Cannons rally, bury Barrage

The Boston Cannons' problem in the first quarter, in their star player's words, was stupidity. The slow-starting Cannons trudged through their most ponderous first quarter yet, trailing the Philadelphia Barrage by four goals after 15 minutes.

"We didn't have the ball much in the first quarter," said Boston attacker Conor Gill, who entered the game as the league's leading scorer with 37 points. "And when we did have it, we played pretty stupid."

But that all ended when midfielder Mike Regan sent a long-distance sidewinder sizzling into the net for two points, sparking an 8-1 second-quarter ambush that wiped out a 6-2 deficit and helped the Cannons to a 20-18 victory last night at Nickerson Field.

"To go 6-1 in this league is quite an accomplishment," Cannons coach Scott Hiller said. "It takes a complete effort."

Which the Cannons did not come close to giving in the first quarter. Goalie Kevin O'Brien, starting his first game of the season with regular netminder Chris Garrity out with a hyperextended left knee, watched four straight first-period goals whiz past his stick before a TV timeout mercifully stopped the beating.

"We came out a little chaotic in the first quarter," said defenseman Ryan Curtis. "We were almost too aggressive."

But Boston needed only 1 minute 39 seconds at the start of the second quarter to score four unanswered points, including Regan's two-point goal, to tie the game, 6-6. The Cannons, moving the ball more on offense and staying with their men on defense, took a 10-7 lead at halftime. The Barrage (2-5) rallied to take a brief 16-15 lead in the fourth quarter, but attacker Michael Watson led Boston's offense with two of his five goals in the last period. One of Watson's scores was a behind-the-head whip that gave the Cannons an 18-16 edge with 4:54 left.

Watson had offensive help from Gill, who continued his stellar season with three goals and three assists.

On the other end, O'Brien rebounded to finish with 23 stops. "Kevin played outstanding," Hiller said. "He's been waiting in the weeds for a while. He made huge saves at big times. When you get performances like that, it's huge."