Arena Lacrosse League West returned following a five-week break with a pair of games which went right down to the wire.
Black Fish defeated the Shooting Eagles 12-10 while game two of the doubleheader saw the Sea Spray win 10-9 in overtime over the Grizzlies. Both games were played at 91原创 Events Centre on Sunday, March 16.
Black Fish 12 Shooting Eagles 10
First place may be out of reach, but the Black Fish took a huge step towards securing second spot.
The Black Fish scored the game鈥檚 first four goals and never trailed, defeating the first place Shooting Eagles 12-10 on Sunday afternoon at 91原创 Events Centre in Arena Lacrosse League West action.
It was a second straight victory for the Black Fish as they improved to 6-6 while the Shooting Eagles lost for just the third time, falling to 9-3 as the regular season winds down with just a pair of games remaining.
鈥淥ur offence was really into it: they were making good reads, hitting long passes and they were putting the ball in the net,鈥� said Black Fish coach Rod Jensen.
The Black Fish also received stellar goaltending from Keegan Okino, as he made 51 saves with his team outshot 61-55.
Offensively, the team was led by Ethan M鈥橪ot鈥檚 six points on two goals and four helpers, while Rhys Porteous (3-2) and Connor Watson (3-1) both had hat tricks. Lazlo Henning added a pair of goals with Chase McIntyre (1-2) and Aidan Murphy (1-1) completing the scoring.
Mark Yingling had another hat trick and one assist He now has 33 goals and 57 points on the season for the Shooting Eagles. The points rank first while he sits second in goals. Tysen Nielsen potted a pair, with Coady Adamson (1-2), Patrick Corbett, Doug Porter, Brandon Fitzgerald and Declan Fitzpatrick adding one goal apiece.
Tyson Johnson had another dominant game for the Eagles on face-offs, winning an incredible 21 of 22 draws.
Sea Spray 10 Grizzlies 9 (OT)
Playing his first game of the season, Tyler Kirkby 鈥� the reigning Arena Lacrosse League West Most Valuable Player and Top Offensive Player 鈥� scored the overtime winner to go along with his eight assists as the Sea Spray held off the Grizzlies 10-9.
Kirkby also holds the ALL record for single season points with 116 but Sunday was his first game as he recuperated from an injury that bothered him when he was with the San Diego Seals at their preseason camp ahead of the National Lacrosse League season.
鈥淓verything was clicking right from the get-go. It felt like I never left,鈥� Kirkby said. 鈥淓verybody was getting open: it was like last year where I could find them.鈥�
Sea Spray led for almost the entirety of the game, leading by as many as four goals in the first half with the Grizzlies battling back to tie the score at 7 after three quarters and then taking a brief 9-8 lead with 3:44 to play. James Rahe鈥檚 fifth of the game tied the score 40 seconds later, setting the stage for overtime.
While Kirkby led the way with his nine points, Rahe finished with five goals and six points, Thomas Semple scored twice and set up one, and Thomas Jeck (1-3) and Trevayne Hunter (1-2) each had a goal. Marc Rippberger finished with 48 saves on 57 shots. Rahe leads the ALL West with 34 goals and is tied for second with 54 points.
Dennon Armstrong was the leading scorer for the Grizzlies with two goals and five points while Toru Morimatsu had a hat trick and Erik Forsselius chipped in with a pair. Thomas Moffat (1-1) and James Baker had the other Grizzlies goals. Brayden Wandler stopped 42 of 52 shots.
All four are back in action with mid-week lacrosse games at 91原创 Events Centre. On Wednesday, March 19 Sea Spray play Shooting Eagles while the next day Grizzlies face the Black Fish. Both games begin at 7:30 p.m.
