Uh oh

Colorado Mammoth 20 – Buffalo Bandits 9

Will Malcom was out with injury for Colorado, but as he did when Andrew Kew was out weeks prior, it was Kew’s turn to be the next man up and lead the Mammoth’s offense, who continued their 5-game tear since acquiring Jack Hannah in trade. The Mammoth scored 3 times in the first 3:35 and got out to a 6-0 lead. Another 6 goal run bookending halftime and the inability for the Bandits to get back within 4 set the tone for what became a 20-9 rout at Ball Arena.

It’s the first time that the Bandits have given up 20 goals since doing it in back-to-back weekends in 2017 when they lost 21-11 on December 23 in Rochester and then 20-13 in Toronto on the 30th. That was both the last season they missed the playoffs and the last season they did not have Matt Vinc on their team (Vinc had 55 saves for Rochester in that first of the two 20 GA games). Fast-forward to this past weekend, Vinc gave up 11 goals on 32 shots faced in the first half before being replaced by Evan Constantopoulos. The 21 year old’s NLL debut wasn’t as rocky as the mountains, but the goal allowed on the first shot he faced set the tone for what became a 17 save night with 9 goals allowed. Andrew Kew lit up the Bandits for 7 goals and 4 assists. Jack Hannah had 2 goals and 7 assists, while his partners on the right side had career nights, with rookie Braedon Saris scoring a career-high 3 goals and 4 assists and Dylan McIntosh had his first ever 4 goal game. 11 Mammoth registered a point.

On the other end, the Bandits have now been held to 9 goals for 3 straight games, coinciding with their 3 game losing streak. After winning two games scoring under 10 in last year’s playoffs, they’re 0-4 this season in such games. The last time that they didn’t score 10 three games in a row came between March 18 and April 1 in 2023 — they went 1-2 in those games against Colorado (13-8 loss), San Diego (7-6 win), and Toronto (18-7 loss). Tehoka Nanticoke led the Bandits with 5 points on 2 goals and 3 assists. Dhane Smith and Josh Byrne were held to 4 points each. Ian MacKay also had 4.

Vancouver Warriors 16 – Rochester Knighthawks 6

With the score tied at 1 just over 9 minutes into the game, Christian Del Bianco sent an outlet pass up the floor to Steph Charbonneau. As he gained possession of the ball a couple of steps inside the restraining line, he was met with a viral hit by the full sprint of Rylan Hartley. You probably saw it make the social media rounds. You may have gotten an ESPN App notification about it. While it may not have been the difference in the game, a match penalty was handed out, ejecting Hartley from the game and giving Vancouver a 5 minute powerplay.

Given the scores last week, the hit is probably while you clicked this post, so let’s talk about it first. It was appropriately called:

With a full week of separation from the initial response from the hit, it’s as true to the definition as it could be. Unlike football where contact is allowed at the moment of possession, that is not the case in the NLL, and it’s especially not the case when the hitter has the extra padding. And while there’s debate about the hit and its place in the game, that kind of hit did lead to the end of Karsen Leung’s career. The match penalty Hartley received also comes with a one game suspension.

On top of that 5 minute powerplay, Ryan Lanchbury also headed to the box after being called for the shot block in the crease rule amidst the chaos of the hit, albeit it may or may not have been called incorrectly since it is supposed to have an exception when the goaltender is not in the crease, which…yeah.

While the Knighthawks killed off the first two minutes, Vancouver got 2 goals in the later end of the extended powerplay to go up 3-1. While Lanchbury scored in the final minute of the opening quarter, the Warriors scored the next 4 and then pulled away on the back of a 7-0 third quarter en route to a 16-6 final.

Keegan Bal distributed 10 assists to go along with 2 goals, while the bulk of the goal scoring came from the sticks of Curtis Dickson (4G 4A) and Jesse King (5G 2A). Christian Del Bianco finished with 44 saves in the win. Connor O’Toole got to enter the game for the final 3:13 for a father-and-son chapter on the game with father Paddy on the Knighthawks bench.

Rochester’s losing streak against the Warriors increased to 3 since the start of last season, with the offense being stumped by Del Bianco most of the night. Connor Fields and Ryan Lanchbury each had a goal and 3 assists while Ryan Smith had 2 goals and an assist. Riley Hutchcraft struggled, only making 28 saves on 43 shots faced.

Week 9 Review

Two weeks to go through with neither local team playing last weekend.

San Diego Seals 9 – Philadelphia Wings 7

The Seals powered their way back to 3-3, overcoming a 1 goal first half with 8 in the second. Ben McIntosh led with 3 goals and 2 assists against his former team, and Chris Orliglieri go the win with 35 saves. Wes Berg and Dylan Watson each added a goal and 3 assists. Eric Fannell had a goal and an assist for the Wings while Nick Damude made 45 saves despite the loss. Joe Resetarits, Michael Sowers, and Brennan O’Neill each had 2 goals.

Vancouver Warriors 12 – Ottawa Black Bears 8

The Warriors stopped Ottawa’s 4th quarter prowess dead in its tracks, holding the Black Bears scoreless in the final 17:25 on their way to a 12-8 road win. Vancouver was led by 3 goals and 3 assists and multi-goal games from each of Jesse King, Curtis Dickson, Adam Charalambides, and Shane Simpson. With 42 saves in the win, Christian Del Bianco also became the 4th goaltender to records 100 career points with a second quarter assist. Jeff Teat got his with 3 goals and 3 assists, but the Warriors defense was able to hold both Rob Hellyer and Reilly O’Connor off the goal column. Connor Kearnan, however, had 2 goals and 2 assists.

Georgia Swarm 10 – Toronto Rock 9

The Swarm rallied from a 3 goal deficit with just under 2 minutes left in the third quarter, scored the next four goals to take the lead, and then after Challen Rogers, who led the Rock with a goal and 4 assists, tied the game with 3:56 left to force overtime, it was Lyle Thompson finishing the game off 30 seconds into overtime to push the Swarm above .500. Shayne Jackson’s 2 goals and 4 assists and Bryan Cole’s 4 assists led the Swarm while Jacob Hickey matched Thompson’s stat line with 2 goals and an assist and Kean Moon had 3 assists. Brett Dobson made 48 saves in the win. Toronto got another 6 combined goals from CJ Kirst and Owen Hiltz while Mark Matthews had 4 assists.

Colorado Mammoth 15 – Oshawa FireWolves 11

In the lacrosse is a game of runs of the week, the runs from the Mammoth were large enough for them to pull away from the FireWolves with a 15-11 home win. Andrew Kew continues to thrive in his return from injury, leading Colorado with 4 goals and 6 assists. Jack Hannah had a goal and 6 assists, with Will Malcom adding 2 goals and 4 assists and Owen Rahn scoring a hat trick while Dillon Ward got the win with 49 saves. Alex Simmons had another double digit game despite the loss with 4 goals and 6 assists. Tye Kurtz also had 4 goals and added 2 helpers.

Week 10 Review

San Diego Seals 13 – Philadelphia Wings 7

It was again the Wings getting out to an early lead with 4 goals in the first to San Diego’s 2, but the Seals rallied off the next 10 across the next 3 quarters to go up 12-4 on their way to a 13-7 win. A balanced attack from the Seals was led by 3 goals and 3 assists from Connor Robinson. Playing up primarily with the offense this week, Zach Currier had 2 goals and 3 assists and still scooped up 16 loose balls. Michael Sowers and Joe Resetarits combined for 5 goals and 3 assists to lead the Wings.

Saskatchewan Rush 14 – Calgary Roughnecks 8

A similar game script took place at the Saddledome, as while the Roughnecks jumped out to a 3-0 lead, the Rush scored the next 7 and had control the rest of the way to complete the sweep of the battle of the prairies. Saskatchewan’s offense saw four players with 7 or more points (Austin Shanks 4G 5A, Robert Church 2G 5A, Ryan Keenan 2G 5A, Zach Manns 4G 3A). Tanner Cook had 3 goals and an assist to lead the Roughnecks with help from 4 assists for Tyler Pace.

Georgia Swarm 11 – Halifax Thunderbirds 7

The Swarm upped their win streak to 3 with an 11-7 win in Halifax, led by 47 saves from Brett Dobson. Shayne Jackson had 3 goals and 2 assists, while Nolan Byrne had 4 goals of his own. Cody Jamieson led the Thunderbirds with 4 assists, while Jason Knox had 3 goals.

(Highlights of the last two games just on NLL+)

Toronto Rock 17 – Ottawa Black Bears 10

A week removed from the Rock vets being limited offensively, it was their turn for the offensive load and took control for a 17-10 win over the Black Bears, led by 2 goals and 9 assists from Mark Matthews. Chris Boushy scored 5 goals, while Challen Rogers had 3 goals and 3 assists. Ottawa was led by 2 goals and 5 assists from Jeff Teat and 3 goals and 3 assists from Rob Hellyer.

Las Vegas Desert Dogs 16 – Oshawa FireWolves 13

The Desert Dogs scored 3 times in the final 5 minutes to pull away in a back and forth affair. Mitch Jones led the way with 4 goals and 6 assists, while Jonathan Donville had 2 goals and 6 assists and Chris Cloutier added 3 goals and 4 assists. Dawson Theede led the FireWolves in his second game with the team with 3 goals and 4 assists, matched in points by 2 goals and 5 assists from Alex Simmons.

Week 11 Preview

With the Olympics starting Friday and The Big Game Sunday, the NLL slate this week is staggered throughout Saturday.

Philadelphia Wings (1-6) @ Buffalo Bandits (3-4) – 7:00 pm

The Bandits certainly hope a hobbled Wings team coming to town is the opportunity for a get right game, as they have won 9 of the 10 all time meetings with the expansion era Philadelphia club.

Rochester Knighthawks (4-3) @ Vancouver Warriors (5-2) – 10:00 pm

As of Thursday Night, it is not yet set in stone whether or not Rylan Hartley and the NLLPA will be appealing his one game suspension. If he does, he’ll be in the pipes at Rogers Arena. If not, Riley Hutchcraft will be backed up by Cam MacLeod, who the team signed earlier in the week after he was released by the Roughnecks.

Calgary Roughnecks (1-6) @ Ottawa Black Bears (4-5) – 7:00 pm

The Roughnecks hope their second trip to Ottawa, with the first being last January, will be as successful as the first in hopes of snapping a three game losing streak, while Ottawa is aiming to avoid a three game skid of their own.

Oshawa FireWolves (2-7) @ Toronto Rock (4-3) – 7:00 pm

Things have not gone to plan since Alex Simmons declared their GTA neighbors rivals after an opening night win, and the Toronto Rock have certainly not forgot that as well.

Las Vegas Desert Dogs (4-3) @ Georgia Swarm (5-3) – 7:30 pm

One of the best offenses in the league heads on the roads to take on the early favorite for goaltender of the year and the top defense in the league, as the Swarm welcome the Desert Dogs to town. Georgia has won both all time meetings.

Saskatchewan Rush (7-1) @ San Diego Seals (4-3) – 10:00 pm

After two get right games against the Wings, the Seals welcome the other side of the standings spectrum to town, as the 7-1 Rush have continued to roll over their opponents since their loss in Ottawa in their second game of the season. The Rush have won the last two meetings.

(Photo Credit: Micheline Veluvolu)