Justin Ivey, Beat Writer New England Black Wolves
Lacrosse is Awesome
The Vancouver Stealth (1-10) and New England Black Wolves (5-4) faced off in front of a crowd of 3,073 at the Langley Events Centre with hopes of snapping their losing streaks. Vancouver lost their previous five and New England dropped their last three. Both teams made changes in response. Vancouver swapped out two assistant coaches, and the Black Wolves traded two draft picks to Georgia for Johnny Powless. They would need extra time to determine the winner, as the Black Wolves were able to claw their way back into the game after digging a sizeable hole. Final Score: New England-12, Vancouver-11.
The low scoring first quarter was a goalie clinic. Eric Penney (VAN) and Aaron Bold (NE) made jaw dropping saves in all sorts of circumstances. Despite the excellent play, Corey Small (2G) did score on Vancouver’s second shot of the game, giving Vancouver an early lead. Another goal would not come for the next 9:20. With 5:22 remaining, Andrew Suitor (2G) beat Bold on an odd man rush and Vancouver was up two goals. Despite the two goals, Bold ended the first quarter with 17 saves. Penney allowed no tallies and had 11 saves. At the end of the first quarter, Vancouver led New England 2-0.
Vancouver continued the roll to start the second. Suitor scored on another odd man break, and Matt Beers (1G, 1A) found himself alone on a fast break to open-up a four-goal lead 4:03 in. New England was finally able to get on the scoreboard 5:41 into the quarter. Stephan Leblanc (4G, 1A) saw an opening and darted to the net from the left side, burying the shot past Penney. 45 seconds later though, Rhys Duch (2G, 2A) let loose a rocket from just inside the restraining line that went clean through the five-hole of Bold. Three minutes of scoreless lacrosse followed. Leblanc ended the drought with his second. This time he didn’t dodge to the opening, but rather felt space and fired five-hole. Johnny Powless (2G, 1A), acquired Tuesday in a trade with Georgia, scored his first goal as a member of the Black Wolves with 47 seconds remaining to cut the lead down to two. At halftime, Vancouver led New England 5-3.
Both coaches must have stressed offense in the locker room, because Vancouver and New England came out on fire in the second half. Six goals would be scored in the first five minutes of play. Duch scored his second of the night on another rocket from just inside the restraining line only 32 seconds in. Off the ensuing faceoff, Colton Watkinson (2G) picked up the loose ball and scored his first of the game, bringing the Black Wolves back to within two. John LaFontaine (1G) intercepted a Vancouver pass inside and bulled all the way down the turf, beating Penney one on one making the score 6-5. Under a minute later, Travis Cornwall (1G, 2A) received a long pass from Penney, turning the momentum back to Vancouver. 47 seconds later Joel McCready (2G, 2A) made it 8-5 as his shot trickled through Bold’s pads. Leblanc scored his hat trick goal 51 seconds later, and for a few minutes the defenses would recover. It took a power play opportunity for Vancouver to get the lead back to three. It took a few tries, but McCready eventually capitalized and scored his second of the quarter. New England finished the quarter strong. Kyle Buchanan (2A) stripped the ball in the offensive zone and fed Adam Bomberry (1G, 2A) in front with 4:45 left. Powless scored his second of the night with 2:40 remaining and the Black Wolves found themselves down one going into the fourth. At the end of three, Vancouver led New England 9-8,
Keeping in fashion, Vancouver scored first in the fourth quarter. Small bounced a shot through Bold’s pads 39 seconds in. It took almost six minutes for New England to respond. Watkinson scored his second of the night and with 8:30 left on the clock, the Black Wolves were once again down one. Just under three minutes later though, the Stealth extended the lead to two again as Tony Malcom’s goal rolled in. The Black Wolves had not led the entire game and needed a team effort in the final minutes to have a chance. With 2:48 left, Seth Oakes (1G) fired a shot from outside bringing the score to 11-10. Kevin Crowley (1G, 2A), who was at risk of putting his 27-game goal scoring streak to bed, scored the game tying goal 42 seconds later. Both teams had a few good looks to end the game, but both goalies came up big. At the end of regulation, Vancouver and New England were tied 11-11.
The Black Wolves won the faceoff to start overtime but could not materialize a good scoring chance. Vancouver broke down the field but turned the ball over and New England quickly hurried back up the turf. Shawn Evans (3A) had the ball on the right side and fired a pass inside to a cutting Leblanc. Leblanc gathered the pass and scored the game-winner just 45 seconds in. Final Score: New England-12, Vancouver-11.
Up Next:
The New England Black Wolves (5-4) travel to play the Toronto Rock (5-4) on Sunday, March 11 at 3:00 PM EST.
The Vancouver Stealth (1-10) travel to play the Saskatchewan Rush (9-2) on Saturday, March 3 at 8:30 PM EST.