumped in a pair of markers, with singles going to Jon Harnett and Edwards.
Daniel McQuade and Ryan Johnson chipped in with a pair of assists apiece.
