Last night the Vancouver Stealth (1-3) played on the road and got blown out of the Pepsi Center by the undefeated NLL West Division Leaders the Colorado Mammoth (3-0). Vancouver having the most G.A. in the league and second most saves pretty much sums up their season thus far. Colorado moved the ball phenomenally well all night, and continued to put the rock in the back of the net, amounting to a 20-9 win.
Vancouver was the first to strike off a beautiful inside goal from Tyler Digby. The lead would not last long as Colorado’s Jackson Decker scored off one of Adam Jones 6 assists on the evening. The Stealth’s new acquisition Corey Small would tally the next two goals to give Vancouver a 2-goal lead. Adam Jones would score the next for the Mammoth on the power play at just past the eleven-minute mark bringing the lead to 1. In an amazing feat of speed, and talent on super hero night Sean Pollock scored with less than a tick left on the clock to tie the game before the end of the quarter.
After a slow and sloppy start by both teams it appeared that Vancouver was ready to battle things out, as Joel McCready would score the first of his 2 goals in the second quarter. The Mammoth had other ideas, as they would go on a 6-0 run with goals from Drew Westervelt, Sean Pollock, John Grant, Adam Jones, and 2 goals from Alex Turner. Vancouver’s McCready would score his second to end the half, Colorado going up by the score of 9-5.
The third quarter started and within :05 Bobby Snider put one in off the faceoff. The Stealth responded by pulling goalie Tyler Richards momentarily, as he would be put back into the game between the pipes. The substitution appeared to just be an opportunity for Richards to clear his head. It would not stop the Mammoth from scoring 5 more in the quarter. Scoring coming from Eli McLaughlin, Adam Jones, John Grant, Cameron Holding, and Drew Westervelt. The only Vancouver goal of the quarter came from lefty Lewis Ratcliff off an outside time and room shot. Colorado led 15-6 headed into the final frame.
Colorado would continue to apply the pressure, sending a message to their opponents that they are here to play 4 quarters, and beyond scoring 5 more goals to round out the night. We would see more from Drew Westervelt, Eli McLaughlin, Adam Jones, and another 2-goal quarter from Alex Turner. The Stealth would answer back with 3 goals of their own from Tyler Digby, Joel McCready, and Rhys Duch who had been quiet all night. Colorado would go on to a very impressive 20 point win improving to 3-0, as the Stealth still look like they are the same team from 2014 even after many roster moves, as they fall to 1-3 off a 3 game skid.
The 175lb lefty Adam Jones looks to be back off his injury from 2014 and playing at an insanely high level again this year. His 4 goals and 6 assists truly made him a super hero to many young fans in the stands at Pepsi Center. Adam and the rest of the high flying Mammoth squad will be facing off against the Stealth in back to back matchups, this time at the LEC on January 31st at 7p.m. Can the Stealth put their losing streak behind them and move forward on the season. For that to happen they will need to desperately find some chemistry in all facets of the game. A final key for their success will be getting their stars going early, Rhys Duch and Johnny Powless need to get their sticks hot and at the same time, something they have failed to do so far this year.
