EVERETT — When the Washington Stealth play the Boston Blazers in a National Lacrosse League game tonight at Comcast Arena, there will be a little something on the line for the presidents of both franchises.
Clam chowder.
Stealth president David Takata and Blazers president Doug Reffue have placed a friendly wager on the game, deeming it the “Chowder Cup” presented by Anthony’s Restaurants. The losing team’s president will have to eat chowder from the winning team’s town with the video posted on the winner’s Web site.
But for the Stealth and the Blazers themselves, there is a lot more on the line than just chowder.
The Stealth sit at 5-6 in the West division, while the Blazers are 6-5 in the East. Both teams are in third place and the winner will continue to be in the thick of the race to host a playoff game, while the loser will be fighting an uphill battle to do so.
Tonight’s game is the first game against an Eastern Division opponent for the Stealth this season.
Stealth head coach Chris Hall said a loss would make it difficult for the Stealth to look up in the standings.
“Going to 5-7 — you start looking at who’s behind you and not ahead of you,” Hall said.
In order to avoid that fate, Washington will have to improve on the defensive end of the floor. That is something Hall thought his team had accomplished following wins over Edmonton and Colorado. But the Stealth reverted to its early-season ways in a loss to West Division-leading Calgary on March 13.
“I think everybody was disappointed in the performance,” Hall said of the Calgary game. “We have to bring a better effort, there is no question about it.”
Getting back defenseman Kyle Sorensen should help. Sorensen was activated last week from the physically-unable-to-perform list and will play tonight against Boston.
“To have that kind of on-floor leadership is something that we are looking forward to,” Hall said. “He carried us a long way last year. He’s a special player. He’s been a champion everywhere he has gone.”
Sorensen collected 45 loose balls, scored two goals and dished out six assists last year in the Stealth’s run to the championship.
Stopping the Blazers will be a challenge for the Stealth’s struggling defense. The Blazers’ offense features the top two scorers in the NLL: Dan Dawson, who has 68 points (20 goals, 48 assists) and Casey Powell, who has 65 points (27 goals, 38 assists). Their teammate Josh Sanderson is 16th in the league in scoring with 46 points (17 goals, 29 assists).
“Their offense is extremely powerful,” Hall said. “Those three guys are cream of the crop lacrosse players.”
The Blazers also have a standout goalkeeper in Anthony Cosmo. Hall called Cosmo “one of the top three goalies in the game anywhere.”
“They present some real issues not only stopping their offense but getting our own goals as well,” Hall said.
The good news for the Stealth is that they are finally starting to get healthy.
“I have nothing but a ton of confidence in our players,” Hall said. “It looks like we are going to be the healthiest that we have been all year.”
In five home games this season, the Stealth have only won once, something Hall said he hopes changes tonight.
“We are 1-4 in our building and we need to be a little angry about that,” Hall said. “If we are looking to host a playoff game, this has got to be a must-win situation.”
Even with all the seriousness of this game, Hall couldn’t help but embrace “The Chowder Cup.”
“I’m looking forward to the promotional end of it. … I like clam chowder,” Hall said. “I’m hoping that we can keep eating the West Coast stuff and we don’t have to try the East Coast stuff.”
Stealth host food drives
The Stealth and Northwest Harvest teamed up for a pair of food drives this week. The first took place Wednesday when members of the Stealth organization and Northwest Harvest volunteers gathered for a drive-thru food drive in front of Comcast Arena. The second takes place tonight at the game against the Blazers. The Stealth will collect food and monetary donations to help the hungry across Washington State.
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