Stealth have their hands full with Rush

EVERETT — The Washington Stealth are happy to give their fans something that has been missing since the 2010 season — a home playoff game.

But with the Edmonton Rush coming to town today for a National Lacrosse League West Division semifinal, Stealth head coach Chris Hall is careful to warn that being at home doesn’t necessarily guarantee a victory.

“In a one-game series is the home-field really that much of an advantage? I would say ‘No,’” Hall said. “Are we happy to be at home, would we rather be at home than on the road? Absolutely, no question about it. We are thrilled that we are able to be at home. But is it a real competitive advantage in a one-game series? I’m not so sure about that.”

Hall clearly is not overlooking the Rush, and with good reason. Edmonton won two of three games against Washington in the regular season. The Stealth host Edmonton because the two teams finished in a first-place tie with Calgary in the NLL’s West Division at 9-7. Calgary won the division based on the three-way tiebreaker, which is division record. The Stealth finished second and the Rush third.

Two of the Stealth’s more-lopsided losses of the season came at the hands of the Rush. The Stealth lost 18-10 in the third week of the season and 15-10 in the eighth week. They defeated Edmonton 12-10 in Week 4.

Hall said the biggest problem for the Stealth in all three games was a lack of offensive production.

“We need to solve their defense,” Hall said. “It’s no secret that defense is a huge strength for them. They are led by (Kyle) Rubisch. He’s great at forcing turnovers. He’s great at the double-team game. He anchors it back there. … The defense really follows his lead out there.”

Stealth forward Rhys Duch should help counteract that. Duch has been the Stealth’s most consistent offensive player all season. He played in all 16 games and led the NLL with 45 goals. He finished third in points with 96.

But if the Stealth are going to advance to the West finals, Duch is going to need some help from forwards Lewis Ratcliff, Athan Iannucci, Cliff Smith, Dean Hill and Brett Bucktooth. All are capable of big games, but have lacked consistency this season.

The Rush’s offense isn’t to be taken lightly either. Rookie Forward Mark Matthews leads the way, finishing with 38 goals and 31 assists, but they have several other weapons. Ryan Ward had 21 goals and 54 assists, Zach Greer had 28 goals and 25 assists and Corey Small finished with 28 goals and 36 assists.

Hall said he has faith his young defense can slow down the Rush.

“We are going to play the same defense that has been very successful for us over the course of the year,” Hall said. “We played them a couple of games where we weren’t totally healthy back there. The good news going into the playoffs is that we are real healthy back there … we have all of our resources available to us.”

The winner of tonight’s game plays either Calgary or Colorado in next weekend’s NLL West Division final.

Notes

The Port Gardner Bay Winery in Everett is holding a pregame party for Stealth fans from 1-4 p.m. today. Kids are welcome. The winery is located at 2802 Rockefeller Ave.

Aaron Lommers covers the Washington Stealth for The Herald. Follow him on twitter @aaronlommers and contact him at alommers@heraldnet.com.