It was decided in the final 31 seconds of the game.
The Langley-based Vancouver Stealth fell to the Mammoth by just one last-minute point, 14-13, in Colorado last night.
The Stealth opened the first game of their back-to-backs this weekend in Denver.
They started their match against the Colorado Mammoth down several key players including Justin Salt and Tye Belanger to injuries, Travis Cornwall who was placed on the “physically unable to perform list,” Logan Schuss who was added to the “short-term hold out list,” and Joel McCready who was suspended due to a fight dating back to Jan. 6.
But the holes in the line up did not hamper Vancouver early in the game.
Corey Small had a hat trick by the second quarter to help put the Stealth up 7-5 at the half.
Tony Malcom completed his hat trick in the third quarter ushering in a 10-9 lead for the Stealth after 45 minutes, but a back-and-forth final frame saw the Mammoth get the game winning goal with 31 seconds remaining for a 14-13 final score.
In the loss, Rhys Duch had one goal and six assists, Small continued his hot hand finishing the night with four goals and five assists, rookie Casey Jackson chipped in with his first NLL goal and assist and Tony Malcom played his best game as a member of the Stealth scoring four goals.
“It is frustrating to drop the game when you are up one or two goals in the final quarter. We need to close those games out. This game was a stinger,” said Tony Malcom.
“It is great that I was able to score four goals and hopefully this is key in building some confidence, but we need to get back out there and focus on winning. Tomorrow is going to be a great game to come out and watch for the fans, Georgia has a lot of talented players, but I think we match up against them really well.”
Vancouver will not have much time to think about last night’s game, as they took a morning flight back to the Lower Mainland before welcoming the NLL Champions, the Georgia Swarm tonight at Langley Events Centre.
Tickets to Saturday night’s game are still available at StealthLAX.com.