120hp L-drive stator orientation?

[fishin1789]

I have a 120hp L-drive that I thought had a bad stator. Once I removed the flywheel I discovered that the stator was not orientated as it was designed. This is the red encapsulated stator. On the top of the stator there is a sticker that reads, " On 70-120hp Mercury and Force engines install the stator so that this arrow points aft." (Along with other hp and arrows for each) On my engine the arrow was pointing to the front, not the rear of the engine. Remember that on the L-drives the engine sits sideways in the boat. The issue was that this boat would only run at 2000-2200 rpm at WOT. Could the stator being installed wrong cause this condition?