MLL This Week: Scores, NLL Returns + Preview #3

Week 3 of the MLL season is done and now we move ahead to a loaded Week 4. More players are joining rosters and we are getting a better idea of where there may be some concerns around the league. So let’s take a look at last week’s game, some news from the week, and a short peek into this weekend’s games.

Rochester 12, Ohio 11 OT

This game was Ohio’s home opener in their new lacrosse-specific Obetz Fortress Field. And fans were treated to a beauty of a game. Early on, it was really all Rattlers, but once Ohio started getting on the board, it turned into a back and forth for the rest of the night. In what seemed like the game winner, Mark Cockerton scored on an extra man with almost a minute left. Rochester was able to force a late turnover, get a time out, and let Jordan Wolf do his thing with eleven seconds left to bring things into overtime. Once they were into the extra period, things were very hectic and there were plenty of controlled, and out of control possessions each way. Ultimately it was a goal from Ty Thompson cutting down the middle to win it for the Rattlers.

For Ohio, I have been impressed by Patrick Kelly early on. Needing to fill a massive production void left by not having Tom Schreiber or Kyle Harrison to start the season, Kelly has really stepped up and had five points for the Machine. Scotty Rodgers did not have they type of game we were used to seeing from him in 2016, only grabbing seven saves.

Rochester is moving the ball much better and they looked significantly better with Galloway back in the cage. The bad news for the Rattlers did not come out until the middle of the week. LSN broke the news about Jordan Wolf suffering a broken hand in this game. This is disturbing for two reasons. One is that it just hurts the Rattlers offense since it really does revolve around Wolf. The second, and bigger thing is that Wolf now joins Atlanta’s Kevin Rice as another star attackman who has had their hand broken by Ohio this season. They might just be freak occurrences, and it is not a pattern yet, but it is still not a good development.

Chesapeake 19, Boston 18

The Cannons had their home opener by hosting the Bayhawks in the highest scoring game of the season. They scored just two more points than the previously highest scoring game, Boston’s season debut against Florida.  The season is still young, but both of these teams are looking a little more porous than they should be. Fortunately, their offense has been able to keep up.

Chesapeake rode the play of Myles Jones to the win on this one. Enter his second MLL season, this was the type of game that everyone hoped he would have in the league. Five goals, one two pointer, and four assists. Equally impressive was actually Garrett Thul, who despite not being the most regular pro player as of late chipped in a nice little sock trick. 12 points from two players who physically create nightmare matchups problems for every team in the league can generally be considered a good night.

For Boston, their attack line got back on track and really contributed to this game. They do need points coming from Will Manny and company to be successful. They are at their best when they have that balanced scoring from up top and behind. If their defense tightens up like the are more capable of doing, the Cannons are going to be a very dangerous team.

Charlotte 7, Denver 11

Denver hosted their first game of the year by having Charlotte come into town. The scoring took a little bit to get going, and eventually the first quarter saw some quick goals for each time pile up. Unfortunately, the goals stopped coming and eventually led to just a two goal fourth quarter for the lowest scoring game of the year.

This loss hurts Charlotte the most. The have nearly their entire roster and were poised to jump out on the league early. As one coached phrased it, the goal right now for everyone is to reach 2-2 over this start of the season. Charlotte will not be doing that and is sitting at 0-3, the only winless team.

Denver on the other hand is feeling pretty great. They are still looking for more NLL players to join, but are sitting at 3-0, their returning rookies are playing great, and they are only going to get better. The defending champs are in a great spot at this point in the season.

NLL Players Coming Back

The first NLL playoff round has finished, ending the season for both New England and Vancouver. Neither team is loaded with MLL players, but there are a few that are now available for their team.

Again, a disclaimer: just because they CAN play, does not mean they will right away. There are a variety of reasons why players do not make the jump right away in the first week, so don’t read too much into one of these players no suiting up this weekend.

Outlaws: Chris O’Dougherty

OD was a consistent contributor to the Outlaws for the past several years, but never joined them for a single game in 2016. They have his rights, so we’ll see if he sees the field at all.

Hounds: Kevin Crowley

Crowley finished the NLL season healthy and was a steady contributor for the Hounds a season ago. I would expect to see him in the lineup sooner rather than later. Especially since they are at the bottom of the league right now.

Cannons: Kevin Buchanan

Buchanan will play for the Cannons, and soon. There’s not much more to say there.

Bayhawks: Shawn Evans

Evans did have an injury this season, but was able to finish the year after only missing a small amount of time. While he is one of the best players in the world indoors, he has never played in the MLL. He’s also a player who is used to orchestrating the offense and needs the ball in his stick to do that. It will be interesting to see what he does when he joins.

This Week – #4

After just three games last week, this week is LOADED. We have our first midweek game of the season, when Charlotte goes to Rochester on Thursday night. The Hounds are still searching for their first win while Rochester is slowly getting their full roster worked in. Saturday then has four games on tap, all at the same time. New York goes to visit Atlanta, Rochester is off to Boston, Chesapeake to Charlotte, and Denver to Florida.

The Rochester and Charlotte games are interesting to see how they respond to the quick turnaround from an earlier game. The gut reaction is the more tired team is set to lose game number two. But, sometimes, just sometimes, having that other game first makes them just a little bit fresher than their rested opponent. Charlotte really needs that first win and Rochester is dealing with no Jordan Wolf right now.

Denver going down to Florida with their undefeated record is not a great setup for the Launch. Florida did have a bye week, so hopefully they are able to get things back on track. Atlanta is another team not facing a great situation. Their recent win over Boston was good, but now they have to deal with an angry New York squad who was routed by Denver their last time out.