A Washington Stealth Fan Blog
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Another intense and close lacrosse game. It’s standard operating procedure of late. But we held on to win the game 9-8 after an exciting 4th quarter.
The game was back and forth through out. We started with an early lead 3-1 and Edmonton closed it to just 4-3 at the half. As the low score clearly indicates, it was a battle of the goalies. Palidwor had to make more saves because he was facing at least 10 more shots than Cosmo was. That alone was a difference maker, if there save percentage was equal or about equal and we took more shots, then we’ll win the game every time.
Amazingly, it was the further out sniper shots that we utilized in the 4th quarter and through out. Of our 9 goals I think 5 or more were outside shots that Palidwor was consistently missing. Colin Doyle had a laser shot from a couple steps inside the restraining line that he put over Palidwor shoulder and in. I don’t blame Palidwor for going low on that though, having watched Doyle shot all year, his shot from that position consistently was for a low corner. I don’t think Palidwor cheated on the shot so much as Doyle just zipped it past him.
Doyle’s 4th quarter goals came in a function that he hadn’t done yet this year. We were down 6-4 and he became the “Go To” guy. Once the ball got in his stick, he was going to ensure we got a goal, stopped the Edmonton run and got back in the game. He had a killer instinct that was inspiring to see. After the first 4th quarter goal he was pumped out and showing it. Then Zywicki and Wiles added in 3 and we had a lead again, up 8-6. Edmonton got another to bring it within one and Doyle stepped up again burning Palidwor through the 5-hole and make the lead two and really get Edmonton’s hopes down. Edmonton closed out the scoring to make it 9-8 with about a minute to go. The final minute was back and forth and never a sealed deal until the horn sounded.
Doyle’s actions shouldn’t take away from Wiles’ (3G) and Zywicki’s (2G) scoring tonight. They put up a lot of points that were key in the victory, but when we needed it Doyle was there. Edmonton’s second tier defenders couldn’t cover our righties. They focused to much on Rosy and Doyle, for which Wiles and Zywicki punished them accordingly. It’s what I love about our offensive unit, 4 equal weapons (Doyle, Rosy, Wiles and Zywicki) and 3 great alternate weapons (Sedgwick, Burkholder and Crawford/Green depending on who’s playing). Most teams don’t have the defenders to appropriately cover all four and who ever is left with the favorable match-up always seems to capitalize. Colorado’s the one team that worries me with the core group of defenders having four guys to match up appropriately. But that’s getting ahead to next week’s games, I’ll save that for later.
Edmonton fought hard and has made huge strides from where they were last year. They played the Free Agency market very well to pick up guys like Chris Gill and Dan Stroup. Andrew Turner leads a defense that is good, but not yet great. Palidwor makes the whole team significantly better. But he faced more shots tonight than Cosmo had to, and that’s the difference from the defense in front of him. Another year together for their core group and they’ll be in the playoff hunt again next year. With Portland retooling and needing to to spent time together meshing and Calgary’s roster getting long in the tooth, Edmonton is in prime position to slide in to the 4th spot in the West next year (maybe this year, I haven’t seen the official count that they’ve been eliminated).
We’re in the playoffs, technically I think we could even reach second place if a handful of miracles happened (we win two and Arizona loses out). No matter what, our season is not over next weekend. It’s just the beginning of our playoff run. We’re going to enjoy it.
Good job Stealth, we’re very proud of you tonight.