Where were the Vancouver Stealth hiding this guy?

The question had to be asked after Eric Penney went from third string to first star overnight.

Well, they weren’t hiding him anywhere as it turns out. He was always around, always hoping for another chance to play.

With the Stealth winless in their first four games this season with Tye Belanger and Brodie MacDonald manning the nets, they activated Penney from the practise squad and started him in a Jan. 13 game in Buffalo. He made 52 saves in an 11-10 victory. It was his first NLL appearance since April 30, 2016.
Penney had reappeared and the team’s losing streak was over.

“It meant a lot,” he said of the win. “Getting that opportunity after being on the practice roster for so long, it was a relief getting back into the lineup.”

Check out the @CWBcommunity Save of the Game. @TheEricPenney made a buzzer beater stop to keep the game 5-5 at the half, en route to our 11-10 win over the Bandits. #SOTG #GreatSave pic.twitter.com/UAo6uysTdY

— Vancouver Stealth (@StealthLAX) January 18, 2018

He’s from Toronto so family members drove to watch him play, and it was fitting that his first NLL goaltending win in nearly two years came in Buffalo because that’s where his pro experience began. He was selected by the Bandits in the fifth round, 38th overall, in the 2013 entry draft. He was 19. He had played three years of Jr. A box lacrosse in nearby St. Catharines.

“My expectations weren’t too high,” he said. “When they called my name, it was a pretty exciting feeling. I watched the draft. I didn’t go to the draft and, if I could go back in time, I would change that. It was a dream come true.”

A hamstring injury restricted his training camp involvement. The Bandits had Anthony Cosmo and Kurtis Wagar in the nets and put Penney on their injured reserve list.

One year later, during the 2014 draft, Penney was traded to Vancouver along with the now-retired Rory Smith and a second-round 2014 pick in exchange for Nick Weiss and three draft picks including the Stealth’s 2018 first-rounder.

Penney had moved to the West Coast for a final year of junior lacrosse in the Vancouver suburb New Westminster.

“I fell in love with the province,” he said. ”When I got the news that I had been traded to Vancouver, I decided it was a great opportunity to start a life in British Columbia.”

Penney was on the active roster in 2015 as backup to Tyler Richards. He dressed for all 18 games and played 346 minutes in all. He had a 1-4 won-lost record. He again dressed for all 18 games in 2016 when Chris Levis was the other goalie. Penney was in creases for 444 minutes. He had a 2-6 record. For a stretch, he appeared to be taking over the No. 1 spot. On Feb. 6, 2016, he was the winning goalie in Vancouver’s 15-7 home win over Colorado. Little did he know he’d have to wait nearly two years to log another win.

 

“I felt I would remain the starter,” he said in looking back. “I was having consistent practices and I was playing in games but I was young and sometimes it takes a while to develop in the NLL. It was a bit of a learning curve.”

During his summers, he was making a name for himself. He was the Western Lacrosse Association’s most outstanding goalie in 2015, and he helped Burnaby finish first in the regular season in 2017.

“Playing in the WLA gave me a lot of confidence,” Penney said. “You go out there and do the best you can and have fun while you’re doing it.”

The WLA successes did not carry over into the NLL. Penney’s NLL statistical trail went cold in 2017. Tye Belanger was acquired in a trade and was No. 1 last year, with Richards the backup after coming out of retirement. Penney spent the entire season on the practice squad. That’s where he was when the new season began. Belanger played so well last season that he earned the top job this winter. A trade brought in Brodie MacDonald, who was awarded the backup job after training camp, and Penney was back on the practice squad.

“Obviously, it’s not the news you want to hear,” he said. “But, you know, I faced the music and did all I could to keep progressing so I could be on the active roster. I was behind Tyler Richards and Tye Belanger so I knew I was the third goalie. My job was to be there for my teammates and help them any way I could whether it be acting as an opposition goalie in practices or staying late taking shots.”

Then Belanger got hurt and Penney was activated for the trip to Buffalo.

“I tried not to get too excited. A big thing with me is not to be too high or too low. I was trying to keep an even keel. I had teammates asking me ‘How’s it going to be for you, getting the start?’ I would say, ‘It’s just another game. Let’s go out and do it.’”

Buffalo scored early and led 3-0 after one quarter.

“It’s a cliché, but lacrosse is a game of runs. They went on a three-goal run then our defense came up with stops and Cory Small started scoring some goals and we got right back into it.”

Penney allowed only three goals in the second half and Vancouver won in overtime. He had risen to the occasion.

“Some nights you’re seeing the ball well,” he said. “Credit has to go to the defensive adjustments we made.”

And afterwards, in an arena concourse, family members congratulated him.

“Having not seen them since Christmas, it was really nice," he said. "I drove back to Toronto with them, stayed the night, and had breakfast in the morning. It was nice to recharge the batteries that way.”

Through it all, Penney has worked as an instructor with kids involved in the Stealth Lacrosse Academy.

He has been playing lacrosse as long as he can remember.

“From the age of three maybe. Mimico Mountaineers.”

Why be a goalie?

“One day they asked for a volunteer. I put my hand up.”

Vancouver is at Colorado on Friday and at home against Georgia on Saturday, and Penney’s hand is up.

“If we continue to play the way we played defense in Buffalo, if we play that way, we’re going to be successful,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it, whether it’s me or Brodie or Tye when he’s ready to play again getting the start. I’ll be prepared. I’ll treat every game as if I’m starting.”

On attitude alone, Eric Penney deserves another chance.

“Nobody wants to be put on the shelf as the third stringer,” he said. “I kept persevering. It paid off in the end. I’ve just got to keep being consistent now.”

“Eric has been a total team guy since we acquired him,” said GM Doug Locker. “He does whatever he can to help the team. While I’m sure he didn’t agree with us putting him on the practice roster at the start of the year, he waited for his opportunity and when he got it he made the most of it. I couldn’t be happier for him.”