NLL Insider

Welcome back Stealth fans to this week’s ‘Do-or-Die’ installment of ye old behind the scenes blog.

Actually, let me clarify…This week’s home-and-away series with Portland is really a ‘Don’t Do or Die’ scenario….what that means is – of the two games for the boys this weekend, they must win at least one to stay afloat in the Western Conference playoff race. If they win both, well, then they are sitting pretty…lose both…lose it all.

Which brings me to a sort of philosophical point I touched on last week.

I mentioned briefly that sometimes in big games players can often want it too much, which is bad…and obviously, wanting it NOT enough doesn’t really cut it either. The world of sports thrives in the meticulous balance, this grey area of perfect execution of the play and free-form improvisation.

The world of the elite athlete revolves around not pushing either end too hard…you just gotta feel it. Which, believe me, is way easier said than done.

However, in the land of ‘Do-or’Die’ scenarios all of the aforementioned goes right out the window… well, kind of. The players still need to ‘feel’ the game and whatnot, but their grey world quickly becomes a harsh black-and-white reality of win to stay alive.

Goals mean a lot more and the mistakes become instantly way more costly. It’s definitely a hard place to be and also a damn hard feeling to describe…guess that was my best shot. Sorry Pat Benatar….

Meanwhile, back at the ranch….I mean, HP Pavillion… tensions are pretty high. The action outside the locker room reminds me of a Discovery Channel show on bee hives or something…lots of people buzzing around in all directions. It doesn’t help that the San Jose Sharks’ and Phoenix Coyotes’ people are also in the locker room area. The two NHL squads do battle later on in the day. A quick conversation and handshake from the ‘Great One’ puts a smile on my face as I make my way to the equipment room. (And yes, by ‘Great One’ I am referring to Wayne Gretzky…sorry Tom Johnson)

I make my way to the equipment room and bust out my cameras, flashes and whatnot…things are pretty busy in here too…Players coming to get last-minute shafts changes, pads taped and to get out of the locker room for a minute. My first picture of the day captures Stealth rookie Alex Turner tagging a souvenir Stealth jersey….he’s concentrating real hard.

Right outside of the door I hear defensive coach Art Webster wrangling up his D-guys. I dip down the hallway and snap some pics of the D meeting. Art is a laid-back guy and a great coach. I loved having him as my coach last season, I’m not much a ‘rah-rah’ guy and neither is he…our styles matched pretty good. His words, today, however were a little more straight-forward. Like I said, in the ‘black and white’ situation the Stealth have gotten themselves into, things like mistakes and penalties matter so much more. I keep snapping away as the boys go through their keys to a strong defensive strategy.

I move to floor for the final warm up…Ryan Powell and Brodie Merrill are in the house. RP is an obvious offensive threat, but Brodie has a knack for finding the net as a D-guy…he’s a great all around player – one of the best right now. I catch Mike Grimes giving the entire Portland squad the look of death…i like it. I stay on the floor until player introductions. I say it each week, but this time before the game actually starts holds so much emotion for me. It’s the last time players can think as individuals on the floor. Always a good idea to keep you eyes on the goalies during this time as they have a lot riding on their shoulders and most of them are total weirdo’s…excluding Boldy and T-Rich of course.

I catch Curtis Hodgson and Goalie Matt Roik getting introduced. I use the hottie cheerleaders as a nice little frame for the players….stoked on those shots I move up to the catwalk to peep the action from on high. Usually, I am rolling solo on the catwalk, but I immediately run into Stealth players and fellow yankees Frank Resetarits and Kyle Hartzell. I am super close with these guys…Franky and I were Stealth teammates last season and Hartzell and I held it down on the SF Dragons last summer. I am always stoked to bump into these guys, but not like this.

Them watching the game from the catwalk means they’re sitting this one out…never a good feeling…been there a few times myself. I snap a pic of the action from their vantage point and move on.

The first quarter ends in a 2-2 draw with the Stealth goals coming from rookies Rhys Duch and Paul Rabil. These two guys are definitely coming into their own as players this season, with Rhys making a strong move on Rookie of the Year honors. The second quarter sees a 5 goal explosion from the ‘Jax…my man Brodie netting two himself. EMart and Colin Doyle tally for SJ…Portland takes a 7-4 lead into the locker room. (Editor’s Note: Brodie Merrill isn’t actually my boy, although I did play against him in high school and college)

Not exactly sure what Stealth coach Chris Hall said in the locker room, but it worked! The Stealth come out flying on all cylinders. Looks more like an offensive clinic than an actual game. All my shots in the third have Stealth forwards pullin the trigger from everywhere…works too.

The Stealth score seven straight goals to come from 3 down to take a 11-8 lead. Rookie Rhys Duch goes off and nets four by himself….dude is a flat out sniper. EMart nets his second, Rabil busts the square unassisted and veteran Cam Sedgwick finds net on the powerplay. The Stealth look like they have all the answers right now, while the visitors look straight up clueless.

I remember sitting in the stands with my camera thinking about how am I going to edit these pictures. The ‘black and white’ theme pops into my head…but the way the Stealth are playing, they are certainly adding color to their future and the playoff hopes look pretty healthy…that is until the fourth quarter starts. I know that my new profession has me looking ‘unbiased’ (yeah right) through a camera lens, but I would be straight up lying if I said I didn’t rise and fall emotionally with the boys. I might be a bit washed up, but I’m not that far removed from the lifestyle and my heart sinks as the Portland offense finds the net six times in the fourth. Damn Brodie with his hat trick and 6 assists.

I can hardly put the camera up to my face as I watch (and feel) the bottom drop out for the Stealth.

As the clock ticks down, the LumberJax hold a two goal lead and it stays that way until the final whistle. ‘Jax take game 1 of 2 by a 14-12 margin. I venture into the locker room after coach Chris Hall is done with his post game ‘speech.’ I don’t dare even bring my camera into the room. I am there more as a friend and quasi-teammate of the guys, plus I am too attached to the guys’ emotions to even care about taking pictures. We are all bummed, but the guys don’t have too much time to dwell. If they are to stay alive in the hunt they have to turn their focus to tomorrow’s tilt with the ‘Jax. The players are packing up and getting ready to head to the airport for tomorrow’s final showdown in Portland.

I don’t make the trip, but get the low-down from the players once they land back in San Jose. The Stealth put color back into their game as they return with a 13-8 win and keep their playoff hopes breathing. Captain Colin Doyle paced the Stealth with 4-4 and my boy Tom Johnson added his own hat trick. (Editor’s Note: Tom Johnson is actually my boy, even though I didn’t play against him in high school or college.)

Both Cam Sedgwick and Jeff Zywicki go 2-2 and rookie Rhys Duch adds to his point total with 4 assists, while Paul Rabil adds another unassisted tally and a helper. Defenseman Eric Martin finds a way to NOT get kicked out of the game and goes for one goal and one apple. Tyler Richards holds down the majority of the minutes in the net for the Stealth. Does a damn good job too saving 43 of Portland attempts.

The Stealth are home next week against the Minnesota Swarm before they close out their regular season with a big road game in Denver and another in Toronto.

NLL Insider will be posting blogs from Zach Heffner, a member of last year’s regular season Western Division champion San Jose Stealth squad, Zach has since started his own company, VERDICT Photography, and looks to promote the team and the sport through his photographs.

Zach joined the Stealth after a stint with the Chicago Shamrox. An NCAA National Champion while at the University of Virginia, Zach lists winning a bronze medal with the USA National Indoor Team at last years’ World Indoor Championships in Halifax, Nova Scotia as his top lacrosse moment.

To view the full photo gallery from this post, Visit the NLL Insider Photo Gallery Page

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