As few distractions as possible — that’s what Washington Stealth head coach Chris Hall wanted for tonight’s National Lacrosse League home opener against the Calgary Roughnecks.
It’s why the Stealth held their ring ceremony during preseason training camp — so tonight&#
146;s 5 p.m. opener at Comcast Arena in Everett wouldn’t be flooded with emotion and players reminiscing about last year’s championship win instead of on the Roughnecks.
The organization will lift the championship banner to the rafters tonight providing plenty of excitement for all involved, but throughout camp and during a conference call earlier this week the message was clear: Last year is over.
“It was a great time, a great year and we really would like to enjoy that as much as we can, but it’s time for different things,” Hall said.
The Stealth face perhaps more important issues tonight following an 11-10 season-opening overtime win last night in Denver.
Traveling twice, fatigue and preparing for two opponents in the same week instead of the usual one were a few causes for concern Hall noted.
“There’s a few difficulties (when starting the season with back-to-back games),” Hall said. “It clearly has it’s issues, but most of the players on our team and around the league are used to working around the potential situations.”
Calgary, which was recently put up for sale by owner Brad Banister earlier this week, also plays back-to-back this weekend — the Stealth’s West Division foe beat Buffalo 10-9 at home on Saturday.
The Roughnecks, who traded 2010 leading scorer Josh Sanderson to the Boston Blazers this offseason, don’t plan on watching Washington celebrate it’s championship prior to tonight’s contest.
“We’ll probably be in the dressing room. It’s their time to celebrate their success from the past season and all the power to them for doing that,” Calgary head coach Dave Pym said.
Stealth defender Jeff Moleski, an offseason acquisition from the Roughnecks, will face his former team for the first time tonight.
“It’s going to be a tough challenge for our offensive players,” Pym said. “Jeff is one of the best defenders in this league and he has been for a while. It’s unfortunate to see him in someone else’s uniform, but that’s how this league goes.”
For more information on the NLL and the Stealth, read Mark Nelson’s blog at www.heraldnet.com/stealthblog.
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