Grow the Game®

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin
Share on reddit
Share on whatsapp

NLL Report: Week 5 Will Separate the Pack

Week 4 was interesting for a variety of reasons, first we had the Battle of Alberta part 1, where both teams entered the game winless, we saw New England drop their first L of the season and the Rock play back-to-back nights.

There are 5 games slated for Week 5, so get your streaming capable devices ready, you’ve got some lacrosse to watch! Colorado is a alone in first place and Calgary sits by themselves in the last spot, this week we will get a better picture of who is going to struggle to hit .500 come the mid-season break.

[mks_separator style=”solid” height=”4″]

Videos




Week 5

Friday January 30th, 2015

Minnesota at Buffalo – 7:30 – (NLL Live, TSN GO)

New England at Edmonton – 9:30 – (NLL Live, TSN GO)

Saturday January 31st, 2015

Calgary at Toronto – 7:00 – (ESPN 3, TSN GO)

Buffalo at Rochester – 7:30 – (NLL Live, TSN GO)

Colorado at Vancouver – 10:00 –  (UniversalSports.com, TSN GO)

Oops! We could not locate your form.

Week 4 Recap

Rock Cut Down Bandits in ACC Opener

The Toronto Rock moved to 3-0 with a strong 13-11 win over the Bandits on their home floor. The game kicked off honoring the late Terry Sanderson as the pleyrs jerseys and helmets were adorned with a T and the players formed a giant T on the floor as they watched a reel of memories with Terry on the big screen. It was “Guaranteed Win Night” in Toronto and the home team delivered.

Brodie Merrill kicked off the scoring in his first game home game in a Rock uniform followed by Stephen Leblanc and Rob Hellyer in the first. They were met by Mark Steenhuis twice and Ryan Benesch to finalize the 1st quarter, 3-3.

Steenhuis capped off his hat trick in the second, as did Ryan Benesch. Jay Thorimbert also added to the Bandits tally count as Kasey Beirnes and Brett Hickey both found a goal to keep the Toronto crowd into it. Both teams collected 6 minutes of penalty time in the second period as both team’s big men were collecting roughing and slashing calls left and right.

The third quarter rounded out at 9-9 as Brett Hickey and Kevin Ross each got on the board while, Hellyer and Beirnes kept adding to the Rock total. Dhane Smith and Chad Culp were able to keep the Bandits alive, but we didn’t get the show out of big Dhane as we did last weekend.

Ryan Benesch was the only two goals that Buffalo saw in the final quarter of action as Merrill, Leblanc, Hickey and Beirnes all secured one more goal each to close out the victory.

Benesch (5,1) and Steenhuis (3-4) were putting in all of the work for the Bandits as the team continues to fluctuate. They are going to need to keep Billy Dee Smith and Steve Priolo banging up guys on the floor and out of the box to stay moving forward. Anthony Cosmo made 41 saves in the game, proving that everyone else on the roster needs to step it up. Buffalo spend 26 more minutes in the box than Toronto, that is absolutely unacceptable.

It’s worth noting that although Josh Sanderson didn’t find a goal all night, he collected 6 assists in the big win for Toronto. What’s more impressive than that is Leblanc’s abilty to net 2 goals while securing 7 assists of his own. Let’s expect Toronto to keep momentum up as they host the one win Roughnecks this weekend in the ACC.

Full Recap

Swarm Bring Black Wolves Back To Earth

Minnesota Swarm vs New England Black Wolves NLL Photo Credit: Khoi Ton
Photo Credit: Khoi Ton

After two successful home wins in as many games in the Mohegan Sun, the Black Wolves were finally knocked down a peg as the Minnesota Swarm came into Connecticut at .500 and left 2-1.

Miles Thompson continues to be the clear leader for Rookie of the Year and is the spark that the Minnesota offense was looking for. Could the Swarm have back-to-back ROTY honors? It looks highly plausible!

The Swarm essentially held a comfortable lead all game and found goals in 10 different players. Production came from all over the floor and Dean Hill got the scoring started for Minnesota early. Shayne Jackson also netted 2 goals while Thompson, Callum Crawford and Jordan Houtby all found one each in the first quarter.

The Black Wolves came out swinging in the second quarter in front of the home crowd with 2 big goals right away from Kevin Buchanon followed by one from Kyle Buchanon, Kevin Crowley and Pat Saunders. Jordan MacIntosh and Andrew Suitor each secured a goal before Shayne Jackson finalized his hat trick before dishing the assist to Miles for his second of the game. The Swarm groomed the 10-8 lead going into the half and would hold onto it for the final 30 minutes.

Minnesota Swarm vs New England Black Wolves NLL Photo Credit: Khoi Ton
Photo Credit: Khoi Ton

Logan Schuss got his named called to begin the second half before Shayne Jackson could net his 4th. They were met by 1 goal each from the Kevins, Crowley and Buchanon before Crawford and Alex Crepinsek both added to the growing Swarm lead.

Jamie Lincoln got on the board twice and Saunders capped off the lack of scoring from the Wolves while MacIntosh (twice), Crawford, Crepinsek kept increasing their stats while Corbin Tao was also able to put in his first goal of the night closing out the 19-13 Swarm win in New England! Zach Higgins played the entire span for the Swarm, going 41 of 54 saves in the game. Minnesota is going to need to keep Higgins on point to keep the team climbing in the win column.

Evan Kirk showed weakness for the first time this season and was quickly relieved by Tye Belanger in the second half.

Both teams spend less than 10 minutes in the penalty box and focused on a clean and exciting game for the fans. Minnesota will want to keep those numbers down as they face Buffalo, who spent over half of last week’s game man-down.

I’m done adding the 3 Stars of the Game since the media refuses to give credit where it’s due. If the top 2 stars are going to be from the losing side and a guy with a win, 4 goals and 3 assists doesn’t make the list, then it’s obviously for the birds.

Full Recap

Knighthawks Handle Rock For 1st Win

Rochester Knighthawks vs Toronto Rock NLL 2015

It’s always weird to see the defending league champs struggle to get the engines going and without Powless, that’s the story right now in Rochester. They hosted the Rock one night after a strong showing for Toronto against the Bandits and they likely caught the good side of the Rock’s fatigue.

This was the second meeting for the two teams, last time the Rock squeaked out on top by 1 goal, this time it was the Knighthawks leading the defensive tug-o-war into a 8-6 win in the Blue Cross Arena.

The first quarter saw more penalties than goals as Toronto’s Brett Hickey and Paul Dawson for the Hawks were the only tallies of the first stretch. The second quarter only saw one penalty, but again only two goals, this time from Kevin Ross for the Rock and Cory Vitarelli for Rochester leaving the score at a 2-2 lock at the half.

Rochester Knighthawks vs Toronto Rock NLL 2015

Vitarelli hit another one in the third followed by teammate Joel Matthews which was answered by another Ross goal and Jesse Gamble‘s only score of the game. The third quarter featured two goals from each time but the score remained tied heading into the final quarter of play.

The fourth quarter started of with an exchange between Brock Sorenson for the Rock, Dylan Evans for the Hawks and back to Stephen Leblanc before Dan Dawson, playing in his 200th consecutive game, added one more for Rochester which was capped off with Cody Jamieson adding two nails to the coffin, securing the first win of the Knighthawks season, 8-6.

The weekend was split by Nick Rose and Brandon Miller, Rose secured the first win over Buffalo while Miller struggled to hold on against the Knighthawks on Saturday. This was asking a lot consider Miller only let in 8 goals and his own offense miserably only netted 6 total in the loss.

Matt Vinc is already in midseason form, only letting in 6 goals on 53 Rock attempts. They can’t afford to lose Vinc, or the defense will start to fold and the 4-peat dreams will vanish.

Rochester hosts Buffalo on Saturday, right after the Bandits host Minnesota on Friday. It’s going to be tough for Rochester not to come out with another win this weekend, but you can’t count your eggs before they’re in the basket.

Full Recap

Mammoth Trample the Stealth in Big Home Win

Colorado Mammoth NLL

Other than the huge 11 goal run to kick off the season, the Stealth are continuing to struggle all over the floor. The defense has been dealing with injury while the offense struggles to produce. This was evident again as the Stealth dropped one in the packed out Pepsi Center to Colorado, 20-9.

The first quarter was the sloppiest for the Mammoth as the period ended tied at 3 a piece. Big man Tyler Digby got the show started for the Stealth along with 2 from Cory Small which were answered by Colorado goals from Jackson Decker, Adam Jones and Sean Pollock.

The second quarter began and ended with Stealth goals from Joel McCready, which were there only 2 of the period. Drew Westervelt, Alex Turner (twice), John Grant Jr., Pollock and Jones all found goals in the Stealth sandwich giving the Mammoth a 9-5 lead going into the half that would never be overcome.

The third period saw a whole lot more scoring from Colorado, Bob Snider, Eli McLaughlin, Cam Holding each got a goal on top of Westervelt, Jones and Grant all adding their second goals of the game. Lewis Ratcliff was able to slip in the only Vancouver goal of the third quarter which kept the Stealth trailing 15-6.

Colorado Mammoth NLL

In the 4th, Vancouver was able to produce another 3 goal quarter which wasn’t enough for the scoring power that Colorado brings to the league. Digby and McCready got on the board again to be capped off by Rhys Duch‘s only goal of the night. This was all over shadowed by Westervelt, McLaughlin and Jones adding in their final goals and Alex Turner securing his 3rd and 4th goals of the game. Adam Jones was the clear leader in the victory, earning 10 points from 4 goals and 6 assists!

As the only undefeated team in the NLL, Colorado needs to keep the diversity of scorers alive as 9 different guys added to the effort on Saturday. That said, anyone on their offense seems to be good for 4+ goals on any given night, so I expect Junior, Westervelt and the rookie McLaughlin to have a coming out party sometime soon.

Tyler Richards was forced out of the net after 42 minutes, which leaves a lot to be desired from the veteran, only to be replaced by Eric Penney who let in a third of his shots. They need Chris O’Dougherty back in the lineup to boost the defense and more production out of an almost silent Johnny Powless if they aren’t going to get trashed again this weekend by Colorado, this time in Vancouver.

Full Recap

Rush Take First Battle Of Alberta With Ease

This game wasn’t too exciting in the first place, with both squads coming in winless and struggling. Someone had to get their first win in the Battle of Alberta Round 1, but I figured the game would have ended quite a bit closer than a 16-9 Rush victory on the road.

Over 12,000 people packed out the Saddledome for Superhero night and stayed rocking until the very end. Superman Curtis Dickson had a hat trick himself in the loss and was left discouraged by his team’s lack of control in the game.

Shawn Evans and Curtis Dickson got the show started for Calgary, but lost the lead early to Mark Matthews, Ben McIntosh and Jarrett Davis who helped the Rush secure a 3-2 lead to end the 1st quarter that the Roughnecks would never hold.

Dickson got the score knotted to start the second period before a flurry of goals came in rapidly from Edmonton. Davis got himself a hat trick and Matthews tallied another goal before Robert Church came in with 2 goals of his own. Calgary’s Jeff Shattler added his name to the goals list and so did Dane Dobbie, twice, but the Roughnecks still trailed 9-6 at halftime.

Riley Loewen found his only three goals of the night, adding his hat trick to the books along with a hat trick from Mark Matthews too. Shawn Evans scored the lonely Rigger goal of the 3rd as the team watch the Rush pull way ahead leading into the final quarter.

Zack Greer and Cory Conway also heard their names announced before the game was over as did McIntosh one last time. Curtis Dickson finished his night with a hat trick and the only goal the Roughnecks could score in the 4th.

Three different Rush players earned a hat trick in the win, and scoring came from 7 different guys, a stat to be proud of but keep improving on. The defense was looking more like what we became accustomed to last season and they were a huge factor in the first win of the season.

The Roughnecks only scored 2 goals in the entire second half which is disgusting (the bad kind) in pro lacrosse terms. This weekend they head into Toronto to face a 3-1 Rock and while I know anything can happen on any given Sunday, Saturday night should be a real booty kicking that will send the Necks home 0-4. I can almost guarantee it.

Full Recap

Attendance of Week 4
  • Buffalo: 11.4k
  • New England: 3.5k
  • Rochester: 6.7k
  • Calgary: 12.2k
  • Colorado: 13.3k

Maybe three home games in a row for New England was too many to keep fans coming back for more, but it seems like the first two big wins at home would be enough to keep the butts in the seats. I hope that the Black Wolves can do more to bring fans closer to the action and to build up attendance because my high school football games make their pro lacrosse number looks like JV.