Coming off a major win over the defending champion Saskatchewan Rush, hopes were high for the Vancouver Stealth to find some consistency in what has been an otherwise inconsistent tenure since relocating from Washington. If Saturday night was any indication, those hopes may have to be put off until next week.
The Colorado Mammoth, off to an undefeated start behind a string of impressive wins over Rochester and Buffalo, were all business in a dominating win over the Stealth 14-5. It was par for the course for Colorado’s dynamic offense, led by John Grant Jr., Adam Jones and Callum Crawford, who had a combined 11 goals and nine assists. Even more impressive, Dillon Ward put on a similarly dominating display that Evan Kirk did just two weeks earlier, stopping 50 of 55 shots.
Colorado stepped out to a decisive 4-0 lead in the first quarter and a four-goal run by Grant Jr. to end the first half all but put the game away with another 30 minutes left on the board.
On Vancouver’s side, missing Garrett Billings hurt, but not as much as the pronounced lack of movement on the offense. The Stealth are overly hesitant at times, and it’s lead to 12 goals in two games at the LEC. As head coach Dan Perreault alluded to after the New England loss, the offense takes far too many flat-footed shots that goaltenders typically have no problem stopping. Joel McCready is arguably the only offensive player that has shown any consistent willingness to cut the middle or battle for greasy goals. He had a pair of power play tallies on nine shots in the loss.
Another concern for Vancouver is certainly the amount of even strength they’ve scored at home, where the Stealth have only scored six of their 12 goals five-on-five.
Eric Penney struggled once again, stopping only 25 of 33 shots in 45:51 of playing time. Penney was replaced by Chris Levis for the second straight home game, where he didn’t fare much better—allowing six goals on 16 shots. The Stealth have Cody Hagedorn on the practice squad and could factor into some type of change in the crease if balls continue to go into the cage.
Colorado is in Saskatchewan on Jan. 29, where the Mammoth have an excellent chance to make another statement to the rest of the league with a win over the Rush. Vancouver takes on Calgary on the 30th, before returning home to host the Mammoth again on Feb. 6.
