Two Burnaby Lakers clubmates helped the Vancouver Stealth get off on the right foot in its National Lacrosse League opener.
Tyler Digby was named the player of the game and Ilija Gajic garnered five points in the Stealth’s come-from-behind 18-14 win over the Calgary Roughnecks on Saturday.
Digby scored three times and added an assist, while Gajic also tallied a hat trick in a five-point outing, helping spark an 11-goal run between the second and fourth quarters that turned the game in the Stealth’s favour.
Digby opened the scoring for the Langley-based club, halting a three-goal Calgary start with his first of two power-play markers.
Trailing 9-4 midway through the second quarter, Gajic sparked the 11-goal run, helping out on Tyler Burton’s first of two.
Gajic drew Vancouver to within a pair of goals, two minutes before half time.
Digby opened the second half with two third-quarter counters, while Gajic scored what would be the game winner on his second transition goal of the game from goalie Tyler Richards. Gajic also scored an empty-net goal late in the contest.
Richards, who also plays for the Lakers in the Western Lacrosse Association, made 48 saves in the Stealth net.
Former Burnaby Cablevision star, Dan Perreault, got his first win as the new head coach of the Stealth.
Forward Rhys Duch led the Stealth with four goals and five assists.
In other NLL matchups, Burnaby Lakers Robert Church scored two goals and assisted on three others for the Edmonton Rush in a 9-8 loss to the Buffalo Bandits on Saturday.
Kevin Crowley had a six-point game, including a pair of goals, as the New England Black Wolves defeated the Bandits in their NLL debut 12-8 on Friday.
The Stealth host the Toronto Rock in their NLL home opener at the Langley Events Centre on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m.
