The Washington Stealth thanked some of their Canadian fans with a quick tour of Vancouver Island last week.
Washington head coach Chris Hall, general manager Doug Locker and communications director Mike Kennett took the National Lacrosse League Champion’s Cup to Victoria and Nanaimo, B.C. last Friday and Sunday as a way of honoring a portion of the team’s fan base from north of the border.
As part of a brief vacation in Victoria, I attended the Friday, June 4 Western Lacrosse Association match-up between the Victoria Shamrocks and the Nanaimo Timbermen at Bear Mountain Arena about 15 minutes northeast of Victoria.
Victoria came back from an early 6-2 deficit with eight unanswered goals as the league-leading Shamrocks (6-1 overall) grabbed a 15-10 win in front of the home crowd.
Stealth forward Rhys Duch recorded four goals and two assists for Victoria while fellow Stealth attacker Lewis Ratcliff put in three goals and four assists for Nanaimo (2-5).
The NLL Cup was on display in the Bear Mountain lobby for the sellout crowd of 2,971 fans. Stealth head coach Chris Hall is a former Shamrock and Stealth assistant coach Art Webster is the head coach of Nanaimo. Current Stealth players on the teams were Duch (V), Kory Kowalyk (V), Rhys Jones (V), Ratcliff (N), Chris O’Dougherty (N) and Jamison Koesterer (N). Koesterer didn’t play.
On Sunday (June 6), Nanaimo defeated Maple Ridge 4-3 with Ratcliff scoring a goal and two assists for the Timbermen.
Here are some statistic updates for Stealth players in the WLA, Major League Lacrosse and Ontario’s Major Series Lacrosse.
Lewis Ratcliff, Nanaimo (WLA), ranks fifth in the league with 31 points through six games. Ratcliff, the NLL regular-season leader in goals, has 13 goals and 18 assists but is shooting just .155 from the floor (13 of 84).
Rhys Duch, Victoria (WLA), has 25 points through six games. Duch, one of the biggest scoring threats for Washington as the season wore on, has 12 goals and 13 assists for the Shamrocks. He is shooting .245 (12 of 49).
Matt Roik, New Westminster (WLA), is the league’s top goaltender with a 3-1 record, 6.36 goals against average and a .857 save percentage.
Fellow New West goaltender Tyler Richards has a 1-0 record with a 12.83 GAA and .750 save percentage in just 93 minutes of action.
In Major League Lacrosse, Paul Rabil is shooting just .176 with three goals in three games for the Boston Cannons.
Washington rookie Ben Hunt has three goals and an assist in two games for the Chesapeake Bayhawks.
Defender Eric Martin has scooped up 13 ground balls for the Denver Outlaws.
In Ontario’s Major Series Lacrosse, Kyle Sorensen has two assists and eight loose balls in four games for the league-leading Peterborough Lakers.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
