Stealth win on Duch’s OT goal

Published 11:24 pm Saturday, January 8, 2011

DENVER — Washington forward Rhys Duch came up with the overtime winner Saturday night as the Stealth defeated the Colorado Mammoth 11-10 in their National Lacrosse League season opener.

He might not have got his chance, however, if it wasn’t for the Stealth penalty kill unit.

Washington (1-0) killed a five-minute Colorado power play spanning the end of the fourth quarter and the start of overtime. Stealth transition player Paul Rabil had been sent to the box for a major cross checking penalty with 1 minute, 35 seconds remaining in the game.

Duch, a third-year forward, buried the game-winner on a power play with 9:58 remaining in the extra frame after feeds from Cam Sedgwick and Lewis Ratcliff. It was Duch’s third goal of the night (Box score, E7)

Rabil was whistled for an illegal cross check on Colorado’s John Gallant late in the fourth quarter, but Stealth goaltender Matt Roik came up with several big saves and the man-down unit gutted out a major test in the season opener.

Colorado (0-1) finished 1-for-5 on the power play, Washington was 3-for-6.

Roik made 40 saves to help send the Mammoth — who drew 17,029 fans on Saturday — to their ninth straight home defeat following an 0-8 home record in 2010.

Forward Jeff Zywicki and Duch led the Stealth offense with three goals apiece and Ratcliff pitched in four assists, but shot 0-for-8 from the floor.

John Grant Jr., Colorado’s major offseason acquisition from Rochester, had seven points (four goals, three assists) for the Mammoth, including two spectacular behind the back goals.

Colorado captured its first lead at 7-6 with 6:26 remaining in the third quarter after an unlucky break for the Stealth. A shot from Grant was saved by Roik, but the rebound bounced up and ricocheted off the face-mask of Stealth defender Mike Grimes and into the goal.

Grant scored back-to-back goals in a 1:30 span in the second quarter to help pull the Mammoth out of a four-goal deficit and close the half with momentum.

Washington took a 5-1 lead with 12:15 remaining in the first half on a transition goal from third-year player Kyle Hartzell. The Dundalk, Md., native ran a 2-on-1 break with Rabil and scored his first goal of the season off a Rabil feed. The goal capped a 4-0 run for the defending NLL champion Stealth.

Zywicki had the game’s opening goal. He tip-toed the crease in front of Mammoth goaltender Chris Levis and scored with 8:29 to go in the first quarter. Zywicki added a second goal, this time on the power play, less than a minute into the second quarter.

Sedgwick and Grimes added first -half goals for Washington. Grimes, who had four goals last season, scored into an empty net with 11.7 seconds remaining in the first quarter after the Mammoth pulled Levis for an extra attacker.

Stealth 11, Mammoth 10

Washington 3 2 3 2 1—11

Colorado 1 3 3 3 0—10

First Quarter—1, Washington, Zywicki 1 (Duch), 8:29. 2, Colorado, Davies 1 (Shewchuk), 5:38. 3, Washington, Sedgwick 1 (Ratcliff), 3:26. 4, Washington, Grimes 1 (en) 0:12.

Penalties-No Penalties

Second Quarter—5, Washington, Zywicki 2 (Duch, Ratcliff), 14:19 (pp). 6, Washington, Hartzell 1 (Rabil), 12:15 (pp). 7, Colorado, Grant 1 (Shewchuk), 6:27. 8, Colorado, Grant 2 (Allen), 5:16. 9, Colorado, Langtry 1 (Allen), 2:18.

Penalties-C. McElroy Was (fighting), 0:00; S. Toll Col (fighting), 0:00; M. Allen Col (slashing), 0:32; served by B. Davies Col (illegal substitution), 2:09; served by T. Johnson Was (illegal substitution), 11:43; J. Grant Col (tripping), 12:27.

Third Quarter—10, Washington, Duch 1 (Zywicki, Ratcliff), 14:33. 11, Colorado, Smith 1 (Shewchuk, Ethington), 12:50. 12, Colorado, Grant 3 (A. Gajic, Levis), 8:26. 13, Colorado, Grant 4 (A. Gajic, McLellan), 6:26. 14, Washington, Johnson 1 (Wiles, Zywicki), 2:07. 15, Washington, Zywicki 3 (Duch, Sedgwick), 1:38.

Penalties-P. Rabil Was (holding), 7:04; C. McElroy Was (roughing), 12:03; N. Crotty Col (roughing), 12:03; M. Allen Col (hooking), 13:39.

Fourth Quarter—16, Washington, Hartzell 2, 9:24. 17, Colorado, McLellan 1 (Grant, Langtry), 8:23. 18, Washington, Duch 2 (Hodgson) 7:32. 19, Colorado, McLellan 2 (Grant, Shewchuk), 4:34. 20, Colorado, Smith 2 (Grant, Toll), 2:01.

Penalties-served by T. Johnson Was (illegal substitution), 1:32; T. Johnson Was (roughing), 7:28; B. Langtry Col (roughing), 7:28; M. Beers Was (checking from behind), 7:45; P. Rabil Was (cross checking – major), 13:25; J. Gallant Col (slashing), 13:25.

Overtime—21, Washington, Duch 3 (Ratcliff, Sedgwick), 9:58.

Penalties-J. Park Col (checking from behind), 4:28; served by B. Davies Col (illegal substitution), 5:01.