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!
Good news, everyone! George Daniel’s replacement for the Commissioner of the NLL has been announced. Nick Sakiewicz is coming to the National Lacrosse League after helping to found and develop Major League Soccer.
Also this week, long time face-off athlete Geoff Snider announced his retirement from the league. After entertaining us for 9 seasons, Snider hangs it up as the new rules makes fundamental changes to his role with Calgary.
With changes on the horizon, let’s take a look at what is right in front of us. Week 2 of the NLL Season was really Week 1 for four teams, here’s what went down!
Toronto Rock (0-1) @ Georgia Swarm (1-1)
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Quick Thoughts
- Randy Staats is easily the most-effective rookie in the NLL.
- Toronto looked old in the 2nd half.
- Brodie MacDonald should be the new starter for Georgia.
- The fans showed up huge to support their new franchise!
The inaugural home game for the Georgia Swarm against the Toronto Rock was the only divisional game of the weekend #2 of NLL action. 9,087 fans showed enough curiosity to make the trip to the Infinite Energy Arena to check out their new franchise and the team paid them back with a convincing 12-7 win over the much more experienced Eastern Conference rival.
Toronto Notes
All but I think one of Toronto’s goals came from outside from not taking much pressure in the first half. The shooters are using screens well and a lot of focus is on setting up the offense and cycling the ball. The trouble game against the much younger, faster Swarm who commanded the transition and ground ball game.
The Rock actually came out of the gate firing in the 2nd quarter and jumped to a 6 to 4 lead before giving up 7 unanswered goals to the young guns. It’s going to be hard to win games when goals only come from 4 sticks.
Rob Hellyer and Stephan LeBlanc combined for what little offense that Toronto could put together. With no one attacking the inside, the only chances of scoring came from the strong shooters. Hellyer scored a hat trick with 1 helper alongside LeBlanc’s 2 goals and 4 assists. Unfortunately for the team, Hellyer and LeBlanc were both assessed misconducts in the game for fruitlessly trying to start fights with the Swarm. I haven’t seen yet what will come of it. The only other forward to score a goal was Brett Hickey who also had an assist. Colin Doyle was handcuffed all night, only finishing with 2 helpers in the loss.
Loosing 8 of 21 draws and getting burned in transition killed the Rock. They had they opportunities on breaks but they couldn’t bury the shots. Toronto was scorched at the draw circle, defensemen Patrick Merrill going 8 of 21 and Sandy Chapman at 1 of 2. Fellow D-man Jeff Gilbert scored a lonely goal for the backline.
The defense, although jumbled at times, put in a full 60 minutes but didn’t have any support from the uncharacteristically low-scoring offense. Nick Rose got the road start and played the full 60 over Brandon Miller. Rosey made 32 saves and was charged for the loss.
Loosing 8 of 21 draws and getting burned in transition killed the Rock. They had they opportunities on breaks but they couldn’t bury the shots.
Next Game: Rochester @ Home – 7:05 pm – Saturday, Jan 15th
Georgia Notes
The first Georgia Swarm goal in front of their home crowd came on a silky behind the back pass from Jesse King to Johnny Powless right on the crease. Powers had a total of 4 goals, 3 of which came in the first quarter, and 1 assist. His no looker, behind the back goal in the 3rd was impressive and caught Rose sleeping. Repeat highlight plays from Powless kept the Georgia crowd on their feet all game long.
King’s only goal came on a hard cut followed by a tiptoe dunk on cage which he can thank Powless for. He had 2 more helpers for a total of 4 points on Saturday.
Both Miles and Lyle Thompson were fairly quite playing in front of the new crowd, both only found 1 assist and only hitting 3 shots on goal. After a standout rookies season, Miles is looking sluggish on the floor and rookie Lyle is still looking for his rhythm.
Rookie righty Randy Staats was the man of the night again. His first came on gorgeous ball movement. Every forward had a decent look but banged the ball around so quickly that they found Randy wide open for a look. 6 total points on 3 goals and 3 assists slips Randy into the #2 spot on the NLL scoring list. Who knew?
This new school offense led by Staats, the Thompsons and King is lethal is shaping up to be the team to beat in 2016. Everyone is talking about them and that includes players in the league.
But it was veterans Kiel Matisz and Shayne Jackson making it all work on offense. Matisz had a team-high 7 points from 1 goal and 6 helpers. Getting to hit the brakes a bit from last season, Jackson still scored 2 goals and 3 assists for his offense.
Transition guys Joel White and Jordan MacIntosh are running the floor in more ways than one. Both guys are playing well in transition and all over loose balls as usual. They’re getting the ball to the forwards who are taking care of their possessions. MacIntosh got the win on 12 of 21 draws and collected 6 loosies of his own to add to White’s 9. MacIntosh’s only goal came on an empty net which sparked the fire that racked up all of the late penalties for each side. Ethan O’Connor went 2 for 2 at the draw circle and scooped 6 loosies in his efforts.
Brodie MacDonald was ready for the start at home after Higgins took the loss in game one. The prepared MacDonald made 35 saves in 60 minutes earning his first W of 2016. The majority of goals were snipes around screens or uncontested from the shooter’s position. If the defense can clean that up, MacDonald would look even better.
What am I saying? The defense was superb and rendered the powerful Rock offense nearly useless. Rookie Chad Tutton was let loose to play aggressively, causing 4 turnovers while Mitch Belisle, Jason Noble, Drew Petkoff and Alex Crepisek took care of business inside.
Next Game: New England @ Home – 2:05 pm – Sunday, Jan 16th
New England Black Wolves (1-0) @ Vancouver Stealth (0-1)
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Quick Thoughts
- Vancouver power play unit accounted for almost half of the team’s goals.
- Evan Kirk played incredible, but defense deserve their credit.
- It was cool to see Shawn Evans wear the C for the Back Wolves so soon.
- Vancouver could not get the the middle of the floor or find a good shot.
Well last week’s Game of the Week between the Vancouver Stealth and New England Black Wolves turned out to be a bit of lopsided affair, especially come the 2nd half when home team failed to come back from the locker room. It’s not as if the stats weren’t close but the Black Wolves have veteran goaltender Even Kirk to thank along with a speckling of poor shot selections by the Stealth offense.
New England Notes
It was special to see Shawn Evans already wearing the C for his new franchise. There’s countless reasons he was last year’s MVP and only poised to continue his reign. 4 goals, 2 assists and 8 loose balls in the road-opener had to make the front office in New England happy. Evans doesn’t need to see the net to score goals and somehow defenses aren’t riding him like cheap undies.
Finding a way to upstage Evans, big Pat Saunders ran the show Saturday night, racking up 4 goals and 4 assists. Saunders looked tough and is going to pair perfectly across the floor from Evans. Both Kyle Buchanan and Kevin Buchanan made big contributions to their team’s first win of 2016. Kyle attacked the crease and was rewarded with a hat trick while Kevin helped quarterback the offense, picking up 1 goal and 4 assists. This offense looks pretty legit already and they were playing against a pretty strong defense. They poured it on in the 2nd and 3rd and allowed themselves to cruise through the 4th to go home winners.
Big man Kevin Crowley also did a big of quarter backing for the offense, like Kevin he also finished 1 goal and 4 assists. Crowley did his best to rattle the cages of the defense and succeed to ignite a few small skirmishes. He’s going to be dangerous as a feeder or up close finisher amongst an offense of very hot sticks. Shane MacDonald put in his 2 goals and 1 assist beside Quinn Powless and his 2 assists in the 17 goal performance for the offense.
Ryan Hotaling was a passable .500 on draws and aggressive when pressuring the ball. He’s going to be the guy again this year at the circle for New England and can easily collect goals in transition from playing defense like he did once on Saturday.
The defense wasn’t mind-blowing, but they clearly got the job done. The Stealth offense was stuck in the mud and it allowed the aggressive Black Wolves to pressure out. When you pressure the ball, you give up the inside for quick cuts which Vancouver never capitalized on. They got freedom to attack ball carriers and keep the ball out by the boards. The backline sealed up the 2nd half to allow only 1 goal, making a great Kirk look glorious.
Jimmy Purves had 2 caused turnovers and 8 loose balls and, like Sheldon Burns, ended up with 2 assists to cap off his quality runs on Saturday. John Ranagan was also solid for New England, running around for 9 loosies and finding an assist as well. The scary Brian Megill is playing tough and doing a great job clearing out the interior. Running around for 5 loosies, Derek Suddons also put in work for the backline.
I thought it was pretty weird to not dress Bill O’Brien despite their #WheresBill marketing campaign. O’Brien isn’t the most reliable defender in the NLL, but he’s been the focus of >90% of their social media posts and made the trip west. Maybe he’ll make his debut at their home-opener Friday night.
If Evan Kirk always plays like he did last weekend, the Black Wolves have a strong chance at making the playoffs for the first time. 49 saves, 1 goal in the 2nd half and only 7 total let in; Kirk ran the show. He’s tied for the best GAA (after one game) in the NLL with Georgia’s MacDonald at 7, although Kirk stopped 14 more shots. His .875% stands alone, let’s see how long it can stay up there!
Just because they blew the doors off the Stealth in the second half and Kirk stood on his head all game long doesn’t mean they just got their fast-pass to the Champion’s Cup. This happened last year, let’s wait for the halfway mark to bring it up.
Next Game: @ Saskatchewan – 8:30 pm – Friday, Jan 15th
Vancouver Notes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czCRPaeEz5I
I’ve got to be critical here. The trade to send Digby out and bring Garrett Billings in is going to bite them in the ass for years to come. Digby was a fit in Vancouver and now he’s continuing to grow in Calgary. Billings, on the other hand, looked aged and beaten up despite what his 4 points and 3rd star say about his night. He got pushed around, mishandled many opportunities, missed looks and moved slow. Knowing he was struggling with his knee, serious conditioning evaluations should have been done first.
Lefty Logan Schuss couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn on Saturday after bringing a fire to the Stealth offense. 13 shots total, 11 on goal, none went in. Cliff Smith was also incapacitated, taking 8 shots for himself and also not collecting a single point. Kirk had them locked down on outside shots and very few times did anyone do anything in the interior. That is except Rhys Duch, who had a couple Duchie-esque goals, one coming on a hard crease dive to collect a total of 4 points in the game.
Joel McCready and Corey Small both had a goal before the scoring skidded to a halt after Duch’s only goal to kick off the 3rd quarter. Three of five power play goals seems pretty solid, until you find out two game in transition. Capitalizing in transition is definitely a huge key to success, but with a high-powered unit like the Stealth’s there should be no reason they aren’t lighting up the scoreboard.
At some points in the game it seems like defenseman Chris O’Dougherty is the one of only guys giving 100%. He straight up got hung out to dry by the offense three times in the third quarter when pushing the ball up the floor with serious speed, putting the ball directly in the sticks of his forwards and no one could bury the shot for him. On defense, OD was holding it down and ready to butt heads.
I don’t want that to sound like I’m knocking the performances of Curtis Hodgson, Ian Hawksbee and Jeff Moleski. To me, the defense was in it. They played good enough to win. It was the sluggish performance elsewhere that led to the 10 goal loss. Tyler Garrison played a solid game, coming up with 1 point and 5 loose balls and Brier Jonathan is going to be a solid player in the long run once he finds his footing in the league.
The debut of Travis Cornwall in a Stealth jersey was fairly successful and he was moving well up and down the floor. After not scoring the past two seasons, Cornwall buried one in transition on the power play and collected an assist for 2 points.
Goaltending is going to be an issue. The team’s new starter Eric Penney came up short over and over again for his defense who were forcing the right shots. Sure there were a few screened shots that got in, but after Evans buried his BTB rip, Penney was pulled and replaced by his new mentor, Chris Levis.
When Levis entered the game, he saved all but 5 shots on 22 attempts in his 24 minutes. The 39-year-old net minder looked sound between the pipes and reacted to the ball extremely well.
Jarrett Toll took all but one draw for the Stealth, of which he won 13 of 27. With the new rules, most of the draws were quick scrums usually won by the wingmen. Toll was sent down to the practice roster, likely to make room for defenseman Matt Beers who is back after taking a year off and serving his one game suspension. Vancouver’s veteran face off man Mitch McMichael was a healthy scratch and may or may not be back at the circle Friday night.
Next Game: Calgary @ Home – 7 pm – Friday, Jan 15th
Colorado Mammoth (2-0) @ Rochester K-hawks (0-1)
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Quick Thoughts
- Colorado is now the only 2-0 team in the NLL.
- Adam Jones and Callum Crawford make the Mammoth lethal.
- Cody Jamieson’s return was a successful one.
- Defense will be the Hawks key to winning and losing.
Rivaling the Buffalo-Calgary game, the Colorado Mammoth vs. Rochester Knighthawks game was one of the biggest thrillers of the weekend. Taking it down to the wire, the Mammoth came out on top in the Blue Cross Arena packed with 7,982 lacrosse fans. A hot 2nd quarter for the Colorado offense proved to be separation needed to secure win number two for the Mammoth.
Colorado Notes
For Colorado the big star of the game was Adam Jones. Jones had for nice goals, all coming from his signature position on the floor and beating Vinc in multiple spots. On top of 4 goals, Jones added 4 assist to the stats book, giving him 15 total for the season, 1st in the NLL. 2nd on that very list is Mammoth newcomer Callum Crawford who has found himself at home in the Pepsi Center. Crawford scored a hat trick, all coming from the outside as well. These two forwards accounted for half of the team’s goals, all from the outside, on opposite sides.
While it wasn’t John Grant Jr.‘s big night for scoring, the legend found the net once to join his 4 helpers. For his second game in a row, Chris Wardle has scored a goal, this time with 2 assists and rookie Jordan Gilles scored a goal, his second of the season as well. The 2nd year shooters Jeremy Noble and Eli McLaughlin added 2 goals each to the winning effort. We’re watching these two grow up with every game, McLaughlin even had the awareness to throw a successful Air Gait last weekend.
Second year defenseman Robert Hope had a lone goal to go along with a crazy gathering of 11 loose balls. The entire backline did what they could to keep a potentially terrifying Knighthawks offense at bay. Greg Downing was all over ball carriers and the rest of the backline did a great job of clearing out the middle against forwards that can make the best of it.
At the circle Dan Coates went 17 of 33, slightly over 50%, which is a solid number for the new face-off play.
Net-minder Dillon Ward got to take the reigns from Buque in the first road game of 2016, posting 33 saves and collecting the win. Both goaltenders have posted very similar numbers against quality offenses leading to a hard decision for the staff to make. Ward has slightly more experience but the young Buque is proving his worth in the big leagues.
Next Game: Buffalo @ Home – 9 pm – Saturday, Jan 16th
Rochester Notes
Veteran-laden Rochester struggle to maintain their speed for four quarters. The power play unit couldn’t get anything going and the defense was seriously lacking at times. The Knighthawks can’t let a strong start get turned around and shoved down their throats. Their numbers were nearly even or better than Colorado’s, but the 9-1 second quarter cost them their first win.
Coming off an injury that led to months of rehab, Cody Jamieson made his return to the box this weekend and was all other the floor. It was great to see Jammer moving like he was and making hard cuts, finishing with 2 goals and 5 assists. He’s going to carry this offense as usual, no doubt about it. But don’t tell the towering Dan Dawson who got his 5 points on a hat trick and a couple assists. Dawson was a grinder on loose balls and was constantly attacking the cage. Like Jamieson, Dawson will be the focus if opposing defenses. Cory Vitarelli also had a well-rounded opening performance punching in 3 goals and 6 loosies.
The much talked about rookie Graeme Hossack had a big night in the big guy’s debut. Putting together 2 goals and 8 loose balls on the road in the Pepsi Center isn’t easy for anyone let alone a young kid. I don’t expect these numbers every game but it’s great to see the giant forward putting in work early on. Also getting on the board was veteran Stephen Keogh finishing with two goals of his own and a single helper. Keogh is moving well and can really be a contributing factor to an offense that should score a ton of goals if he stays ready.
Usually good for a couple, Joe Walters stayed mostly quite, only finding 2 helpers. Joe Resatarits and Jordan Hall also didn’t have huge nights, both ending the game with only 3 points (1g, 2a).
Defensemen Jon Sullivan and Ian Llord had aggressive games and must keep pressuring the ball to stay successful. The Mammoth offense is incredible and only getting better. Losing a thriller to an Adam Jones led charge is nothing to go home with your head hanging over.
Rookie Adam Bomberry finished with a passing 15 for 29 at the draw circle and 1 assist.
Returning NLL Goaltender of the Year Matt Vinc was served his first loss of 2016 on Saturday. Known for carrying his defense, 33 saves just weren’t enough to overcome a 9 goal 2nd quarter. He will think about it, but this won’t be a hard one to bounce back from.
Next Game: @ Toronto – 7:30 pm – Thursday, Jan 14th
Calgary Roughnecks (0-2) @ Buffalo Bandits (1-0)
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Quick Thoughts
- Calgary is not going to stay down long.
- Buffalo dominated the loose ball game.
- It was weird seeing Johnny T on the bench.
- Bob Snider is in while brother Geoff retires.
The Western Conference must be rubbing their hands together and letting out evil sounding cackles. The Calgary Roughnecks are 0-2 and 0-1 in the conference to start the season despite two solid weeks in a row. The Buffalo Bandits hosted the Riggers on Saturday night in front of 14,286 rowdy fans in Banditland and both teams put on a show, taking the game down to the final minutes!
Calgary Notes
The 3rd quarter scoring drought killed them, plain and simple. They pretty solid across the floor and they hide their weaknesses well. Unfortunately they carry the focus over from the Rush game to finish off a rebuilding team that was playing their first game.
Dane Dobbie ended the first quarter with a pair of goals to knot things at 3. Dobbie is built to carry the team in his backpack, following his 2 goals he tallied 5 helpers while keeping his offense moving. The star of the offense was Tyler Digby, scoring a hat trick on just 7 shots. The former Stealth forward is making huge contributions to a Roughneck offense that are taking their opponents all the way to the final minutes. Digby’s two fourth quarter goals looked like he was going to lead the charge for a comeback, but the 14 saves made by Cosmo in the 4th proved just too much to handle.
Not having the night he wanted, Curtis Dickson finished with only 2 goals after peppering Cosmo with 12 shots in the game. To finish out the low scoring affair, both Jeff Shattler and the rookie Wes Berg had a single goal.
Making his return to a NLL roster, Bob Snider hit the floor on defense for Calgary, days before his brother Geoff announced his retirement from the league after a successful 9 years grinding it out on the draws, the majority of his run with the Roughnecks.
Scott Carnegie and Jon Harnett carried on the momentum from the Rush game and applied heavy pressure to the ball carriers. This aggressive defense is going to find it’s rhythm and when the offense finally clicks the team can be a serious player in the league.
Keeping their faith in the starter, Calgary put Frankie Scigliano back in net for the start. This time Scigliano played out all 60 minutes but ended up with his second loss. He made 33 saves and let in no more than 3 goals in a given period. It’s hard to blame a defense or goalie for holding a team to just 10 goals.
Next Game: @ New England – 7 pm – Friday, Jan 15th
Buffalo Notes
David Brock kicked off the 25th season of Buffalo Bandits lacrosse with an unassisted goal around 3 minutes into the game.
Shooting was pretty poor for the Bandits but somehow the offense found a way to get their first win of the season in their home barn. They missed the net a total of 30 times, 20 in the first half, with wild and pretty terrible shots. The offensive was less than effective, it was the defense, transition and goaltending that fought out the win.
Kicking off the 4th, Mitch Wilde found twine which was immediately answered by Calgary. Then Ryan Benesch extended the lead again before two quick goals from Calgary knotted the game up. But it was big Dhane Smith scoring a huge goal to win the game with a little over a minute left on the clock. The Bandits ability to find the net with a sluggish offense to win the game had to give the coaches some relief. Calgary has an aggressive defense and for a new looking offense, I’m sure it was a nightmare to get settled against.
Benesch gave it all he had, finished the effort with 2 goals and 1 assist along with fighting for a ridiculous 12 loosies. Dhane Smith had a total of 2 goals and 3 assists, numbers that surely will grow with the season. On top of the mentioned goals, Kevin Brownell, Nick Weiss, Mitch Jones and Daryl Veltman all ended the game with a single goal.
At the circle Jay Thorimbert put in work, winning 15 of 25 draws despite new rules that make his job much less easy.
On the other side of the floor the defense was pressuring the Calgary offense and maintaining their structure. They were backed up by incredible goaltending that ultimately closed the door to secure their first win. Guys were kept out of the middle and forced down the wall, exactly what a keeper needs.
Anthony Cosmo was everything Buffalo could ask for in cage, making the save 41 of 50 shots on goal, 14 of which were in the final 15 minutes of the game.
Defensively it was Jones and Weiss attacking the ball while the remainder of the core including Steve Priolo and Billy Dee Smith stayed at home and protected the inside lanes and center of the floor.
Next Game: @ Colorado – 9 pm – Saturday, Jan 16th
