EVERETT — It turns out the Washington Stealth won’t be without Paul Rabil after all.
The National Lacrosse League this week rescinded its suspension of the Stealth’s standout transition player after reviewing tapes of a hit Rabil delivered on Toronto forward Garrett Billings in the Stealth’s 13-12 loss April 1.
The week following the game against Toronto, the NLL, after reviewing tapes of the contest, determined Rabil’s hit was from behind and above the shoulders. On April 7, the NLL determined Rabil should have been given a major penalty for high sticking along with a game-misconduct penalty.
The game misconduct would have been Rabil’s second such penalty for the same offense this season, resulting in an automatic one-game suspension. However, after the Professional Lacrosse Players Association appealed the penalty, the league revisited the issue. A statement by Billings, saying Rabil did not hit him in the back of the neck or head, along with further video review resulted in the league rescinding the game-misconduct penalty and replacing it with a major penalty for checking from behind.
The league’s decision proved to be even more important for the Stealth because Rabil picked up a game-misconduct penalty for head-butting in the Stealth’s 16-15 victory over Minnesota last Saturday.
If the penalty Rabil received against Toronto had been upheld, Rabil’s one-game suspension would have been enforced. He also would be facing a second one-game suspension, meaning he would miss a playoff game. Three game misconduct penalties in a season automatically result in a one-game suspension.
Rabil’s game-misconduct penalty for head-butting is under league review.
Stealth coach Chris Hall said he doesn’t think Rabil is a dirty player, but rather Rabil’s inexperience in the physical indoor game gets him in trouble.
“He is a phenomenal lacrosse player that is still learning the indoor game,” Hall said. “Sometimes he reacts to things based on his field lacrosse experience.”
Rabil will be on the floor tonight when Washington plays host to the Rochester Knighthawks. The Stealth are looking to lock up the No. 2 seed in the NLL’s West Division. Finishing second in the West would mean the Stealth would host Minnesota April 30 in Round 1 of the NLL playoffs.
The Stealth need to win their final game — or hope that Minnesota loses one of its final two games — to clinch the No. 2 seed.
Having Rabil certainly will help that cause.
“He is really a huge factor for our team in many, many situations,” Hall said. “With him, we are a much better team than without him.”
Now that the Rabil situation is resolved, the Stealth must deal with the lingering problem of injuries. Forward Jeff Zywicki, transition players Chet Koneczny and Jason Bloom, and defensemen Chris McElroy and Kyle Sorensen are all hurting. Bloom and Sorensen played last week against Minnesota and barring any change in their conditions, most likely will play against Rochester. Koneczny and McElroy are likely to miss this weekend’s game and Zywicki remains day-to-day.
With only tonight’s game remaining in the regular season, the Stealth are being careful. “We will be as cautious as we possibly can be with the injury situation,” Hall said.
But the focus for the Stealth remains on locking up the No. 2 spot in the West. While they don’t necessarily have to win tonight, they would like to take care of business and not have to worry about what Minnesota does.
“There is a lot riding on this game for us,” Hall said. “Do we want to be at home? No doubt, we absolutely want to be at home.”
A victory over Rochester also means the Stealth would hold the tie-breaker against the Knighthawks should the two teams meet in the NLL championship game with identical records — something Hall doesn’t think is all that far fetched.
“Rochester is playing well right now and could easily come out of the East,” he said.
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