Second-half surge sends Sea Spray to victory

Tyler Kirkby and Lee Jackman were the first and second stars, respectively, for the Sea Spray, as they rallied for an 11-8 win over the Black Fish on Jan. 21 in Arena Lacrosse League West Division action at Langley Events Centre. Ryan Molag photo

A seven-goal third quarter combined with a 47-save performance from Lee Jackman helped the Sea Spray return to the win column.

Trailing 3-2 at the half, the Sea Spray seized control with a 7-1 run as they defeated the Black Fish 11-8 on Sunday afternoon at Langley Events Centre.

The victory gives the Sea Spray sole control of second place in the Arena Lacrosse League West Division with a 5-4 record, while the Black Fish sit in third at 4-5.

“The first half was really hectic; (we were) yelling at refs, getting out of our game,” explained Sea Spray coach Ian Paterson. “But once we slowed it down and just played, it was a completely different half.”

Tyler Kirkby scored three times and finished with seven points – he leads the ALL West in both assists (47) and points (61) – and was the first star for the Sea Spray. Lukas Nielsen and Adam Dickson both scored twice and set up two other goals for matching four-point games while Vinny Ricci (1-3), Joshua Yachney (1-2), Kordell Primus (1-1) and Eli Batt (1-1) completed the scoring. Jackman was the second star following his 47 saves on 55 shots. 

“We moved the ball better and our goaltender was amazing. Lee played great.  We got the ball up the floor and got it into the hands of our offence,” Paterson said. 

The Black Fish were looking for a third-straight victory, but were held to a season-low in goals as this marked the first time they failed to reach double digits.

Connor Watson (2-1), Laszlo Henning (2-1) and Ethan M’Lot (1-2) each had three-point games for the Black Fish with Chase McIntyre, Jordan Roberts and David Hammond potting a goal apiece. Brian Gillis finished with four assists and Aiden Murphy – who was selected third star – had three helpers. Brandon Humphrey made 34 saves on 43 shots while Keegan Okino stopped two of the four shots he faced.

The Black Fish’s Reece Barnes had a dominant game in the face-off circle as he won 19 of 21 draws. 

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