The Vancouver Ravens, behind a combined eleven goals from Chris Gill and Dan Stroup, outlasted the New York Saints, 18-16, Friday night in a surprising shootout at General Motors Place.

New York, last in the NLL with a 1-8 record, provided the Ravens with far more of a challenge than anyone expected, flying out to 3-0 lead and playing to ties of 4-4 after one quarter and 10-10 at halftime.

The Saint Bernards struck quickly, as Chris Driscoll took a pass from teammate Josh Black and buried it behind goaltender Dwight Maetche just 26 seconds after the opening faceoff. Three minutes later, Driscoll scored again. By the end of the fifth minute, the heavily-favored Ravens were down another goal.

Give the Black Birds credit, though, for not giving up at such an early stage of the game. Bruce Alexander put the Ravens on the board at 7:37, and Stroup followed about 40 seconds later with a power play strike.

Gill soon had the first of his six goals, and Chad Wittman gave Vancouver its first lead with just over three minutes to play. However, in the closing seconds of the quarter, Matt Shearer tied the game at four.

After just fifteen minutes, it was abundantly clear that this would not be an easy win for the home side. The Saints were hitting on almost half their shots, while goaltender Gord Nash had already recorded sixteen saves.

For comparison's sake, Nash nearly matched in one quarter the save total that Maetche recorded in the 43 minutes he played (eighteen saves on 31 shots faced).

If anyone in the house doubted the explosive possibilities of this game, they learned their error of their judgment quickly. Stroup struck after just sixteen seconds, with Shearer knotting the game twenty seconds later. By the two-minute mark, Chris Panos and Gill had traded goals.

Three minutes later, Panos and Gill had done it again, and the game was on pace for an eye-popping 42 goals. Gill scored again within one hundred seconds, for an 8-7 lead. That meant, of course, one thing -- it was time for a New York run.

Gavin Prout obliged, scoring just after the midway point of the quarter, with Shearer and Bendig following suit inside of the next few minutes.

Matt Dwane brought the 7,174 in attendance to their feet with 2:14 to play in the first half, and Gill brought down the curtains with a power play goal a half-minute thereafter. 10-10 to the dressing rooms.

Who better to kick off the second half than Mr. Excitement, Chris Gill? He scored a man-up goal two and a half minutes into the second half, his fourth power play marker of the night.

If that doesn't demand serious consideration for Offensive Player of the Week, Ravens Faithful might have to revolt at the league headquarters in New York, pitchforks and lacrosse sticks in hand.

Stroup, who was making a pretty good case for weekly honors himself, bagged the next two goals, both even-strength strikes. 13-10, Vancouver, just 4:36 into the second half.

Kris Bryde put his hometown team's run to rest, scoring exactly at the six-minute mark, bringing the Saints to within two. It touched off a rally that had New York just a goal off the Ravens by the end of the third quarter, 15-14.

Apparently realizing all of a sudden that they have a second game this weekend, tomorrow night at Colorado, Vancouver slowed the pace in the fourth quarter, a strategy made much palatable by quick goals from Luke Ansley in the first minute and Dwane in the second.

New York couldn't push one past relief netminder Scott Wylie for another six minutes, a power play marker from Driscoll, then couldn't cut the gap to one until five more minutes had elapsed.

Chris Prat scored an insurance goal with 1:18 to play, sealing New York's fate.

Gill and Stroup led all scorers in goals (six and five, respectively), but neither managed a single assist. Ironically, another two high-scorers for Vancouver, Cam Sedgwick and Ryan O'Connor had plenty of dishes but no ropes (five and four assists, respectively).

New York struck a balance among its leading attackers. Driscoll had nine points (three goals, six assists), followed by Panos' eight-spot (four goals, four assists). The story of the Saints, though, was Nash, who stopped 55 shots in defeat.

BOX SUMMARY
                                      1  2  3  4     TOT
New York Saints (1-8)                 4  6  4  2  --  16
Vancouver Ravens (3-4)                4  6  5  3  --  18

NEW YORK SAINTS               VANCOUVER RAVENS
               G - A   PTS                   G - A   PTS
Driscoll       3 - 6     9    Gill           6 - 0     6
Panos          4 - 4     8    Stroup         5 - 0     5
Shearer        3 - 3     6    Sedgwick       0 - 5     5
Bendig         1 - 5     6    Alexander      1 - 3     4
Prout          2 - 3     5    Prat           1 - 3     4
Bryde          2 - 2     4    O'Connor       0 - 4     4
Nash           0 - 3     3    Ansley         1 - 2     3
Brothers       1 - 0     1    Dwane          2 - 0     2
Black          0 - 1     1    Brunsch        0 - 2     2
A Polanco      0 - 1     1    Catton         0 - 2     2
                              Hamilton       0 - 2     2
                              B Murray       0 - 2     2
                              J Hanson       1 - 0     1
                              Wittman        1 - 0     1
                              Maetche        0 - 1     1

Shots on goal           43    Shots on goal           73
Saves made by (GA)      55    Saves made by (GA)      27
   Nash (18)         55          Maetche (13)      18
                                 Wylie (3)          9
Penalties                7    Penalties                6
Penalty Minutes         17    Penalty Minutes         12
Power Play Chances       5    Power Play Chances       5
Power Play Goals         2    Power Play Goals         5
   Driscoll           1          Gill               4
   Panos              1          Stroup             1
Shorthanded Goals        0    Shorthanded Goals        0
Loose Balls             64    Loose Balls            101
   Nash              12          B Murray          11
   N Polanco         10          Catton             9
   Prout              7          Dwane              9
                                 Stroup             9
Faceoffs Won            19    Faceoffs Won            20
   Brothers     (12-10)          Reisig       (19-15)
   Ghedina      ( 7-10)          Stroup       ( 1- 4)

 *** STATS OFFICIAL BY VERIFY WITH VANCOUVER RAVENS ***