Wiles helps Stealth pull out late win
Published 9:01 pm Saturday, February 5, 2011
A run of four unanswered goals late in the fourth quarter helped the Washington Stealth salvage a 10-8 National Lacrosse League win over the Colorado Mammoth on Saturday night.
After more than 50 minutes of rather pedestrian offense from a struggling Stealth squad, forward Luke Wiles jumpstar
ted the rally by scoring with 9 minutes, 40 seconds remaining in the game.
Colorado (1-4 overall) took an 8-6 advantage with two straight to open the final quarter, but following Wiles’ goal, Stealth forward Tom Johnson netted the equalizer with 3:12 remaining after a nice passing combination.
Two more goals within the minute – one from Wiles and the final tally from forward Cam Sedgwick – allowed the Stealth (3-3) to silence the crowd of 14,091 fans and send Colorado to its 11th straight home loss.
Stealth goaltender Tyler Richards put in his best performance of the season with 52 saves, including 33 in the first half as the Mammoth peppered the net from all angles.
Richards worked overtime as Washington allowed nine power-play opportunities to Colorado; the Mammoth converted four while the Stealth went 1-for-5 on their own man-advantages.
Wiles finished with three goals and one assist; Johnson netted two goals and Rhys Duch scored two goals and one assist for the Stealth.
Washington scored three straight to grab a 6-4 lead with 5:41 remaining in the third quarter, but a four-goal rally by Colorado allowed the Mammoth to take an 8-6 lead with 12:08 left in the game.
John Grant Jr. scored his third goal of the game to put Colorado up by two in the fourth; Brian Langtry finished with two goals and three assists for the Mammoth.
Colorado out-shot Washington 60-52, but the Stealth owned the fourth quarter with a 22-14 advantage on shots.
In the face-off circle, Stealth practice roster signee Bob Snider won 14-of-23 draws (60.8 percent) and provided Washington with crucial possessions to help spark the late comeback. Snider also led the team by corralling 13 loose balls.
Transition Ilija Gajic had 15 loose balls for Colorado.
Forward Lewis Ratcliff, who was held goalless in a loss to Minnesota last week, scored a short-handed goal with 1:19 left until halftime to knot the game up at 3-3 – his only goal of the game.
Following a slow start awash with penalties called on each side, Duch finally netted the game’s first goal 8:48 into the opening period.
Washington is on the road for the fourth straight game at Edmonton on Friday at 6 p.m. before returning home Saturday to face the Rush at 7:30 p.m. in the second game of a weekend doubleheader.
Other Saturday results
Rochester 11, Philadelphia 6
Jordan Hall scored a hat-trick in his first game back from injury for the Rochester Knighthawks. Shawn Evans added eight assists and goaltender Matt Vinc stopped 33 of 39 shots. For the Wings, Athan Iannucci had two goals and three assists and Drew Westervelt added two goals and two assists.
Boston 9, Toronto 7
The Blazers redeemed an earlier 15-14 overtime loss to the Rock this season as Dan Dawson scored three goals and Kevin Buchanan added three of his own. For Toronto, Garrett Billings scored a hat-trick.
Friday’s result
Buffalo 15, Minnesota 12
The Bandits jumped on Minnesota quick with eight first-half goals. Mark Steenhuis and Chad Culp each had hat-tricks for Buffalo. Ryan Benesch had three goals and four assists for Minnesota.
