The battered Cranbrook Elite lacrosse squad went into this weekend as short-staffed as a team could be, and looking for their first win in five tries.

The Elite dropped the Saturday night game 11-8 to the Lethbridge Barracudas, but the victory finally came on Sunday against the Calgary Wranglers, with an 11-0 shutout. Both games took place at the Cranbrook Rec Plex.

"It was big win on a whole bunch of fronts," said Elite coach Ron Miles. "We're missing over half our roster - there are some key players we're missing. And then to come out 11-0 was rewarding.

"We did it by moving the ball, finally, and our defence was good and our goaltending was outstanding."

Being down as many players as the Elite were actually helped them play a deliberate, focused game.

"One of the things we've been talking about was that we've been forcing the play, and we've been giving the ball away too much because of trying to move the ball too quickly up the floor, rather than using the full 30-second clock," Miles said. "We talked about it before the game and I said 'look, you guys, you've got two lines. You better slow it down. If you don't you're going to be dead, and you don't stand a chance.'

"So when they slowed it down, they start playing the ball better and smarter, and in the end that was the difference."

The win showed the Elite were finally moving into mid-season form, Miles said. "It's taken us a little longer, just like it did last year."

The Elite got scoring from Dylan Prasad (3), Nick Dean (2), Mike Miles (2), Mackenzie Miles, Rob Murray, Mike Nelson and Eric Termuende.

Mike Miles had only just gotten off crutches on Wednesday, but entered Sunday's fray even so.

"He saw the game (Saturday), and said 'to heck with it, I'm going to try taping it up and see it I can start early," Ron Miles said.

Saturday night at the Rec Plex, the Elite started rounding into form as the game went on, but ended up three goals short in the 11-8 final against Lethbridge.

"It ended up close," Miles said. "We fell behind by quite a bit, and clawed back in the third. We at least won the third period. But we were still giving a little too much on the defensive side of the ball."

Saturday's scoring came from Keiffer Hollister (3), Dakota Hollister, Nik Dean, Rob Murray Brody Liddle and Casey Haneymeyer

The injury situation is still a factor for the Elite, though Miles said some of the players are just starting to come back from their hurts. Others remain out. D-man Bryden Laflin is suffering from a hip problem, Miles said. "We're just not sure - he's probably going to be out for a bit."

It wasn't just the injuries affecting the roster.

"We've got a few players that were away this weekend," Miles said. "One was playing over the weekend for the B.C. Select Field Lacrosse team. Another is putting in some time to qualify for the B.C. Interior team. He played (Saturday night), and had to leave at 4 a.m. to get to his game in Penticton, because he's actually carded with that team."

While some of the Elite were leaving early to make games elsewhere, goaltender Joel Fruncillo was playing in Vernon Saturday night. Miles said Fruncillo had to leave at 6 a.m. to make Sunday's game at the Rec Plex. Happily for the Elite, the scheduled start time for Sunday's game was moved up to 3 p.m. instead of 2.

"Good thing - if we had started at 2 we wouldn't have had a goalie. He literally came in, had a shower, put on his gear and went out and played a stand-out game."

Next up for the Elite is a series of road games, starting in Lethbridge next weekend, in a rematch with the Barracudas.