Editor’s Note: Thanks to the help of the innovative team at SISU Guard, the Official Mouthguard of the NLL, we’ve beefing up our National Lacrosse League coverage for 2016! We hope you enjoy our look at the NLL season through a new lens with the aid of our partner SISU!
With no teams sitting out, we have a whole lot of lacrosse to look at from 6 games spanning over 4 days! Nail-biters and tough losses capped off Week 3 of NLL action. One team slid to 3-0, while another skid to 0-3. How’d it all go down?
Mark Donahue breaks down Saskatchewan hosting Vancouver along with the Rochester vs Toronto games, while Ryan Conwell will break down both Black Wolves games and the Bandits’ trip to Colorado. Let’s get to it!
Rochester Knighthawks (1-1) @ Toronto Rock (0-2)
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Quick Thoughts
- Toronto’s power play is the highlight of the offense.
- Matt Vinc had a huge night making 40 saves.
- The Rock can’t shoot their way out of a wet paper bag.
- The 5-on-5 play from Rochester in strong on both sides.
The first meeting of Week 3 between the Rochester Knighthawks and the Toronto Rock packed over nine-thousand fans into the Air Canada Centre, most with the hopes of seeing the first Rock victory of 2016. Unfortunately for them, the Rock didn’t get the jump on the weekend they were looking for and handed over the first win of the season for Rochester.
Rochester Notes
The game got off on a slow start before Craig Point got hooked up from Cody Jamieson about 6 minutes into the game for the night’s first goal.
Answering Toronto’s first goal, the Knighthawks rallied three straight in three minutes. Cory Vitarelli, Joe Resetarits and Jordan Hall all punched one in to end the 1st Quarter 4 to 1.
Two minutes in to the 2nd Quarter, Vitarelli got back on the board with this…
Big Dan Dawson closed out the half with the next two goals, both assisted by Jammer. This was Dawson’s only pair in the game, although get closed the win out with another two assists.
After Toronto scored in the first minute of the second half, Jordan Hall punched one in for the Hawks, helped by Jamieson and Scott Campbell. Up two men from a hook on Jesse Gamble and a slash on Patrick Merrill, Cody Jamieson buried his first goal of the contest on an assist by Point. After letting Toronto go on their first, and only, offensive run of the game with three consecutive goals, Stephen Keogh stopped the run and closed out the quarter with the 10th goal for the Hawks.
Leblanc went to the penalty box early in the final quarter for an Illegal Cross Check which translated into the final goal for Toronto. The 10-7 lead wasn’t comfortable enough for Jammer, who took the rock to the house twice halfway through the 4th to push the score to 12-7. The final six minutes of the game stayed mainly uneventful until Hickey and Sullivan exchanged shots and were sent of for roughing penalties with 3 seconds left. At the final buzzer, Hostrawser and Searle got into it, ending the game on a fight and dueling majors but nothing more.
All-star Matt Vinc had another big night between the pipes, recording 40 saves, 13 coming in the last quarter of play. Jameson led the offensive charge with 10 total points while Ian Llord and Jon Sullivan both recorded 2 forced turnovers and 5 loose balls each for the defensive unit.
Two rookies shared the responsibilities at the draw circle, Derek Searle winning 5 of his 8, while Adam Bomberry won only 6 of the 14 he took.
Next Game: Georgia @ Home – 7:30 pm – Saturday, Jan 30th
Toronto Notes
The first and lonely goal of the first quarter came on the power play from Kasey Biernes, helped by Colin Doyle and Stephan Leblanc, after Sullivan was sent to the bin for a 2 minute cross check. The sole second quarter goal was also netted on the power play, this time by Rob Heller from Hickey and Doyle.
Things got better across the board in the third quarter for the Rock offense. The only 15 minutes that Toronto won statistically started off with the team’s third power play goal, tallied by Brett Hickey from Leblanc and Biernes in the first 22 seconds. Leblanc found his second of the night after a quick run by Rochester, matched a minute later by Toronto’s leading man Rob Hellyer.
Doing his best to carry on the Rock momentum, Hickey threw down goal number two on a nasty dunk from behind with rookie Graeme Hossack draped all over him.
The only name to get called for a Toronto goal in the 4th was again Brett Hickey, coming hard down the floor shorthanded after Leblanc was sent off for an Illegal Crosscheck.
Goaltender Brandon Miller recorded all 60 minutes for the Rock. He got laid into by the Knighthawks early in the first and the flurry never really ceased, resulting in his first loss of 2016. Patrick Merrill handled all but one face-off, finishing 12 of 22 on the night.
Next Game: @ Buffalo – 7:30 pm – Sunday, Jan 23rd
Calgary Roughnecks (1-2) @ NE Black Wolves (1-1)
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Quick Thoughts
- Calgary dominated the loose ball game, 75-59.
- Both goaltenders posted over 80% on saves.
- Shawn Evans was stopped in his tracks with only 1 goal, 1 assist.
This game had a big circle around it before the season even began. Once Shawn Evans was traded to the New England Black Wolves from the Calgary Roughnecks following his MVP season for the Riggers, you knew this would be a game to watch. That storyline grew as Calgary started off with two losses while New England had a dominating opener over Vancouver.
Unfortunately, the first quarter was very ugly for both teams. There were missed passes, dropped balls, fumbled loosies and transition mistakes all over the floor. Once the second quarter rolled around, this game became intense and every point was well-earned.
Calgary Notes
Calgary still did not break into double digits in the scoring column after their eight point and nine-point efforts against Colorado and Buffalo. That does not seem to be a major concern for head coach Curt Malawsky though. After the game, he simply said “Defense wins championships.” While their offense is not explosive (yet?), their defense certainly took care of business and reduced the Black Wolves offense to less than half of their previous week’s output.
The Roughnecks on offense are still working to replace the departure of Shawn Evans. Tyler Digby has filled in respectably so far in Evans’ place, recording a goal and an assist on the night. All five of his shots were on goal as well. Sharing the righty side with Digby is mainly Curtis Dickson and rookie Wes Berg. Dickson led the side with two goals off fourteen shots with a team high 12 on goal while Berg was not far behind with a single goal from 13 tries.
Dane Dobbie and Jeff Shattler anchor the lefties where Dobbie is looking to bounce back in the scoring column for a down year in 2015. While he still scored 36 goals, he led the league in that category in 2014 with 51. Dobbie scored one goal on the night, taking 14 shots, eight of which were on goal. Shattler had the best showing of all forwards for Calgary. He scored three goals and had two assists off of his 11 shots. While the total output of the offense seems to be lacking, Malawsky was quick to give praise to Black Wolves goalie Evan Kirk for keeping the Roughnecks scorers frustrated all night.
The defense for the Roughnecks is really where the game was won. They perhaps had a little of inside knowledge against Evans, but their game plan was executed to perfection. All night long, the Roughnecks were knocking down passes, blocking shots, and denying good looks. This in no doubt aided Frankie Scigliano in his 35 saves.
Coach Malawsky said their plan was to play Evans “passively” and to not allow him “to make other players better”. Just check the score sheet at the end of the night, it was obvious that they succeeded. In 18 games last year, Evans had 47 goals and 83 assists. In this game? One goal, no assists. That was the difference. While they did let up a late goal to allow New England back within one with just one second left, Bob Snider insured that they would hold onto the win with the final faceoff.
Next Game: Vancouver @ Home – 9:00 pm – Saturday, Jan 30th
New England Notes
The Black Wolves were riding high after their domination of the Stealth the previous weekend. Evan Kirk had looked like a brick wall in net while the rest of the team played fast and confident. While Kirk and the defense still played well, the offense for the Black Wolves came crashing back to earth and hard.
In Vancouver, Shawn Evans and Pat Saunders played off each other in the way that everyone hoped they would. Without Evans being able to setup plays like he had the week before, Saunders was forced to create more on his own and work with Kevin Buchanan on the lefty side. Saunders finished the night with two goals off his 16 shots. Buchanan had two goals from his six shots in a solid showing. Evans only had a single goal on the night despite his 17 shots while fellow righties Quinn Powless, Kyle Buchanan, and Kevin Crowley were all blanked on a combined 17 shots.
Defensively, the Black Wolves played strong, keeping the Roughnecks under 10. Kirk was the backstop, recording 46 saves. Where the defense really helped out was in the transition game.
Brett Bucktooth is continuing his WILC role of playing defense first transition despite spending most of his career in the NLL as a forward. This creates fantastic opportunity when he can be involved in bringing the ball up the floor. In this game, it resulted in a goal and an assist. Sheldon Burns also had a huge showing in transition, scoring two goals of his own and also recording an assist. On a night where the offense was struggling to find openings, the five goals these two had a hand in changed the complexion of the game.
Next Game: Buffalo @ Home – 7 pm – Saturday, Jan 30th
Vancouver Stealth (1-1) @ Saskatchewan Rush (1-1)
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Quick Thoughts
- Banner-raising night in the new barn was packed out!
- Huge bounce back win for the Stealth
- No love was lost between these two.
- Eric Penney had a huge 2nd half for Vancouver.
Around nine and a half thousand lacrosse fans, from Manitoba to Alberta, filed in to the Sasktel Centre for the inaugural Saskatchewan Rush home game, which also served as banner-raising night against Western Conference rivals, the Vancouver Stealth. The weekend before, the Rush had just squeaked by Buffalo to get their first win, while the Stealth were pummeled by New England. The taste of blood still fresh, Vancouver came into Saskatoon swinging and the strategy paid off.
Vancouver Notes
The offense played fast and tough out of the gate. After a dismal showing in their opening weekend, the Stealth came out firing, scoring the game’s first three goals before letting the Rush answer. Lefty Logan Schuss kicked the night off, and his scoring season, on the power play after Church was sent packing for an illegal body check followed by Rhys Duch a few minutes plater on an extra man opportunity. A fumbled play led to rookie Jordan Durston attacking Rubisch on a loose ball, which Durston scooped and brought across the crease on a dive for his first career goal.
The following two goal spurt from the Rush was halted by Corey Small‘s first of the night, followed by Durston’s second career tally. The first quarter ended 5-2 and of those 5 goals, Stealth newcomer Garrett Billings assisted on 4 of them. The first fifteen minutes was closed out with a scrap between big Cliff Smith and Bilic waking the crowd up in Saskatoon.
Joel McCready and Travis Cornwall were the only two to find rope in the second frame. In the quarter, the Stealth took two penalties and two goals, until the last 4 seconds. 11 minutes of floor time and another 10 minutes for a Game Misconduct came real fast. First, Chris O’Dougherty got into a quick but heated tangle with Matthews at one end of the floor that seemed to spark some excitement between McCready and Dilks, sending them off to the box as well. To clean up all of the excitement, the rookie Durston and the Rush’s Lintz got into it, earning both an Unsportsmanlike 2-min and a 10-min Game Misconduct. With the exception of an exchange of Checking from Behind calls in the 3rd period, the teams stayed out of the back for the final 30. Halftime was closed out at a 9-7, Rush lead.
Neither team had much for scoring the the 3rd quarter. Matching a pair of goals from Sask, Duchie found the back of the net for the second time, although he managed to let 13 shots fly in the game. The next four goals of the game would all be scored by one man, Corey Small, all assisted by Duch, Schuss, or Schuss and Duch. Smallsy’s hot streak brought the Stealth from behind and into the lead for the first time since the middle of the second quarter. To extend the lead in the final seconds, Penney sent one down to McCready who touched it into the empty net, solidifying the victory.
Although they let in 7 goals in the second quarter, the defense played on-point all game. The addition of Matt Beers was noticed right away and veteran O’Dougherty was flying around the floor on a mission. OD mixed it up with Matthews after a goal at the end of the second and was all over his assignments all night. Ian Hawksbee, Jeff Moleski and captain Curtis Hodgson took care of business in front of first-year starter Eric Penney who finished with 36 saves, 24 coming in the second half. This was a huge improvement from the week before when he was yanked in the opener for Levis. Veteran face-off man Mitch McMichael got the call replacing Toll, taking home a passable 14 of 28 draws.
Next Game: Colorado @ Home – 10 pm – Saturday, Jan 23rd
Saskatchewan Notes
The first quarter didn’t go as planned in front of their new home support. Letting in three goals to start the evening had to rattle the cages a bit of a team who hasn’t lost since claiming a Champion’s Cup. Curtis Knight found the net for the first Rush goal in the Sasktel Centre, followed by Robert Church less than a minute later. The offense would wait until the second frame to get up to speed. Zack Greer started the charge off quick transition, the rock banged with finesse from Dilks to Thompson to Greer off a turnover. Garrison’s leg tripped up Mark Matthews on his attack at cage and would go off for two. The power play led to solid ball movement, letting Knight pump and rip for his second tally.
Greer’s second and final goal of the night came a few moments later in the second. He finished the game with 2 goals and 2 assists. To close out the half for scoring, the Rush went on a 4 goal spree started by defenseman Chris Corbeil‘s unassisted answer to Cornwall’s goal for Vancouver. The ball shot down into the corner on the draw, in which Corbel came in hard, grabbed it one-handed and flew behind the cage to throw down a nasty wrap-around.
Matthews followed up less than a minute later with his only goal of the night, assist by Dilks. The next goals two capped off a hat trick for Church and the end to his point streak for the night.
Right before halftime it really seemed like it was the Rush’s game to win. They were handling the pressure from Vancouver in stride and won the scoring battle 7 to 2 in the second quarter. Then Matthews, Lintz and Dilks all were sent off for fighting and the tone of the game changed. The all-star scorer Matthews was locked up for 5 minutes and the team was changing their response to the attack of the Stealth.
The second half was dismal across the board. Only two goals were scored both coming on unsettled play from Corbeil and Jeff Cornwall in the third quarter. Vancouver’s scoring came from a variety of sticks, all across the floor showing some signs of weakness in the Rush defense. Uncharacteristically Aaron Bold only managed to stop 23 shots in his first loss of 2016. Ryan Dilks was easily the man of the match for the defense and maybe the entire bench. Dilks forced 7 turnovers and pushed the ball in transition to collect 4 helpers.
Looking solid, Jeremy Thompson was 50/50 on the teams 28 draw attempts and scooped 11 loosies in the game, 1 ahead of Riley Loewen who only finished with 1 assist in the loss.
After a decent first half, Matthews was rendered nearly useless in the second. I don’t know if the scrap with OD got into his head or what, but out of 14 shots, Mark only connected once on top of his 5 assists. This was twice as many shots as Greer, who connected twice, 5 more than Church who shot 33% and 9 more than Knight who knocked down a pair. Bummer night all-around for the Rush
Next Game: Colorado @ Home – 8:30 pm – Friday, Jan 29th
Toronto Rock (0-3) @ Rochester Knighthawks (2-1)
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Quick Thoughts
- Two convincing wins in one weekend got the offense in their groove.
- Toronto is nosediving, and fast!
- The game was over during the 2nd quarter.
- Cody Jamieson was the man of the night again, finding 8 points in the win.
For the second battle of the weekend between the two Eastern Conference rivals, the Toronto Rock packed up the bus and made their way to the Blue Cross Arena for another miserable display of lacrosse against the Rochester Knighthawks in front of over eight-thousand fans.
Toronto Notes
Things seemed to start off on a better foot for Toronto. Even though the game was a bit sluggish to start, Toronto was limiting the shot selection of the Knighthawks offense and Brandon Miller seemed to be seeing the ball well from wherever it came from. Colin Doyle got the party started, capitalizing on the power play off a hold on Sid Smith. Doyle closed out the team’s scoring in the first half with the final goal of the farm coming with a little over two minutes left on the clock.
A six to nothing run in the second quarter ruined the second game of the weekend for the Rock. At the end of the half, Rochester’s 7 goals were already more than Toronto would even put together.
Both teams did their fair share of missing the cage on Saturday, but a whopping 29 shots off goal has to be fixed this week. Rob Hellyer and Doyle combined for 21 of the teams shots on goal, another 7 off the mark from Hellyer, and both only walked away with a pair of goals. Brett Hickey took a total of 11 shots, 5 on, 6 off, and scored the team’s only other goal. With only 12 more hitting their mark and only 5 trickling in for a goal, this offense needs to wake up, penetrate the interior and keep the ball moving. The first goal of the game was the only power play opportunity to connect for Toronto while the man-down defense was dismantled by the Hawks 6 out of 7 times they went to the box.
Stephan Leblanc only added 8 loose balls in the struggle while Billy Hostrawser and Dan Linter only managed to combine for 3 assists. The lack of production across the board is scary, this team literally has no one to rely on right now. On defense, Brodie Merrill looked sharp but they still were Swiss Cheese with giant holes for the Hawks to pick apart. Miller was really the only highlight of the lackluster Rock roster. With only one quarter posted with more than 3 goals allowed, Miller managed to keep 42 shots out of the net in his second, the team’s third, loss.
If they can’t show up in Buffalo this weekend, they might as well mail their jerseys in.
Next Game: @ Buffalo – 7:30 pm – Saturday, Jan 23rd
Rochester Notes
After starting the season out with a loss, the Knighthawks are shaping back up to be another contender. Two back-to-back wins over a conference opponent got the team into a groove and allowed for 7 different shooters to find at least one goal in the second win over Toronto.
Things started off slowly for both side, the only goal for the home team came 11 minutes in from Jordan Hall, his only of the game, on the power play after the Rock penalized themselves with a Delay of Game. Things got turned up in the second quarter when the Knighthawks lit up the score board, posting 6 straight goals and holding the Rock to 0. Cody Jamieson started the spree out with a power play finished from Stephen Keogh just 30 seconds in. Things slowed down a bit before Jon Sullivan was sent to the sin bin for a hold. On the shorthanded opportunity, Joe Walters fed Joe Resetarits, who dropped it down to Dan Dawson on the crease, snagging it one-handed and doing this…
The only even-numbered goal of the game was punched in by Resetarits in a settled offense before Dan Dawson got his name back up in lights with two power play goals in a row, both fed by Keogh. A 5 min goalie interference call against Hickey turned into another 2 min USC from the bench, in which the Knighthawks power play unit made them suffer with 3 goals in under a minute. Dawson’s quarter hat trick was followed up by this quick play (featured below) from Cory Vitarelli, ending the half, 7-2.
Dan Dawson’s 4th goal came early in the third, once again fed by fellow righty Keogh before his 5th goal, 6th point, came on another power play opportunity. With under a minute left in the third, Jammer closed out the frame with a connection from Adam Bomberry, now up 10-4. In the final quarter, two goals were scored by the Hawks offense, the only goals of the game for the feeder Stephen Keogh and range-shooter Joe Walters. The goal added to Keogh’s five helpers to finish him out with 6 points and a staggering 13 loosies, while Walters has continued to sputter a bit, only knocking down one goal on his 9 attempts. Jammer’s 2 goals and 6 assists finished him first on the night for points.
The Rock couldn’t get the shots to fall and didn’t pick apart the 5-hole, helping to inflate the stats of the already legendary Matt Vinc. Vinc saved 36 shots on goal, 11 coming in the 2nd and 10 in the 3rd, totaling for his second win of 2016. The transition game was dominated by the Hawks although they really looked to slow the play down and set up the offense. Loose balls were another huge victory, the scooped a total of 82 to their opponent’s 66. Bomberry took 15 draws, finishing sub-.500 again with only 6 wins.
At this point, Rochester fans must be jumping for joy. The team was able to use the pair of wins over the weekend to take over 1st in the Eastern Conference, before New England was able to match a tying record on Sunday. They get a week off after the double-header weekend in which they will host a Swarm team that more or less fell apart in Week 3.
Next Game: Georgia @ Home – 7:30 pm – Saturday, Jan 30th
Buffalo Bandits (1-1) @ Colorado Mammoth (3-0)
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Quick Thoughts
- Overtime lacrosse is awesome!
- Mike Burke’s game-winner was his only shot on goal all night.
- Adam Jones’ sock trick was off of only 17 shots (35%)!
- Both teams had the same final total number of shots on goal.
This was the game of the weekend in the NLL. Both teams played aggressive, fast, and fearless lacrosse. While Adam Jones’ six goals stole the show, these teams were very even all night long and it was a true back and forth affair. Colorado had the same number of goals as Buffalo in the first quarter and second quarter. Colorado scored one more than Buffalo in the third, while Buffalo had the advantage in the fourth. In fact, no team ever had a lead greater than two at any point in the game. Despite all this back and forth scoring, no goals were scored for close to six minutes at the end of the game.
Buffalo Notes
In just their second game of the year, Buffalo looked very impressive. Offensively, Dhane Smith led the way with three goals and five assists while tossing up 19 shots. One of his most exciting goals was in a 26 second stretch of the fourth where the Bandits scored three goals. Smith scored on the second goal of that barrage, off a faceoff win and assist by Jay Thorimbert. Smith also assisted Ryan Benesch (2G,4A) to start that run.
Lefty Haina Thompson was held scoreless in the game, but still recorded four helpers. A big difference maker for the Bandits in 2016 versus last year is the lower production of Benesch. His two goals in this game bring him to just four on the season, far short of his league leading 55 goal pace a year ago.
Defensively, there is still plenty of room for improvement. Like last year, Anthony Cosmo is seemingly in front of a firing squad in goal. His numbers individually are very good so far, but the Buffalo defense is still letting a ton of shots through in his direction. The main saving grace of the defense is that they are really contributing towards the scoring column and push transition well. Without this, Buffalo would not be the team that they are. Fortunately, this identity has them as a big, fast, high scoring team that should have good success in their division all season. They will be a fun team to keep an eye on going forward!
Also, a side note for Buffalo. Jay Thorimbert may be making a move to be the new indoor faceoff king. He’s been on the Snider coattails the past few years, but he’s currently the tops in the league after just two games. It will be interesting to watch his play as the team makes their way around the league to see if this holds up when he faces Bob Snider and Jeremy Thompson.
Next Game: Toronto @ Home – 7:30 pm – Saturday, Jan 23rd
Colorado Notes
Colorado once again piled on the points in this game. In their previous two games, they scored 16 each time, so their 15 point effort against Buffalo was not far off. The Mammoth lefties in John Grant Jr. and Adam Jones are still their moneymakers, combining for 32 shots, nine goals, and five assists.
Jeremy Noble had a great showing with his four helpers while Callum Crawford chipped in a modest nine assists. Seriously. Nine assists. Of those, four were on Jones goals and one was on the game winner in OT.
Defensively, Colorado needs to get things tightened up to keep a zero in their loss column. So far this year, they have given up 43 goals over their three games. Higher scores can be expected when you are playing at the pace Colorado likes to keep and against the teams they have played, but they are keeping their games dangerously close so far. Dillon Ward and Alex Buque are ranked ninth and tenth in the league in save percentage, so there is absolutely room for improvement. From what we have seen from both keepers in the past, they are more than capable. Both of their rookies on the back-end are coming along. Bryce Sweeting notched a goal and Jordan Gilles picked up six loosies while creating one turnover.
An interesting note about Colorado’s scoring was that while they have such a fantastic set offense, it was their transition game that came through for them late. Out of their three goals in the final frame of regulation, one was an Adam Jones power play goal, while the other two were transition. The first was a goal from rookie Sweeting, assisted by speedster Joey Cupido, while the final goal of regulation was a shorthanded goal from Cupido during a Crawford penalty.
Next Game: @ Vancouver – 10 pm – Saturday, Jan 23rd
NE Black Wolves (2-1) @ Georgia Swarm (2-1)
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Quick Thoughts
- Disappointing second home showing for the Swarm.
- Great recovery game by the Black Wolves.
- Evan Kirk…wow!
- Where’d the Swarm righties go?
New England Notes
After their loss to Calgary, head coach Glenn Clark described the team as taking a step forward despite losing. He turned out to be right as things got back on track for the Black Wolves as then wandered down the east coast to Georgia in their second game of the weekend. Shawn Evans got his mojo back with five goals and three assists to lead the game. He also grabbed 10 loosies, which was another game high. His righty line mates also got back on the board as Kevin Crowley notched a goal to go with his three assists and Kyle Buchanan scored on a fantastic solo effort down low on the crease. For the lefties, Pat Saunders got a hat trick with an assist while Kevin Buchanan scored once with two helpers. While the forwards did all the scoring, Sheldon Burns, Jimmy Purves, and Brett Manney all came over the midline for an assist each while Brett Bucktooth notched two assists himself.
As good as the offense was in this game, the story was about the defense. Evan Kirk was phenomenal again, but they completely shut down the Swarm’s forwards. They only allowed 33 shots on goal and a huge 22 off. That alone should show you how disruptive this group was being to a young group of forwards that has been capturing national attention. Even I wrote a ton of words about them just after last week’s games. The thing that should worry the league about the Black Wolves right now is that they are not even at full strength. They still do not have captain Andrew Suitor, Mike McNamara, or Mike Manley back from their injuries. Brett Bucktooth has really stepped up to help out this group and Derek Suddons combined with Bretty Manney are providing some excellent veteran leadership.
Brian Megill has continued to develop into a fantastic indoor defender while Sheldon Burns and Bill O’Brien are making huge sophomore jumps. I’ve been especially impressed with O’Brien’s improvement since last season. Where he was very much a raw talent a year ago, he is just a skilled defender in 2016. Ryan Hotaling also deserves mention for his effort in this game. He didn’t have many eye-popping stats, but he was everywhere on the floor and huge in their transition efforts to setup the offense.
Next Game: Buffalo @ Home – 7 pm – Saturday, Jan 30th
Georgia Notes
The righties for Georgia all but disappeared in this game. Miles Thompson, Lyle Thompson and Randy Staats were a combined one for 10 shooting. Think about that. Those three players could only manage ten shots all game. Staats did get two assists and Miles recorded an assist with his goal, but that production is anemic. Even Johnny Powless, who could not miss in their home opener, missed on all ten of his shots. Josh Gillam was actually the Swarm’s leading scorer with two goals to go with his assist. Shayne Jackson had a goal and two assists. This may have just been an off game for the swarm who were flat out electric in their first few outings, but it was a very off game. Perhaps we’ll see Jesse King back in the lineup next time as he was a scratch this time out.
Defensively, the Swarm did hold up well against the Black Wolves in their five on five sets. A good chunk of the New England goals came in transition. Three of their goals allowed were man-down while another was man-up in transition.
Brodie MacDonald‘s 36 saves were respectable, but it did pull his average down a little from his hot start against Toronto. Chad Tutton continues to be a very physical defender in his rookie year and provides a good punch in transition, scoring a goal of his own. Georgia is a team that should also be getting more scoring out of their transition and defensive players, but they had very little luck against Kirk who made some outstanding one on one saves.
Next Game: @ Toronto – 8 pm – Friday, Jan 29th
