Most NLL fans will know that Tye Belanger has paid his dues in full and will be happy to see him succeed during one of the best phases of his six-year career.
The Vancouver goaltender has the second-best save percentage among all NLL goalies, .794, trailing only Colorado’s Dillon Ward, .804, heading into a game in Toronto on Saturday as the Stealth continue to pursue their first playoff berth in the four years they have played out of the Langley Events Centre.
“We’re showing we can play at a high level,” says Belanger. “We are showing our fans and people around the league that we’re a team to be reckoned with.”
They hope a 15-11 home loss to Buffalo last Friday was only a temporary setback.
Colorado selected Belanger 16th overall in the 2011 entry draft. He got only 21 minutes playing time in 2012 but had a bigger role in 2013. With a string of second-half wins, he helped his team make the playoffs. Later that year, Colorado used their first draft pick, third overall, to get Ward, who took over as No. 1 in 2014. Belanger was backup again.
There’s no better place to play than in Denver.
“We felt like true professionals,” he said of the way players were treated by ownership and fans. “Go for a bite, meet up post-game, and people knew who we were. Everywhere you go, people know who the Mammoth are. And the Denver area is amazing with the mountains and the scenic views. There’s never a dull moment. I really, really enjoyed my time in Colorado.”
COURTESY OF COLORADO MAMMOTH
The Colorado Mammoth selected Belanger 16th overall in the 2011 entry draft.
He was traded to New England for a fourth-round 2015 draft pick, which turned into Bryce Sweeting. Belanger was backup to Evan Kirk in 2015 and 2016, when Kirk was goalie of the year.
“It was a new experience, for sure,” says Belanger. “The team had moved from Philadelphia to Connecticut and everything was fresh and new.
“Our record wasn’t very good the first year there. The second season, with new coaches in place, they changed the whole culture. With Glenn Clark, Jim Veltman and Tracey Kelusky and with traded to bring in Shawn Evans and Derek Suddons and guys like that there was more of a culture of winning going on. The team turned a big page. We had a successful season getting to the eastern final. I enjoyed my time there.”
Playing behind Ward and then Kirk, Belanger had to be patient.
“I was paying my dues,” he says. “I knew there’d be an opportunity present itself for me. It was frustrating at times but I stuck with it. I knew my time would come.”
Vancouver acquired him last Oct. 12 for transition player Mitch McMichael. Belanger backed up Tyler Richards for the first five games this season. After a third straight loss, he got a start for a home game against Georgia. Vancouver lost but it was close and Belanger played so well he got the next start. Visiting Calgary won in overtime and Belanger again played well so coach Jamie Batley stuck with him. His confidence in Belanger was not misplaced as the Stealth began winning.
On March 12, the Stealth were outshot 59-38 by Colorado but they emerged with a 10-6 victory in Denver. Belanger was the first star, and that meant a lot to him given it was where his NLL career began.
FINAL!@Duchee10: 4G, 1A@CSmall15: 2G, 4A
— Vancouver Stealth (@StealthLAX) March 13, 2017
Conway: 3A@jordanDurston8: 2G@BeLanger31, @mattbeers2: 2A#VANvsCOL pic.twitter.com/1CBtwGUbuP
“It was nice to finally get a start there again and to perform well,” he says. “I was on an emotional high coming off the floor.
“It was nice to see faces in the crowd I hadn’t seen in years, to talk to them again, reconnect. I even was asked to sign a game-worn jersey, my old Mammoth 31. It was a different feeling signing autographs while with a visiting team.”
Then came the disappointing loss to Buffalo.
This Saturday, Belanger will see his first playing time in Air Canada Centre since he took a loss as a member of the Mammoth on March 8, 2013. They did not play in Toronto in 2014. In three visits with New England in 2015-2016, he was the backup as Kirk played every minute.
“Absolutely,” he replies when asked if he’s looking forward to his return to Toronto. “I haven’t played there in years. It’s close to home so I know there’ll be a lot of friends making the trip to watch me play. In that sense, it’ll feel like a home game for me.”
He wears No. 31 because of his birth date of July 31, 1990.
The Mooretown, Ontario, product was three when his parents registered him to play box lacrosse in Sarnia. His explanation of how he wound up being a goaltender: ``Nobody wanted to play goal so we had to take turns. When it was my turn to put on the pads, I was kicking and screaming and crying. I didn’t want to be in the net at all. When they put me in, I hated every second of it. But I guess I was good enough at it that they kept asking me to play goal so I eventually stuck at it.’’
He continued to play both hockey and lacrosse.
"By the time I turned 16, I didn’t really feel a passion for hockey anymore. Lacrosse was taking over. I felt that was the path to take. It turned out to be a good one.’’
He played Jr. B lacrosse in Wallaceburg, stepped up to Jr. A in Brampton and Peterborough, where his play for the junior Lakers led to his selection as Canadian goaltender of the year. He was practicing with both Peterborough’s junior and senior teams during his summers. Dan Carey and John Grant Jr. were playing for the Lakers after a winter with the NLL’s Mammoth and they talked him up with Mammoth brass. All these years later, he lives in Surrey, British Columbia, and he is playing for the Stealth.
He cherishes his playing time.
“I’m in a good state of mind, playing with a lot of passion. I’m seeing the ball well and the defense is playing well in front of me.”