New England Black Wolves
The Black Wolves had two games this past weekend, both against the Rochester Knighthawks. By winning both, it gave the Black Wolves a big boost in the standings as we can now start talking about playoff races. The team said they wanted to focus on their defensive principles during their bye week a week ago, and the results showed. By holding Rochester to 13 and eight goals in the two games, it meant their defense had their best goals against performance since early February when they held Buffalo to 12.
Defensively, New England played both of their keepers over the weekend, giving each of them a game of their own. While they both earned a “W”, Evan Kirk had the better overall performance, so I still don’t think you can say there is a goalie controversy brewing. It does reaffirm Tye Belanger as a solid backup option to come is as needed though. I also really like what I saw from them as a group in their second game when they forced 16 turnovers, even though their transition point total was higher on Friday.
At the other end of the floor for the Black Wolves, Shawn Evans has continued on his scoring pace which right now has him beating his 130 points from a year ago. If not for Buffalo’s Dhane Smith, this would be talking about quite a bit more. Evans continues to drive an excellent offensive group where Kevin Crowley, Pat Saunders and Jordan Hall are all solid contributors. Kevin and Kyle Buchanan are typically given fewer opportunities, but they do what is needed from them and are always good for a few points each game. This team is averaging just over 13 goals per game, which is good for third in the league, just a few tenths of a point behind the Rush.
New England should get themselves into the playoffs soon, with three game against Toronto and Georgia still to be played. Their other four contests are much more difficult as they play host to the top teams in the west, Colorado and Saskatchewan next with Buffalo and Rochester to close out the season. Winning most to all of those games should lock up a home game or two as well.
