Burnaby Laker keeps Stealth in the hunt

Former Burnaby Lakers goalie Tye Belanger has the Vancouver Stealth on a roll.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="400"] Tye Belanger has picked up three first-star mentions in his last five games with the Vancouver Stealth. Michael Martin Colorado Mammoth photo[/caption]

The 2015 Western Lacrosse Association second team all-star keeper has been nothing short of brilliant in recent weeks, posting his first three wins of the National Lacrosse League season in the past four weeks, including a 10-6 victory over the Colorado Mammoth last Sunday.

Belanger was stellar in the win over the Mammoth, stopping 53 of 59 shots on goal, including 16 saves in the pivotal final quarter. He also assisted on two Stealth goals, including an empty-netter by Travis Cornwall late in the final frame.

The Wallaceburg, Ont. native earned his third overall, and second consecutive, first-star mention in the win over Colorado that lifted the Stealth into sole possession of third place and a half game back of the second-place Mammoth.

Last week, Belanger was also named the first star in Vancouver's 13-9 victory over the West Division-leading Saskatchewan Rush at the Langley Events Centre on March 4. In that game, Belanger made 55 stops, including 20 in the fourth quarter, while also helping out offensively with three assists, including helpers on shorthanded goals by Matt Bears and Justin Salt.

Belanger got his first win of the season in goal for the Stealth in a 13-10 triumph over the Roughnecks at the Saddledome in Calgary on Feb. 18.

The six-year lacrosse pro received the first of three first-star nods a week earlier in Vancouver's 10-9 overtime loss to the Mammoth at home.

The third game star vaulted the 26-year-old keeper into a sixth-place tie with Toronto's Nick Rose in overall NLL three-star rankings.

Belanger's solid netminding has also placed him into the top spot in the league with a .807 save percentage and third overall with a 10.41 goals against average.

In other games, Saskatchewan scratched out a 12-11 win over Colorado on Ben McIntosh's overtime winner on March 11.

Robert Church potted a pair of goals, including his league-leading 14th power-play marker, in a five-point night.

Newly-acquired left-hander Mark Matthews led the Rush with three goals and six points, while defender Nik Bilic scooped up nine loose balls in the win.