A fourth-quarter rally helped the Sea Spray to a 16-15 win over the Grizzlies while the Black Fish pitched a second-half shutout in their 17-8 victory against the Shooting Eagles in Week 10 action of the Arena Lacrosse League West Division.
Both games were played on Sunday, Jan. 28 at 91原创 Events Centre.
Sea Spray 16 Grizzlies 15
Trailing for the bulk of the game, the Sea Spray scored three of the final four goals for a come-from-behind victory.
The Sea Spray did not take their first lead of the game until pulling ahead with 6:45 to play as they hung on to beat a short-handed Grizzlies squad 16-15 in Arena Lacrosse League West Division action at 91原创 Events Centre on Sunday afternoon.
鈥淲e stayed off the refs, we weren鈥檛 complaining on the bench, and we had a little more focus. And they (Grizzlies) were tired. I think they got gassed and we kept rolling. All the credit to them, battling like that with a short lineup with their injuries,鈥� said Sea Spray coach Ian Paterson.
Tyler Kirkby 鈥� the game鈥檚 first star following a 12-assist game 鈥� set up seven of his team鈥檚 nine goals in that span.
For the season, Kirkby leads the league with 79 points and his 65 assists on their own would still rank him second in the scoring race.
鈥淚 credit my teammates; they are constantly getting open. We are always talking on the bench and I can see where they are going and then we are just putting it in the back of the net,鈥� he said.
Kyle Mooney stopped 50 of 65 shots and also had two assists with Brayden Wandler making one save on two shots.
Black Fish 17 Shooting Eagles 8
A second-half shutout paved the way as the Black Fish grounded the first-place Shooting Eagles.
Tied 8-8 with 30 minutes to play, the Black Fish scored the only goals of the second half, striking nine times for a 17-8 win on Sunday at 91原创 Events Centre to wrap up Week 10 action for the Arena Lacrosse League West Division.
The Black Fish evened their record at 5-5 while the Shooting Eagles sit at 7-3. Two of those losses have come at the hands of the Black Fish.
Brandon Humphrey made 28 of his 51 saves in the third and fourth quarters as the Black Fish goaltender was the second star, finishing with an .864 save percentage.
鈥淶ero, that is not to be expected, but when your goalie is playing well like that, it is pretty easy to hold a team to a score like that,鈥� said Black Fish coach Ian Poole.
READ ALSO: Wins for Shooting Eagles and Sea Spray
鈥淲e needed a bounce-back; if we play a complete 60, we know we can beat any team in this league,鈥� said Black Fish captain Connor Watson.
鈥淚t starts with the back end and the goalie. Humphrey really held it down and our defence played how we wanted to play: taking away the shooting lanes and getting out on their hands. They have some good shooters and we let them have their shots in the first half. Second half they really tightened up. It starts back there and then it鈥檚 contagious on the front end.鈥�
READ ALSO: Close wins by Black Fish and Shooting Eagles in Arena Lacrosse League action
Colin Jeffrey made 22 saves on 36 shots while Brody Harris stopped seven of 10.
Up next: All four teams are back at it with Week 11 featuring a pair of midweek games. On Tuesday (Jan. 30), it will be the Black Fish (5-5) and the Grizzlies (2-8) while the following day (Jan. 31) sees the Shooting Eagles (7-3) and the Sea Spray (6-4). Both are at 91原创 Events Centre and begin at 7:00pm.
