NLL
NLL Champion’s Cup Defense for Rush Begins in Buffalo
Editor’s Note: Thanks to the help of the innovative team at SISU Guard, the Official Mouthguard of the NLL, we’ve beefed up our National Lacrosse League coverage! We hope you enjoy our look at the 2016 NLL Champion’s Cup Playoffs through a new lens with the aid of our partner SISU, continuing with the Buffalo Bandits and the Saskatchewan Rush.
148 days after the opening night of the 2016 season, we kick off night number one of the NLL Champion’s Cup Finals, featuring the two teams that have remained at the top of each of their divisions, all season long. The three game series starts in Buffalo before moving to Saskatchewan the following weekend. If we aren’t settled by then, we’ll go back to Western New York for the raising of the Cup! I’ve got plenty to say on the topic, so without further ado…
Your NLL Champion’s Cup Super Post:
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NLL Champion’s Cup Finals
Division Finals Recaps
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Champion’s Cup Schedule
TV Schedule
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Get to the clickin’!
Buffalo Bandits vs Saskatchewan Rush
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History
- 2015 Champion: Saskatchewan Rush
- Buffalo Cups: 4 – 2002, 1996, 1993, 1992
- Rush Cups: 1 – 2015
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Game 1
- Time: Saturday, May 28th, 2016 – 7:30 p.m
- Location: First Niagara Center – Buffalo, New York
- Watch: NLLtv.com
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It shouldn’t come as much of a shock that we have the two #1 teams from each division squaring off for the 2016 NLL Champion’s Cup. After a pair of clean sweeps in the Division finales, the Finals are set, pairing the #1 seed from the East against the #1 seed from the West. Both teams finished the regular season with league-high 13-5 records, the decision of the overall top seed came from a 19-18 Rush victory over the Bandits back in February, the only meeting between the two clubs in 2016.
In 2015, the Rush, then in Edmonton, took home the trophy for the first time after taking down the Toronto Rock in back to back games. 18 members of that Champion’s Cup winning Rush roster will be dressed and ready to play on Saturday night when they take the floor for Game 1 in Buffalo. For the Bandits, only four members of the 2008 Championship team will be on the bench for this Cup run. Captain Billy Dee Smith and Mark Steenhuis will do what they do best on the floor, while John Tavares and Rich Kigour will serve as assistant coaches instead of runners this time around.
We will all get treated to the NLL Finals that we deserve, I can almost guarantee it. It all begins at 7:30 p.m. in Buffalo on Saturday, but before we get there, here’s what you should look out for!
Keep an Eye On
Dhane Smith
After getting a bye in the first round, it’s pretty astounding that a guy could rack up 15 points in just two playoff games. Until you remember that just is 2016 Dhane Smith. That’s what he does. His 137 points over 18 games put him just above 7.5 points per game, exactly what he’s averaging now. No matter what the Black Wolves did to contain Smith, he found a way to create just a moment’s separation to get off a shot on cage. They slowed him down from Game 1’s 5 goal performance to a hat trick last weekend, but even when he looked cut-off, he never really was. Just by leading the Bandits to the Champion’s Cup, Smith should get the nod for MVP since Evans couldn’t get it done. The Rush defense is holding teams under 11 points per game on average, if Dhane comes in with 7.5, expect another one of those 30+ goal nights!
Ryan Benesch
Like Dhane, Benny boy has been balling out in the postseason too. Benesch has actually knocked down a single point more than Smith after putting in 6 goals putting together another 10 helpers. He had a hat trick in both nights against New England and put in 4 against the Rush the last time he had the chance. When Smith gets tied up, Benesch is always there to carry the Bandits, but both of them work best as soon as they step on the floor, attacking the cage before the defense can throw the first check. He also has an uncanny way about moving the ball, putting together 4 helpers to 4 different runners in the last win, and 6 assists to 4 separate sticks in Game 1 of the East Finals. Thinking of Ryan Benesch as Dhane Smith sidekick is a low blow, Benny is easily on the NLL’s Top 5 most valuable players list. He will make goals happen, bet money on it if you have to.
Buffalo Transition on Offense
When it comes to straight-up defensemen, Buffalo runs with a league low. They’ve got the towers Steve Priolo and Billy Dee Smith backing things up in front of Anthony Cosmo, allowing the transition group to not only pressure out more on the ball, but to have open reigns when pushing the ball the other way. Recently Alex-Kedoh Hill has been nothing short of spectacular on offense, working for 8 goals and another 3 assists in the playoffs alone. Mitch Jones has also been putting in work, taking home another 2 goals and 3 assists for the transition group with, Kevin Brownell and Nick Weiss have also contributed 4 assists each in the postseason. Hill and Jones will be those sparks that Buffalo needs sporadically throughout the game to keep the scoring trying rolling. If the Rush transition team is up to the task, they could render this key part of the Bandits’ game useless, but we should expect more run and gun lacrosse like the 19-18 meeting earlier in the season.
Facing Off
Yes, yes and more yes! With true face-off specialists going by the wayside constantly in the NLL, it’s awesome to see the two top guys in the league going head to head for the Champion’s Cup. Finishing 2016 on top, Jay Thorimbert completed the season with a .578 success rate on 500 regular season attempts before stepping his game up against the Black Wolves in the playoffs, winning .681 percent of his 66 takes. On the other side, Jeremy Thompson has yet again, been a blessing for the Rush, finishing the regular season with a .569 average on 490 draws, and like Thorimbert, tightening up in the postseason for .625 win percentage on 56 whistles.
They might take the vast majority of their team’s draws, but both Thompson and Thorimbert have contributed much more to their squads this season than quick possessions. Thompson’s efforts on defense have made him a key piece of the Rush backbone while his abilities to move the ball on offense makes him that much more dangerous. It was just last week that Thompson nearly singlehandedly ran off the last-minute of clock, laying his body on the line to close out the game. Thorimbert has also been lights out, punching in the first goal of the game just seconds into last week’s match-up and being consistent on defense, and in transition for the Bandits. Possession time could mean everything in this series, a lot will weigh on the shoulders of two of the most talented draw-men left in professional box lacrosse.
Zack Greer
Luckily for him, Calgary is in the rearview mirror, so he won’t have to worry about taking so many shots to the grill. Zack Greer covers the floor like a man on a mission and takes a beating for it. Jokes aside (but for real, he got hit in the face way too often this season) Greer is playing at the top of his game, putting in 4 goals with 3 helpers in the playoffs alone. That comes after a 70 point season including a 7 goal game against Calgary, an 11 point night against Vancouver, 6 games with a hat trick or better, and a slew over other solid performances. Greer doesn’t have to wait for Matthews to have a bad night to get the green light, but he’s always quick to fill the scoring void for the Rush when necessary. Greer doesn’t wait for opportunities, he creates them.
Mark Matthews
Everyone has had their hands full with Mark Matthews. Sure, even Vancouver has found a way to silence the massive lefty from time to time, but it’s nearly impossible to do it twice and especially when he gets a head full of steam. Matthews has a stellar cast built around him that won’t hesitate to let the ball fly or take a run at the crease, but the big man has the natural ability to take over a game and run the show on any given night. He’s leading his team in playoff points, picking up 2 goals and 3 assists in Game 1 against Calgary and another 2 scores and 5 helpers in the second meeting. Two nights without a hat trick makes it feel like Matthews is only a ticking time bomb waiting to let loose. The true story shows that he’s getting more and more selfless with each season and the coaching staff is making sure the ball is well distributed amongst the offense. His 40 goal season proves he can bury the rock, but those 69 assists is what makes his absolutely lethal. One thing Buffalo has going for them is the size of the defenders matching feet with Matthews, yet the last time he saw Buffalo he racked up 7 helpers with a side of 2 goals.
Jeff Cornwall
Expect to see Cornwall given the task of matching up with Dhane Smith to start the series. His unparalleled hustle and speed couldn’t have gone unnoticed in the West Finals and matched with his ability to lock guys down while still pushing hard transition, Cornwall has been racking up his stats. But finding a way to shine through a defensive group that is so incredibly deep is no small feat. Mostly keeping tabs on Curtis Dickson in the last game, he held the all-star to a solo goal to come away with the win.
Rush Defense
Jeff Cornwall and Jeremy Thompson have not been alone. The entire defensive backline has done a world-class job at protecting Aaron Bold, led by Chris Corbeil collecting 5 points in the postseason, Nik Bilic, Brett Mydske, Kyle Rubisch and Ryan Dilks are all collecting goals, assists and have combined for 15 points, 66 loose balls and 19 forced turnovers in just the two games while allowing less than 10 goals per game. They’re young, fast and don’t take crap off anyone. If one guy at a time can disable Dhane Smith, the rest of the group should match up well one on one with the rest of the Buffalo offense. Yes, the Bandits can score in droves, but don’t forget the Rush led the NLL with the lowest number of goal against at 190, 24 less than Buffalo gave up. The defense also put 17 goals of their own and a combined 52 assists making them straight up scary on both ends of the floor.
Goaltending
It’s hard to get a better matchup in the Champion’s Cup than Aaron Bold versus Anthony Cosmo. Both starters are living legends backed by excellent youngsters, but I doubt the young guns are even going to get a chance. He didn’t put up his typical mind-blowing numbers in the early part of season, but Bold has done more than a passable job this regular season, leading the NLL with the lowest GAA (10.30), yet finished 8th in save percentage posting a .761 average. That said, the super-fit Ironman between the pipes led all NLL goalies in floor time, beating out the closest contender by over 150 minutes. On the other end, Anthony Cosmo finished with a career-high year, earning a 8-2 record with a .783 save average. Cosmo’s stop percentage has dropped a bit to .762, while Bold has tightened up a bit to .796. The last time the two teams met it was a 37 goal, overtime night that all four net-minders saw time in. I’m sure the Cos and Boldy have long pushed that game from the memory banks and will be tuned in for a fresh start on Saturday.
East Final: Bandits vs Black Wolves Game Report
Over 14,000 lacrosse fans packed out the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York on Saturday night to create the monster known as Banditland. Buffalo led the series 1-0 coming back home for Game 2 against New England, after taking down the Black Wolves in Game 1, 15-10. Just a couple of weeks ago, the New England won their first ever playoff game with the Black Wolves name, beating Georgia 14-10 in overtime, and after losing the first meeting to Buffalo, they were forced to pull out every last trick if they were to even the score with the Bandits to force the mini-game. The home team was obviously sitting pretty, up 1-0, and 1 win away from returning to the Champion’s Cup Finals for the first time since winning it all in 2008.
Only 11 seconds had fallen from the clock before all-star face-off man Jay Thorimbert took it upon himself to get the game started, beating Evan Kirk for the game’s first goal. A few minutes later, Dhane Smith found Mark Steenhuis to put the Bandits up by two, but then it would be the Wolves’ turn for a run. After taking the rock from Kirk, Stephen Hoar ran the floor and beat Anthony Cosmo for the first New England goal of the game. Down the road a little, Kevin Buchanan scored on a rip from the point, found wide-open by Shawn Evans, to tie up the score. Less than a minute later, Kevin Crowley stepped around the screen and nailed one down to give the Wolves their first lead. Some pushing and shoving turned into David Brock losing his mind and Mike McNamara ended up in his warpath. A quick skirmish resulted in a 2 minute Instigator minor, a 5 minute Fighting major and a 10 minute Game Misconduct for Brock alone, with a 5 minute Fighting major going to McNamara on the other side. Steenhuis also somehow drew 2 minutes for an Illegal Cross Check on the incident. The powerplay opportunity for New England resulted in the the first goal from Evans to put the Wolves up two. Moments later, Mitch Jones would respond for the Bandits to stop the run, but Evans wouldn’t wait long to get back on the scoreboard, bring the score to 5-3 at the end of the first.
The first tally of the second quarter was struck by Anthony Malcolm, with Steenhuis following close behind after Buffalo went on the powerplay, tying the game at 5. Pat Saunders would get New England back on the board, taking the lead, before a handful of powerplay and shorthanded goals were exchanged. Alex-Kedoh Hill registered the first man-up goal for Buffalo, before Saunders and Crowley would hit a pair of powerplay shots, both assisted by Evans and Jordan Hall, before defenseman Derek Suddons would hammer in a shorthanded shot, putting the Black Wolves up 9-6. Hill would start to turn things around for the Bandits before another powerplay goal would come to Buffalo, this time to Ryan Benesch. Making sure the first half didn’t close without his name in lights, Dhane Smith showed up with slightly under a minute left to retie the game at 9 goals each.
After 5 minutes, Smith picked up another point, hooking up Chad Culp for the first of many leads and ties the 3rd would experience. Back at it again with soft hands, Kevin Buchanan went next for New England before Dhane Smith would match the effort for Buffalo quickly after. Playing a man-down, Kirk made the save and hit Sheldon Burns on the go for another defensive shorthanded goal for the Wolves, matched quickly by a powerplay strike for Buffalo’s Hill, followed immediately by another New England score by Buchanan. Got all that? Here’s more… Taking the game again, Dhane Smith found the net on a shorthanded look, washed out by another Buchanan blast to tie the game at 13. The jockeying back and forth was continued by Malcolm, giving Buffalo a 14-13 lead, and it would stand as the last goal of the third quarter.
Keeping the pattern going, Buffalo scored the first goal of the quarter when Chad Culp hit his second goal, but it would be Kevin Buchanan going to the cage again, keeping the Bandits’ lead at a single goal. But that’s as close as the game would ever be again, Benesch sent in two straight Buffalo points before Buchanan scored his 6th, and final, goal, giving his all to send his team to the Cup. The effort would ultimately be squashed by a final three registers from Culp, Hill and a successful penalty shot from Steenhius after New England was caught with Too Many Men with Kirk still on the floor when the extra-attacker released. The final trio of scores for the home team would be the last goals of the night in Banditland, sending the Bandits on to the Champion’s Cup finals with a 20-15 victory.
Goaltender Evan Kirk would make 41 saves on 61 attempts in his final game defending the irons in 2016. Although it wasn’t his best numbers of the season Anthony Cosmo stood tall in Game 2 for 35 saves on 50 attempts, helping lead the Bandits into the Champion’s Cup Finals. Jay Thorimbert showed up huge against for Buffalo, winning 24 of his 38 face-off attempts, even burying a goal on the game’s first possession. Not long following the game, we would learn the Black Wolves would earn honors from Inside Lacrosse for Glenn Clark as the Coach of the Year and Rich Lisk for the GM of the Year, something they can proudly build on looking at 2017.
West Final: Rush vs Roughnecks Game Report
A record was set in Saskatoon on Saturday night as 15,192 rowdy Rush fans packed into the SaskTel Centre, making the most bodies to ever pack into the building, beating out the 2010 World Junior Hockey Championships when USA played Canada for back to back games. The Rush entered the game confident after taking down the Roughnecks in Game 1, 16-10, they need just one more win to make it on to the NLL Finals for the second-straight season to defend the Champion’s Cup. Losing in the Finals in 2014 and having not won it all since 2009, Calgary had what turned out to be an unbeatable battle ahead of them in an effort to even thing up.
Four minutes into the game Robert Church buried the first Rush goal on the powerplay and from there the Rush would never trail. Even from the early minutes of the game, Aaron Bold was on-point between the irons, making some huge stops for Saskatchewan all night long. He was flawless for nearly 12 minutes until Calgary finally found a way to get the ball in the goal after a handful of quality attempts. Hungry to add a NLL Championship to his resume, Tyler Digby would set the pick for Wes Berg, roll to space, catch and bury for his first point of the night. The Rush had the opportunity to take the lead on a penalty shot from Zack Greer after the Roughnecks covered the ball in the crease, but Mike Poulin filled his five hole, staying with Greer on the fakes to close the quarter out tied at ones.
After a minute fell off the clock in the second, Greer was able to come up successful, fighting through traffic to get the go-ahead shot off. Less than 30 seconds later, Mark Matthews came streaking off the boards, met by a timely John LaFontaine pass for time and room to put the Rush up by two. Putting the Riggers back on the board, Berg worked to put the ball into the net this time, ripping a laser with room to the top corner. A Checking from Behind penalty on Greg Harnett would result in Church’s second goal for the Rush and once Church would pick up his first 2 minute call for Slashing, Dane Dobbie Would step up and nail one down on the second Calgary powerplay attempt. A late second quarter score from Ben McIntosh, helped significantly by Church, would put the lead back to two goals heading into the halftime break with Saskatchewan ahead, 5-3.
Both teams got their looks, but the high-tempo Rush transition team would find success when LaFontaine finished the one-timer from Matthews on the run to open up the half. Jeff Cornwall knocked down a Curtis Dickson shot out of the air and legged it down the floor and me a streaking McIntosh to extend the lead to 4 goals. After a shot, Greg Harnett would come up with the loose ball and throw a long prayer to Peter McFetridge, who bobbled the handle, locked it down, tripped and buried the shot from his knees for his 2nd goal of 2016, getting Calgary back on the board. A few minutes later Adrian Sorichetti flew across the floor to get a good look off on Poulin for the 8th Saskatchewan goal. With 2 minutes left in the third quarter, Superman Dickson finally put the ball into the back of the net for the first time after relentless pressure by Cornwall and the Rush defense.
Heading into the final frame down 5-8, Digby pulled up just 2 minutes into the quarter and ripped a shot through a screen from what seemed like a mile away. The lucky effort was met by Greer, floating in on the doorstep for a one on one with Poulin after a perfect feed from Jarrett Davis. Seconds later Matthews flew down the floor for his second goal, coming during the replay for Davis. The two quick tallies momentarily pulled Poulin from the net for Frankie Scigliano only to come back on the floor seconds later, a common practice for the Calgary bench. From there neither squad could get anything off until Greer drove through to the middle and picked the far corner while taking a blow from Dobbie to the face. Over the final six minutes Poulin threw up a few solid pointblank saves until Greer came back for his fourth and fifth goals, putting Saskatchewan up by six. A late slip-up by Bold got him caught behind the net on a loose ball a Reilly O’Connor to Dobbie one-time started the rally to chip away at the deficit. Coming up strong for the Riggers, Digby ripped two consecutive scorers on the late extra-man situations to bring the game within three scores in the waning minutes.
The following draw created a must-win scenario for face-off man Tyler Burton, but the win came quickly to Jeremy Thompson, who was bulldozed by three Roughnecks but was able to tie up the ball long enough to kill off substantial clock before eventually turning it over. On the following play, a missed connection for Calgary resulted in Thompson running down another loose ball, keeping it in corner and warding off attacks by Poulin to drew a late Illegal Cross Check foul from Greg Harnett. The home crowd gave the standing ovation for Thompson for grinding his heart out in the final minute. His selfless efforts killed off the few remaining seconds to earn the chance to win the Cup for back to back seasons.
East Division Semifinal – Best of 1
Georgia Swarm (8-10) at New England Black Wolves (10-8)
When: 5/6/16 – 7 pm ET
Where: Mohegan Sun Arena – Uncasville, Connecticut
Result: Black Wolves win, 14-13 in OT
East Division Finals – Best of 3
Game 1
Buffalo Bandits (13-5) at New England Black Wolves (10-8)
When: 5/16/16 – 7 pm ET
Where: Mohegan Sun Arena – Uncasville, Connecticut
Result: Bandits win, 15-10
Game 2
New England Black Wolves (10-8) at Buffalo Bandits (13-5)
5/21/16 – 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: First Niagara Center – Buffalo, New York
Result: Bandits win, 20-15
West Division Semifinal – Best of 1
Calgary Roughnecks (7-11) at Colorado Mammoth (12-6)
When: 5/7/16 – 9 pm ET
Where: Pepsi Center – Denver, Colorado
Result: Roughnecks win, 11-10 in OT
West Division Finals – Best of 3
Game 1
Saskatchewan Rush (13-5) at Calgary Roughnecks (7-11)
When: 5/14/16 – 9:00 pm ET
Where: Scotiabank Saddledome – Calgary, Alberta
Result: Rush win, 16-10
Game 2
Calgary Roughnecks (7-11) at Saskatchewan Rush (13-5)
When: 5/21 – 9:30 pm ET
Where: SaskTel Centre – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Result: Rush win, 12-9
Champion’s Cup Finals – Best of 3
Game 1
Saskatchewan Rush at Buffalo Bandits
When: 5/28 – 7:30 pm ET
Where: First Niagara Center – Buffalo, New York
Game 2
Buffalo Bandits at Saskatchewan Rush
When: 6/4 – 9:30 pm ET
Where: SaskTel Centre – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Game 3 (if necessary)
Saskatchewan Rush at Buffalo Bandits
When: 6/11 – 7:30 pm ET
Where: First Niagara Center – Buffalo, New York