Down goes Chesapeake! The Bayhawks had not lost in the MLL since September 7th and it was the star-studded Outlaws earning the notch in overtime.
That’s not all that happened.
The Connecticut Hammerheads scrounged up their first win in franchise history with a gritty takedown of New York. Speaking of New York, you don’ want to speak about New York. We still have to anyway.
Before that, take a look at where the MLL stands.
If you’re not dialed in to ESPN+, it’s still not too late to get in on this. For one day alone the $5.99 is worth is.
MLL Standings after Day 5
|
Team |
W |
L |
PF |
PA |
|
Denver+ |
4 |
0 |
58 |
39 |
|
Chesapeake* |
3 |
1 |
61 |
50 |
|
Boston |
2 |
1 |
41 |
39 |
|
Connecticut |
1 |
2 |
26 |
40 |
|
Philadelphia |
1 |
3 |
45 |
53 |
|
New York |
0 |
4 |
36 |
58 |
+Clinched #1 Seed
*Clinched Playoff Spot
Playoff Scenarios
The top four teams make the playoffs. Standard 1 vs 4, 2 vs 3 format as a semifinal.
Denver
Clinched No. 1 seed.
Chesapeake
Will finish no worse than third. Can clinch No. 2 seed with a Boston win over Connecticut on Thursday, or their own win over Connecticut on Friday.
Boston
Boston can clinch at least third with a win over Connecticut. The Cannons are guaranteed a playoff spot if New York beats Philadelphia. If neither of those happen, they need to beat Denver on Friday. If all else fails, winning a crazy points tiebreaker with Philly and Connecticut isn’t impossible.
Philadelphia
The Barrage have some options. No solo scenario keeps them or eliminates them.
Option 1: Beat New York, Boston beats Connecticut. No. 4 Seed.
Option 2: Lose to New York by less than 3, AND have Boston and Chesapeake beat Connecticut. No. 4 Seed.
Option 3: Beat New York, AND Connecticut beats both Boston and Chesapeake, AND Denver beats Boston. No. 4 Seed.
Option 4: Beat New York, AND Connecticut beats Boston, AND Chesapeake beats Connecticut, AND Denver beats Boston. No. 3 Seed.
Option 5: Beat New York, AND Connecticut beats Boston, AND Chesapeake beats Connecticut, AND Boston beats Denver. No. 3 seed if Connecticut wins by 3 or less. Eliminated if Connecticut wins by 4 or more.
Connecticut
The Hammerheads are by far the most complicated. Buckle up.
Option 1: Eliminated with a Philadelphia win AND they lose to Boston
Option 2: New York win, beat Boston, lose to Chesapeake, Denver win over Boston. No. 3 seed.
Option 3: New York win, AND lose to Boston, AND beat Chesapeake, AND Boston beats Denver. No. 4 seed.
Option 4: Philadelphia win, AND beat Boston, AND lose to Chesapeake, AND Denver beats Boston. No. 4 seed.
Option 5: Beat both Boston AND Chesapeake: No. 2 seed.
Option 6: New York win, AND lose to Boston, AND beat Chesapeake, AND Denver beats Boston. No. 4 seed.
Option 7: New York win, AND beat Boston, AND lose to Chesapeake, and Boston beats Denver. No. 3 seed.
Options 8 & 9: Philadelphia wins AND beat Boston, AND lose to Chesapeake, AND Boston beats Denver. Beat Boston by 7, No. 3 seed. 6 or less, No. 4 seed.
Option 10: New York win,AND lose to Boston, AND lose to Chesapeake. Eliminated, No. 4 seed goes to Philly or New York depending on points.
New York
Need Denver to lose twice AND they need to beat Philly by 3.
Big Stat Guys
- Sean O’Brien (NY) 3G, 2A
- Jack Carrigan (NY) 4GB, 2CT
- Ben Randall (NY) 5GB, 4CT
- Mark Ellis (NY) 2GB, 2CT
- Bradley Voigt (CT) 4G, 3GB, 1CT
- Greg Weyl (CT) 4GB, 4CT
- Sean Sconone (CT) 8GB, 1CT
- Greg Danseglio (CHE) 1GB, 4CT
- Holden Garlent (CHE) 3GB, 2CT
- Ryan Lee (DEN) 5G, 6GB
- Chris Aslanian (DEN) 2G, 2A, 1GB, 1CT
- Max Adler (DEN) 22/25FO, 13GB
- Kyle Pless (DEN) 3GB, 2CT
Connecticut Hammerheads 12, New York Lizards 11
Connecticut gets its first win! As a newly relocated franchise this year, this was a big moment for the Hammerheads and it was a just as terrible one for the Lizards. This New York team really seemed like that had figured themselves out and were starting to come together. No it’s crystal clear that the rebuild is still ongoing.
This is the game for Connecticut to look at for when their attack finally turned the corner. Easily the most productive game for their starting trio, the increased production led to a game where they scored more than eight for the first time. That happened to be just what they needed.
Bubba Voigt, of course, led the way with his four goals, which is expected for the team’s designated finisher. But Will Sands going 2-2 for four points was also a more than welcome surprise. The best thing for the Hammerheads was Michael Kraus finally emerging with his two goals, assist, and five ground balls. For a player with his expectations, that’s the kind of game he should be turning in each time. So to have that happen in a win is encouraging.
The Lizards on the other hand, have plenty of work to do. They were half a breath from knocking off the No. 1 team in the league last night with Denver. So to turn around and drop this game to Connecticut is just devastating.
New York is still repeatedly showing promise of a team that is trying to reinvent itself by the game, but days like this make it appear like way too much of a work in progress. They have yet to have all their pieces come together at once, which is why the losses are piling up. Nicky Galasso, Dylan Molloy, and Colin Burke all getting zero points is not something this team can ever afford.
Denver Outlaws 13, Chesapeake Bayhawks 12 OT
No doubt, this game lived up to the billing.
The 2019 Championship rematch resulted in the week’s first overtime game as well. What’s even better is that this game wasn’t just a runaway with one team dominating and the other needing to stage a comeback. In total, there were seven ties and six lead changes. At no point did either team feel comfortable, as those leads changes were happening in spurts. At any moment, the other team could just start scoring.
The two players who really stole the show were Ryan Lee and Lyle Thompson, battling on opposite ends of the field. Ryan Lee is just on a different level this week, notching five goals in this one. He’s also not even close to a one trick pony, either. Whether it be dodging, catch and finish inside, or shoot from the outside, he’s a threat with and without the ball. The same can obviously be said for Lyle, as he is a walking highlight waiting to happen. He seems to just keep scoring impossibly difficult goals in ways that look overly simple. What really made this game fun was overtime, which turned into a back and forth battle.
In what wasn’t a shock at all, Max Adler won the opening face-off for the Outlaws, and the quick timeout ensued. The Outlaws employed a bit of trickery as they started with Miles Silva on the field, subbing him off for Daniel Bucaro, trying to exploit a matchup. So it quickly became a question of how Bucaro or Lee would get their look. It wound up being Jack Jasinksi cutting through the middle for a shot the Brian Phipps easily was able to save with a minimal rebound and start it going the other way.
Opting for a quick strike, Shane Simpson swept across the top, which Christian Knight was able to easily save and turn into an immediate outlet. That outlet was to Andrew Newbold, who took a two point shot, going wide. The inbound turned into trying to find Ryan Lee for a step-down shot, but a bad pass made it Bayhawks ball. With their opportunity, they did almost the same thing with Brendan Bomberry behind and the catch not happening up high, giving the ball back to Denver.
With the stress mounting in a true back-and-forth overtime period, it was finally closed out quickly by the Outlaws. A slow alley dodge by Mikie Schlosser created an opening for Brian Kormondy to cut in hard from the sub box, get a look right down the middle and bury it to the low off-stick side of Phipps.
Game: Outlaws.
Thursday’s Games
[lasso rel=”espn” id=”210268″ link_id=”57612″ ref=”espn”]
It’s pretty clear by reading the playoff scenarios that these games really matter. New York is hanging on by the thinnest of threads and a primed to finished last in the league for a second straight year.
The Hammerheads are going to be feeling good coming off of their first win and will have the first Battle For New England with the Cannons. The Barrage on the other hand are still trying to find an identity, but show so much promise. A loss tomorrow would be devastating.
MLL Gallery – Day 5
