Blanked in the opening quarter and down a pair of goals, the Vancouver Stealth didn’t panic.
The team scored six of the next eight goals and never looked back, defeating the Calgary Roughnecks 13-9 in National Lacrosse League action at the Langley Events Centre on Saturday night.
Vancouver improved to 3-3 while Calgary fell to 0-6.
“You are frustrated, but it is important not to let the frustration affect you in a negative way,” said the Stealth’s Rhys Duch, the game’s first star with four goals and two assists.
“We were getting chances, but Frankie (Scigliano) was having a heck of a quarter. It was just a matter of burying your shots and sticking with the process and trusting they are going to go in eventually.”
Trailing 3-1, Tyler Garrison and Cliff Smith scored 18 seconds apart. And Duch and Tyler Digby then added power-play goals 19 seconds apart, giving the Stealth four goals in an 83-second span. Vancouver never trailed again as they took a 6-4 lead into the locker room at the half.
Calgary would twice pull to within a goal of the Stealth in the second half, but could never get on equal footing.
Stealth coach Dan Perreault was pleased his team matched Calgary’s intensity and stuck with their own game plan, despite falling behind.
“Our defence and our goaltending did very well tonight,” Perreault said.
“That is a tough team to hold to single digits.”
Perreault said he can see the confidence building in his team, which is one win away from matching last season’s total of four.
“It is nice when they work hard and they are rewarded,” he said. “It is a fairly new group this year, so when they win, they believe in each other, believe in the system.”
Duch said it is nice to reward the home fans with some victories, especially after a tough 2014.
“They are sticking with us,” he said. “It was a frustrating season last year, for us and for them, and we are showing the fans that we are a better team.”
Digby (two goals, three assist), Corey Small (one goal, four assists) and Johnny Powless (four assists) also had big games for the Stealth.
The teams complete their home-and-home series on Saturday in Calgary.
