Games of the Year #8- Washington vs Edmonton

In what was one of the matchups of the year in the NLL, the Washington Stealth faced off vs the Edmonton Rush in a game to determine the best of the west. Washington was coming off a first round blowout of Minnesota, and Edmonton a win over Calgary. Edmonton and Washington had fought all season for the #1 spot in the west, and while Washington ended up there Edmonton fell to third. But positioning did not matter in this game, as they were two of the best in the NLL, facing off for a berth in the Champions Cup.
Washington started the game off on a high note, with Paul Rabil scoring 3:39 into the game, followed by goals from Jeff Zywicki and two from Luke Wiles. Washington was able to hold a 4-1 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Cam Sedgewick and Rabil scored quickly into the second quarter, giving them a strong 6-1 advantage over the Rush. But Edmonton would not go away, scoring three unanswered goals in the second to cut the lead for Washington with 1:46 left. Rhys Duch of Washington was able to give the Stealth a bit more breathing room with his late period goal.
The Rush were motivated going into the third, scoring two straight goals to open the new half. But once again the Stealth had an answer, with Zywicki opening up the score to 8-6. Duch scored again seconds later, to make the score 9-6 going into the pivotal fourth quarter.
The Rush had beaten the Stealth twice in their three matchups this season, their two wins one goal wins. The Stealth knew the Rush had the ability to come back late in games. The Rush and Stealth traded goals to start the period, with Luke Wiles scoring his third of the night. Brodie Merrill was able to make the score 11-9 with 3:39 left in the quarter. The Rush pulled their goaltender Matt Disher for the final two minutes, and 55 seconds in Corey Small scored to make the score 11-10. With 20 seconds left Andy Secore tied the score at 11, and the final buzzer sounded with a tie. “I thought we were a little unlucky in the last four minutes,” said Stealth Head Coach Chris Hall. “We talked at halftime about it getting scrappy and intense down the stretch. We managed to stay poised and battle through it.”
Overtime lasted a mere eight seconds, as the Rush watched their hope melt away at the stick of Paul Rabil. Jamison Koesterer won a big faceoff for Washington, which trickled to Rabil who scored past Disher for the Washington win, and a chance to compete in the Champions Cup.

Media
Stealthlax.com
The Lacrosse Blog

NLL Preview: Washington Stealth

The NLL season is now only a few months away, and it's time to preview them.

The Stealth won their first ever championship last season, defeating the Toronto Rock in the Champions Cup. The Stealth held the best record all season, and when threatened by teams like Edmonton and Calgary, they hung on. The Stealth got clutch production all season long, and look like the favorites again in the west going into 2011.
The Stealth season started with one of their biggest trades in franchise history, trading Colin Doyle to Toronto for Lewis Ratcliff. Ratcliff responded to the move by becoming the second leading scorer in the NLL.
The Stealth had plenty of scorers in the top twenty along with Ratcliff, Rhys Duch, and Jeff Zywicki, who they just traded to Edmonton.
The Stealth played their first season in Washington as an up and coming team. They had made the playoffs the previous year, but were still under .500. The Roughnecks looked like the team to beat in the west. And many people were stunned when the Stealth traded Doyle, the face of the franchise for so long. The Stealth came out of the gate strong, and continued it until the end to win their championship.
The Stealth look a little different this year, trading away Jeff Zywicki and acquiring Jeff Moelski. But the Stealth don't look to let up, as they still have Paul Rabil, Cam Sedgewick, and Brian Carroll. Also in the mix is playoff hero Mike Grimes, a defensman.
The Stealth put a lot on young goaltender Tyler Richards last season, and he delivered. Richards, the Stealth's third round pick in 2007, was spending his third year in the league and was looking to make a big leap. Richards spent time as the Stealth's backup in 2009, playing in ten games with a save percentage of .803%. He was 3-1 that season. The Stealth named him their starting goaltender in 2010, and Richards played in every game. He went 5-4 with a .771%. Though Richards did not rank high in the goaltender rankings, he won the world championship.
The Stealth are one of the favorites again this season, keeping much of their team together.

FIL Championships

The Iroquois Nationals learned yesterday they will be able to participate in this year's FIL championships. “It’s one thing to lose a world games medal to another team, it’s quite another to lose it to someone wearing a suit" said Delby Powless.
Meanwhile, Canada beat USA, 10-9. Rhys Duch and John Grant jr scored a hat trick a piece for team Canada. Mike Leveille and Drew Westervelt scored two goals each for the United States and Paul Rabil, Kyle Sweeney, Matt Striebel, Matt Zash, Kevin Cassese and Brendan Mundorf got one each.
The Americans led 3-2 after one quarter.
Canada's turning point was in the second quarter when Alex Smith intercepted a pass and scored. Grant scored a beautiful goal and Duch scored to put Canada up at halftime. USA tied it up at 6 to start the fourth, but Canada all but wrapped it up on Garret Billings goal to make it 8-6.
Canada (2-0) plays Australia (1-1) today at 2:30 pm.

Stealth win Champions Cup

Photot credit: NLL Insider
The Washington Stealth beat the Toronto Rock, 15-11 to win the Champions Cup. The Stealth, who had the best record in the regular season, went up by three goals early, the first two from former Rock Lewis Ratcliff. The Rock went on to score six unanswered goals and led 7-5 at halftime.
Into the third, Toronto led by as many as four and then Washington turned on the jets. The Rock sat up 10-6 before the Stealth scored eight straight goals to lead, and the Rock did not score in a span from 2:07 in the third to 2:53 in the fourth. The Rock made it a little interesting late by making it 14-11, but the Stealth's Mike Grimes scored with Bob Watson pulled. The Stealth win their first ever Champions Cup in franchise history.

Notes:
* Is this Bob Watson's last game in the NLL?

* A very well played game by both teams. Both players in the Doyle-Ratcliff deal played well, with Ratcliff scoring five.

* It must have been odd for Colin Doyle to watch the Stealth win the cup after captaining them for a long time without winning one.

* I think we now know who won that deal.

* Tyler Richards looked like a well seasoned veteran in this game, as he stopped several great Toronto chances.

* What a playoffs for Rhys Duch.

* Chris Hall becomes the first coach to win two championships with different teams since Les Barkley.

* Thanks for following the NLL this season at NLL Blog, stay here all season for coverage of NLL players during MLL season.

NLL Champions Cup Preveiw: Stealth vs Rock

It's time for the National Lacrosse League Champions Cup. This years matchup features the team with the best regular season, the Washington Stealth. They face a team in the Toronto Rock who look to tie the Philadelphia Wings record of six championships. Fresh off his rookie of the year, Stephen Leblanc look to knock off Rhys Duch and the Washington Stealth.

Leading Point Scorer(Playoffs): Was:Rhys Duch, 14 pts
Tor: Stephen LeBlanc, 12 pts

Goaltender: Was: Tyler Richards
Tor: Bob Watson

Injuries: Was: Travis Gillspie
Tor: None

Game Notes:

* The Rock look for their sixth championship in a year that was meant for rebuilding.

* A sub-plot in this game will be the return of Colin Doyle to the Stealth. Both Lewis Ratcliff and Doyle, the two center pieces in that deal, have not done much these playoffs

* The Stealth held the Rush to one goal in thirteen shots on Saturday

* The Rock were 0-4 on their power play

* The game can be seen Saturday night at 10:30 on NLL.com, or Sunday at 2pm on Versus. I will have an open thread to chat tomorrow night and Sunday.

Lacrosse Links and Predictions

I'll start off this post making my predictions for the Division Finals:
Edmonton will beat Washington, I know, I know, probably not a popular pick.
I also think Toronto beats Orlando.
Now for the League News....

Here is Derek Keenan on the Rush's win last week.

Rhys Duch on the Stealth's win and facing Edmonton:


The NLL has a new iphone app

NLL Playoffs Round One: Recaps

What an exciting night in the NLL! I was there first hand to see the Orlando Titans beat out the Boston Blazers in a thriller, 12-11. Here are your recaps:

* Toronto beat Buffalo, 13-11

* Edmonton beat Calgary 11-7.

* Washington beat Minnesota 14-10

* The Titans did a great job of containing Dan Dawson all night, only allowing one goal from the Blazers superstar. Meanwhile, Casey Powell scored five goals and lit up the Blazers defense.

* Matt Disher stopped 60 shots for Edmonton, leading them to their first playoff win ever.

* Ryan Ward had eight assists for the Rush

* Rhys Duch scored six goals for the Stealth.

* Stehphen LeBlanc scored five goals for Toronto.

* Games next week will be Toronto @ Orlando at 7:35 pm and Edmonton @ Washington at 10:30.

* Predictions: Edmonton and Toronto win.