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NLL Week 10 Preview & Picking Winners

Photo Credit: Larry Palumbo 

Only three games went down this past weekend, but two games were a one-goal game and the other game was decided by two-goals. All three games were packed full of action and there were even a few upsets.

Knighthawks Down

Calgary Roughnecks upset the Rochester Knighthawks to the tune of an 11-10 game. The game was even throughout until the 4th quarter when Calgary overtook with the lead with a 5-1 run on the Knighthawks. Calgary earned a much-needed win and their offense is finally living up to their expectations. Curtis Dickson has finally hit his stride and scoring with ease now, making the already explosive Riggers offense even more deadly.

Rookie Karsen Leung has taken a page out of Dhane Smith’s book and is transforming into one of the leagues better transitions players right before our eyes. He will be a player to keep your eye on as teams start to gear up for the playoffs.

Rochester looked like they were going to cruise to victory until they had a collapse on defense in the 4th quarter. This isn’t the first time Rochester has had a lapse and let the opposing team back into the game. Knighthawks vs Buffalo is a game that comes to my mind. The Knighthawks are going to have to keep a tight ship if they want to take another run for the Champions Cup. I touched on Dylan Evans last week, but he is a player that continues to impress me every week. Any player that can win 11 face-offs on Geoff Snider deserves some credit. Rochester has a very winnable matchup against Colorado this weekend and they need to win or else they could find themselves on the wrong side of the track.

Toronto Back In Action

The Toronto gutted out a close win over an ever-improving Minnesota Swarm squad. I think it is safe to say that Minnesota is a legitimate contender…to win each weekend, not for the cup. Toronto is happy to have all their veterans back and healthy like Pat Merrill. Right now it seems as if no one can stop Garrett Billings and the Rock offense.

Although, Minnesota managed to outshoot Toronto last weekend but Nick Rose stood tall in net and made 48 stops.

Toronto has all the weapons necessary to take down Edmonton next week. They have two tough games this weekend and if they can get these two wins they are shaping up to make a good run for the playoffs.

Swarming the Wings

I had a gut feeling that Minnesota would pull off the upset against Philly, but I didn’t have the guts to call it. The Swarm made a huge comeback in the fourth quarter with a 5 goal period that was enough to down the Wings. Philly who had started off this season hot has cooled off and now is right where everyone expected them to be. They have all the talent, but are losing a lot of close games.

Brandon Miller got the start this week and saw the ball well. I think he has answered the goalie problems in Philly. Rookie Mike Poppleton played in his first game this season. He managed to keep Jordan MacIntosh to just around 50% at the face off dot and even managed to chip in an assist. Poppleton could be seeing more playing time in the future.

Philly has the weekend off but then come back to take on the Rochester Knigthhawks in a must-win game.

Friday

Toronto Rock @ Edmonton Rush
Mark Donahue – Edmonton over Toronto – I don’t see the Rush getting their first loss of the season at home this weekend. The Rock are looking solid, no pun intended, but the Rush are unstoppable.
Chris Rosenthall – Edmonton over Toronto – The Rush started scoring goals again last week, and after Rochester put 17 on the Rock, I’m wondering if I’ve been ranking the Toronto D a little too high.
Ryan Connors –Edmonton over Toronto – You just have to think that Edmonton has come so far to lose now. Toronto’s offense is good, but Edmonton has a better defense and they are playing at home.
Connor Wilson – Edmonton over Toronto – Too much on both ends of the floor. There is a
reason they are undefeated.

Saturday

Toronto Rock @ Calgary Roughnecks
Mark Donahue – Toronto over Calgary – Toronto is most likely coming off a rough loss the night before, I see them coming out strong versus Calgary which is not too far up the road. The Roughnecks look great but it would be hard to see the Rock drop two this weekend.
Chris Rosenthall – Calgary over Toronto – I’ve changed this pick about six times. It’s hard to imagine the Rock losing twice in two nights, but Calgary’s offense has been strong for weeks now.
Ryan Connors – Calgary over Toronto – Calgary’s offense is finally firing on all cylinders. Toronto is going to be on their 2nd game of the weekend, and remember, Calgary has a Snider.
Connor Wilson – Calgary over Toronto – Calgary plays a hard brand of ball. Toronto
played the night before. I like the Roughnecks to win this one by a
slim margin.

Rochester Knighthawks @ Colorado Mammoth
Mark Donahue – Rocherster over Colorado – I just can’t trust the Mammoth. The vets are reliable ,but the Knighthawks won’t lose two weekend in a row especially after a tough loss to Calgary.
Chris Rosenthall – Rochester over Colorado – Colorado’s offense has cooled lately, and it’s never easy to score on the Knighthawks.
Ryan Connors – Rochester over Colorado – I’ve done this dance before, Knighthawks are too good and Colorado has been the definition of inconsistent at points throughout this season.
Connor Wilson – Rochester over Colorado – Rochester is a tough comeback after losing
big to Vancouver at home. Rochester can come in and get back to their
winning ways.

Fantasy

NLL-Fantasy-Lacrosse-(5)

I had another big weekend with fantasy lacrosse. Even though the Wings lost, all my Wings players had decent nights. Kyle Buchanan, Jordan Hall, and Tracey Kelusky all had decent nights and got me a ton of fantasy points. Rob Hellyer has been a big addition for me. He is a consistent scoring forward that always puts up points. I decided to splurge this week and go with Garrett Billings, I just hope my decision pays off – he comes at a hefty price.

Correct Picks Running Tally:
Connor Wilson (25-14)  Chris Rosenthall (26-13)
Mark Donahue (25-14)  Ryan Connors (26-13)