Hold the opposition to under a dozen goals and the result should be a victory.
That is what Vancouver Stealth head coach Jamie Batley has stated this season.
The week before, that thesis did not hold true as the Stealth were on the wrong end of a 10-9 overtime loss to the Colorado Mammoth.
But for the second straight week, Vancouver held the opposition to 12 goals or less and this time they were rewarded with a 13-10 victory on Saturday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary.
The Stealth snapped a five-game losing streak, defeating the host Roughnecks in National Lacrosse League action. The win improved Vancouver to 3-5 while the Roughnecks fell to 3-4.
And as has been the case in all three victories, goaltending was key for the Stealth.
Tye Belanger made his third straight start in the Vancouver goal and stopped 44 of 54 shots. And taking the team’s overtime loss into account, he has now stopped 87 of 107 shots over the last two games, a save percentage of .813, which is well ahead of the .771 league average through the season’s first eight weeks.
Tyler Richards, who got the bulk of the work in goal in the opening weeks of the season, posted a .797 save percentage in the first two games — both victories — allowing 11 and nine goals in those contests, respectively.
In Saturday’s victory, Vancouver struck early and often as they pumped home six goals in the opening 15 minutes to lead 6-1 at the quarter break.
The Stealth extended their lead to 10-4 at the half and while Calgary would get within three goals early in the fourth quarter, the Roughnecks could not get any closer.
Corey Small and Logan Schuss led the offence for Vancouver with four goals apiece while finishing with eight and six points, respectively.
Jordan Durston chipped in with a pair of goals while Rhys Duch had one goal and one helper.
The Stealth also got some goals from unlikely sources as defender Matt Beers had a goal and two assists while transition player Ryan Wagner also had a goal. It was the first goal of the season for both.
Calgary was led by Dane Dobbie (three goals, four assists), Curtis Dickson (three goals, three assists), Wes Berg (three goals) and Jeff Shattler (one goal, four assists).
The Stealth return to action on Saturday night as they host the Rochester Knighthawks at the Langley Events Centre. Game time is 7 p.m.
