Stealth Mode: Washington Captures NLL Crown
from press release
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Paul Rabil and Tyler Richards celebrate after the final buzzer of the Washington Stealth's 15-11 victory over the Toronto Rock in the NLL Champion's Cup final. |
EVERETT, Wash. -- It was a night of ups and downs for the fans at the Comcast Arena at Everett on Saturday night. Ultimately, the evening ended on the highest of notes as 8,600 strong watched the Washington Stealth capture the first National Lacrosse League Championship in franchise history with a 15-11 victory over the Toronto Rock. Lewis Ratcliff earned the game’s MVP honors with five goals in the game.
The Stealth got off to a hot start, thanks to a pair of goals by
Ratcliff. Paul Rabil scored with 8:37 remaining in the first
quarter to give the Stealth a 3-0 lead. While most of the
record-setting crowd in the Comcast Arena felt that the Stealth was
well on their way to victory, the Toronto Rock had other
ideas. They scored three straight to end the quarter.
The Stealth was fortunate to end the first period in a tie, as the
Rock offense peppered Stealth goaltender Tyler Richards with 21
first quarter shots. Richards, making many spectacular saves,
made 18 of his career-high 50 saves in the opening stanza.
But the Rock offense continued to press, adding three more goals
to open the second quarter scoring, completing a 6-0
run. Rhys Duch finally ended the run with a
SportsCenter-worthy behind-the-back tally that revived the capacity
crowd and cut the Rock lead to two. With 1:37 left in the
first half, Ratcliff completed his hat trick to bring the Stealth
within one at 6-5. Former Stealth Captain, and current Rock
Captain, Colin Doyle had the final say in the half, recording his
first goal of the night with less than a minute remaining to give
the Rock a 7-5 lead at the halftime break.
Toronto extended their lead to four goals in the third quarter,
thanks to a pair of power play goals. The Rock scored on
three of their six power plays in the game. With Toronto up
9-5, Rabil scored his second goal of the night, on a fast break
that left him one-on-one with Rock goaltender Bob Watson. The
Rock regained a four-goal advantage just over a minute later thanks
to a goal by All-Rookie Team member Garrett Billings.
Unbeknownst to the Rock and the suddenly silent Comcast Arena
crowd, the turning point of the game was just minutes away.
With just twelve seconds left in the third quarter, Peter Morgan
scored to make the score 10-7. And with just .2 seconds
left in the quarter, Eric Martin scored an empty net goal that
reignited the crowd, and sparked an 8-0 run that extended well into
the fourth quarter.
After back-to-back goals from Duch tied the score at ten,
Ratcliff’s fourth goal of the game gave the Stealth their
first lead since the first quarter, 11-10. They never looked
back, as Cam Sedgwick’s goal from the restraining line with
just over six minutes left proved to be the game-winner.
Ratcliff added one more to make it 13-10 and a Jeff Zywicki goal
with four minutes left extended the lead to four. After a
Rock goal, Mike Grimes added the finishing touches with an
empty-netter that made it 15-11.
Ratcliff finished with the five goals and added an assist,
Duch led all scorers in the game with eleven points on three goals
and eight assists. Rabil finished with two goals.
Martin, a defenseman of the year nominee, had a game-high eleven
loose balls and chipped in on offense with a goal and an
assist.
Toronto was led by Kasey Biernes with four goals. Billings
added two goals and three assists and Doyle had two and two.
Watson made 32 saves in the loss.
The Washington Stealth finishes the 2010 season 14-5. The
win gives mrks the first National Lacrosse League Championship in
franchise history, dating back to 1999 when the team was located in
Albany, N.Y. It is the first championship for every member of
the Stealth aside from Ratcliff and Head Coach Chris Hall, who won
the 2004 NLL title with the Calgary Roughnecks.
