Stealth captain Kyle Sorensen is waiting to hear whether he’ll be suspended for the home opener Saturday. (Larry Palumbo, NLL photo)
Vancouver Stealth captain Kyle Sorensen should hear from the National Lacrosse League office as early as Tuesday morning if he’s receiving a suspension for the spearing major he received Saturday for getting his stick up in the face of Colorado Mammoth sniper Drew Westervelt during a first-quarter collision.
Vancouver lost 13-12.
Sorensen said Monday that he still had to talk over things with Vancouver coach Chris Hall and general manager Doug Locker, but, assuming there is supplementary discipline from the league, he’s hoping to appeal, which would make him eligible for this coming Saturday’s home opener against the Minnesota Swarm.
Sorensen says that doesn’t want to miss the franchise’s first game at the Langley Events Centre. And it’s safe to assume the fact his little brother Brock is one of the core guys with the Swarm is at play as well.
The appeal would be heard next week. If Sorensen was to lose, he would wind up missing Vancouver’s following game, which is a Jan. 17 home tilt against Colorado. Colorado is a division rival; Minnesota is not.
If Sorensen, 27, sits against Minnesota, the Stealth could pull another defender off the practice roster, be it either American field convert Josh Hawkins, 23, or easterner Nick Weiss, 21. They could also shift a Cliff Smith, 28, from the offensive side to defence and insert either Sean Lundstrom, 21, or Brett Hickey, 23, who were Vancouver’s two healthy scratches in Denver. Lundstrom, is a Langley Jr. A product who was the surprise of Vancouver’s training camp, while Hickey was on the Stealth practice roster last season.
