Rochester Knighthawks 12 – Georgia Swarm 10

A late season bye week may have been just what the doctor ordered for the Knighthawks, who came into their third matchup on the year with the surging Georgia Swarm on a 4-game skid. The rest and additional time to prepare allowed them to play to the strengths that got them to the point where a win over the Swarm would clinch a playoff berth.

Bryan Cole capitalized on a powerplay goal to open scoring in the first, but the Knighthawks offense controlled the scoreboard for the rest of the first 15. Thomas Hoggarth connected from mid-range to put the Knighthawks on the board about halfway through the quarter, and then Turner Evans broke the tie late in the quarter after picking up a rebound along the boards and getting an uncontested path to the net. In the final minute, the Knighthawks were able to add a third goal as captain Paul Dawson brought the ball up in transition and scored his second of the season on a bounce shot.

The action to open up the second quarter was back and fourth, with Georgia stopping the Knighthawks run during their first possession of the second half after Ryan Lanchbury scooped up an offensive rebound and beat Rylan Hartley five hole on a dive from behind the net. The Knighthawks were able to counter on their next possession as Holden Cattoni capped off a multiple shot possession with his first goal of the night to push the lead back up to 2. Minutes later, the Swarm had some good luck on their side, as Shayne Jackson’s pass aimed for Lanchbury deflected off the shaft of Paul Dawson’s stick and went into the net. However, Rochester responded on their next offensive possession with Thomas Hoggarth’s second of the game from way outside. Connor Fields extended the lead to 6-3 halfway through the second quarter, rebounding his own blocked miss, but Georgia was able to make their run to finish out the half. TJ Comizio fed Jackson in transition, who didn’t need a deflection on this one to cut the deficit back to two. With 3:45 to play in the half, Lyle Thompson got on the board for the first time on the night, and then Brendan Bomberry tied the game at 6 with 56 seconds to play, both shots coming from nearly the same spot on the floor.

The Swarm run continued into the early second half, with Lyle getting his second of the night as the transition trailer. Jeremy Thompson joined in on the fun moments later, winning the ensuing faceoff cleanly and beating Hartley from outside. Potentially the biggest sign that the week off helped the Knighthawks regroup to what made them successful early on, they were able to not only stop the Swarm run but make one of their own, controlling the third quarter for the remaining 13+ minutes. Curtis Knight started the run with a bouncer about five minutes into the quarter. Connor Fields tied the game back up with his 50^th goal of the season, and then Ryan Smith scored on the run with 3:49 left in the quarter. Transition play helped the Knighthawks re-take the lead, as Matt Gilray picked up a rebound at the restraining line and took it himself to beat Brett Dobson and make it 10-8. Ryan Lanchbury got his second of the night in transition to make it 10-9 before the end of the quarter, but the Knighthawks had re-established the control of the game.  

The defenses tightened up in the fourth quarter, with Turner Evans being the lone goal even strength goal scorer of the quarter. Matt Gilray’s transition empty netter capped off an exceptional quarter for him, registering several huge loose balls and defensive stops to keep the Swarm off the scoreboard. While Brendan Bomberry was able to score with 9 seconds to play, that was all the Swarm could muster, and the Knighthawks had a 12-10 victory to propel them into clinching a playoff berth.

As he has all season, Connor Fields led the way for the Knighthawks with 2 goals and 3 assists. Matt Gilray finished with 2 goals and 2 assists from the back end. Ryan Smith (1G 3A) and Austin Hasen (4A) also chipped in with 4 points each, while Rylan Hartley turned aside 46 Georgia shots in the winning effort. Joe Post won the faceoff battle against Jeremy Thompson 14-12, as Thompson became the third player in league history to win over 2,200 faceoffs. Shayne Jackson’s 2 goals and 3 assists led the Swarm, who were missing Andrew Kew after being a late scratch. The Knighthawks defense limited Lyle Thompson and Brendan Bomberry to 2 goals and an assist each.

Buffalo Bandits 11 – Toronto Rock 10

Since the start of the 2018-19 season, the Bandits and Rock have now played each other 14 times, including two playoff matchups. There are no two teams in the NLL that know each other better than these two, and everyone involved in this rivalry is very aware of the stakes of each of their matchups.

So was there any scenario where a winner-gets-one-seed game in the second last week of the regular season wasn’t going to be an instant classic? Probably not, and 16,681 in Banditland were treated to such.

Latrell Harris scored in transition to open the scoring 1:50 into the game, setting the tone of the Rock using their strength on the back end to get the advantage early on. The Rock’s defense picked up where they left off in that beatdown of the Bandits earlier in the month, holding the Bandits off the scoreboard in the first quarter. Chase Fraser and Mitch de Snoo got into it in front of the net as the shot clock was winding down with 5:44 to go in the quarter, with each getting a roughing call, but Fraser got a high shove in which led him to getting the extra two minutes in the box. The Bandits penalty killers had held the Rock at bay for the first minute of the powerplay, but after the under five media timeout, the fifth shot attempt of the man advantage from the Rock made it 2-0 Toronto, a lead they took into the second quarter.

The Bandits found themselves shorthanded again at the beginning of the second quarter, but they were able to get a shorthanded marker to break into the goal column courtesy of Dhane Smith splitting a double team and driving to the net to beat Nick Rose. An outside stinger from Tom Schreiber gave the Rock their two goal lead back again, but Josh Byrne was able counter with a goal of his own to push it back to 3-2. As the first half progressed from here, the defenses and goaltending had some time in the spotlight, with the stakes of the game putting an emphasis on the talent that each team possesses playing at their highest level, 5-on-5 scoring looked like it was going to be a matter of who would blink first. While not at even strength, the Rock were able to sneak one more goal in for the second half, as their last possession saw Corey Small feed Stephen Keogh coming off a screen to beat Matt Vinc and give Toronto a 4-2 lead going into halftime.

Things opened back up in the third quarter, starting with Challen Rogers scoring in his second of the game through traffic to make it 5-2. At 3-2, the low scoring half for the Bandits was something that they were able to weather, but now at 5-2, the KeyBank Center crowd started to feel a little more weary. But then the Rock blinked in the form of a Josh Jubenville slashing penalty. Josh Byrne scored from the point on the powerplay to make it 5-3, and with Dhane Smith adding his own second of the game 50 seconds later, the dam started to show its cracks. And then once Chase Fraser buried a goal with 8:58 to go in the quarter, the offense that has defined the Bandits for the last few seasons showed itself. And it didn’t take anymore than one more possession before the roof blew off of KeyBank Center as well. It’s nothing scientific, but there’s something about Chase Fraser scoring a goal that usually coincides with the Bandits offense humming or being on a run. And when the Bandits brought the ball back in transition and Fraser picked up an offensive rebound and went between the legs on the run to give the Bandits the lead, the last game against the Rock didn’t matter, as with the last month or so of the team’s offense struggling along the way. Now with a 6-5 lead, it was clear the Bandits that took the floor for the third quarter were a different, albeit more familiar, team on offense with their playoff gear in motion.

For the Rock, however, Tom Schreiber unsurprisingly had his A game going as well, and a pair of goals on back-to-back possessions after the Fraser goal to give Toronto the lead back. Fittingly, however, the Bandits scored on their own next possession to tie it back up, and it was Kyle Buchanan, who was voted as the team’s unsung hero earlier in the night for his consistency throughout this (and last) season, receiving a pass from Dhane Smith and going behind the back to beat Nick Rose and tie the game back up. Corey Small got Toronto back on the board to wrap up scoring in the third quarter with an 8-7 lead, setting up for a massive fourth quarter.

Fraser and Rogers exchanged their third goals of the game to open up scoring in the fourth, and then the Bandits made their final and decisive run. Shortly after the Rock killed off a penalty, Josh Byrne fed Chris Cloutier who fed Ian MacKay for their final 5v4 sequence, and MacKay beat Rose under his arm to tie the game back up. After a stop on the defensive end, Tehoka Nanticoke got in the goal column to give the Bandits the lead back. Toronto won the ensuing faceoff and got two good looks, including a Josh Jubenville net-front, but Matt Vinc stopped them both, and then Josh Byrne scored low-to-high from outside for his third of the game to get the Bandits lead up to two for the first time in the game. Corey Small again got a late quarter goal with 3:48 left, but that was just a blemish on what was a vintage Matt Vinc ending to the game. A crucial cross-checking penalty from Greg Downing a minute later gave Buffalo two minutes to kill clock, which they did. The Rock got the ball back for the first time after the penalty was over with 43 seconds to play, and, well, just take a look.

Halifax Thunderbirds 15 – New York Riptide 6

10008 in attendance in a full Nest in Halifax saw the Thunderbirds make their road to a potential playoff berth a little easier, as 5 goals in each of the first two quarters, sandwiched by a 6-0 run, led the Thunderbirds to a mostly uncontested victory. Mike Accursi dressed 8 forwards, and it was the four on the right side who excelled on the evening, led by 3 goals and 5 assists from Austin Shanks. Randy Staats had 4 goals and 2 assists as he has turned up his performances of late being the straw that stirs the drink for the Thunderbirds. Chris Boushy (3G 1A) and Clarke Petterson (2G 2A) had four points each to wrap up the right side. Their defense was able to hold Jeff Teat out of the goal column for only the 6^th time in his 33 game career. Larson Sundown and Reilly O’Connor each had 2 goals.

Calgary Roughnecks 13 – Panther City 12

The first game of the weekend, Calgary needed to win to keep their hopes for the one seed in the west alive, and while it came down to the wire, they were able to do so, finishing out their regular season campaign at 13-5, which even after losing Curtis Dickson in the offseason and Dane Dobbie the season before, marks the first time in franchise history that the Roughnecks have won 13 games. Jesse King and Josh Currier each had 6 point nights, with Jesse King registering a hat trick and Currier getting his points all from distributing to teammates. Tanner Cook added a pair of both goals and assists, while Christian Del Bianco made 30 saves in the win and broke the single season record for minutes played in a season, playing all but 14 seconds the whole season. For Panther City, who finish their regular season at 10-8, Jonathan Donville had 2 goals and 4 assists to reach the 90 point plateau in his rookie season.

San Diego Seals 14 – Las Vegas Desert Dogs 4

The Seals just needed to win to ensure their place atop the West, but also put together what may have been their best 60 minutes of lacrosse along the way, hammering the Desert Dogs. Dane Dobbie (3G 4A) and Wes Berg (2G 5A) each had 7 points, while Curtis Dickson added a goal and 5 assists. Rob Hellyer assisted on 3 of his team’s 4 goals in the loss.

Saskatchewan Rush 12 – Colorado Mammoth 11 F/OT

With Alex Buque sidelined for the season with a leg injury, Saskatchewan native Laine Hruska was able to make his first career start, and his teammates helped get him his first win as well to finish out their home campaign. The Rush didn’t trail for the first 55:30 of the game, but Eli McLaughlin’s plans did not line up with the Rush’s efforts to get Hruska that win, scoring three straight goals in the final 4:22 to tie the game back up at 11 and force overtime. However, who else but Robert Church came through 88 seconds into overtime to beat Dillon Ward and get the overtime victory. Church had 4 goals and 2 assists to put him over the 50G 50A mark, and Mark Matthews had a goal and 6 assists. Hruska made 36 saves, one less than Dillon Ward, but it was the win that mattered more. For the Mammoth, those final three goals from McLaughlin put his stat line on the night at 7 goals and an assist.

Philadelphia Wings 10 – Albany FireWolves 9 F/OT

The wins from Rochester and Halifax eliminated the Wings from playoff contention before they even had the chance to take the field on the weekend with a Sunday afternoon game in Albany, but they still battled their way to a victory in their fourth overtime appearance of the season (all of which coming against NY teams). Albany’s offense registered 63 shots on goal, but Zach Higgins made 54 saves to keep the Wings in it. Joe Resetarits, who tied the game up with 1:18 to play, and Ben McIntosh, who won the game in OT, each had 3 goals and 3 assists. Mitch Jones added a goal and 7 assists to lead the team in points. Connor Kelly and Ethan Walker each had 2 goals and 4 assists to lead Albany, who hosts the Bandits to wrap up a disappointing season for them.

NLL Week 22 Preview

Buffalo Bandits (13-4) @ Albany FireWolves (3-14) 7:00 pm – The one seed in the East is wrapped up, but a win could ensure the best record in the league for the Bandits to get home floor in a potential NLL Finals series against the top of the West if it came down to that. Less crucially it would probably be good for the Bandits to finish their season on a high note by beating Albany after they upset them to open the season in Buffalo. Dhane Smith is 12 points shy of his single season points record of 136, so that is also something to potentially watch for, as he is neck and neck atop the points leaderboard this season with Jeff Teat, who we get back to later.  

Philadelphia Wings (8-9) @ Rochester Knighthawks (10-7) – 7:00 pm – Sandwiched in between two Amerks playoff home games on the weekend, the turf will be rolled out as the Knighthawks finish out their regular season at home looking to finally overcome the Wings in their third matchup of the season. A win will ensure that the Knighthawks head to Toronto on May 5 for their first round matchup, while if they lose, their positioning will depend on the result of the marquee game of the weekend.

Halifax Thunderbirds (9-8) @ Georgia Swarm (8-9) – 7:00 pm – After weeks of chaos in the East playoff race, the final spot comes down to the simplest scenario: Winner take all. The Swarm won the first matchup 17-7, and a win at home this weekend would punch their ticket at 9-9 with a 2-0 head-to-head record and send them to Buffalo regardless of the result of the Knighthawks-Wings game. A Thunderbirds win puts them in the playoffs at 10-8. If the Knighthawks lose, both teams will be 10-8, and since the Thunderbirds had a +8 goal differential over Rochester in their matchups (1-1 H2H record), they would jump up to the three seed and go to Toronto, while the Knighthawks would head to Buffalo on May 6.

Colorado Mammoth (9-8) @ San Diego Seals (13-4) – 10:00 pm – ESPN2 – San Diego can only take the top overall record in the league if they win and the Bandits lose. Colorado needs a win to overcome Panther City with a H2H tiebreaker advantage and earn the three seed. If they lose, the two teams will run it back next weekend (same place, maybe same time).

New York Riptide (4-13) @ Vancouver Warriors (4-13) – 10:00 pm – TSN Game of the Week – Albany would need to win for Vancouver to have a chance at the #1 overall pick. The Riptide cannot get it because they swept the FireWolves. As mentioned above, Jeff Teat (51G 75A) and Dhane Smith (34G 92A) each find themselves with 126 points headed into the final week. While there is no Art Ross equivalent trophy in the NLL, that doesn’t mean leading the league in points isn’t still something to take a lot of pride in. Smith is two assists short of the 94 he had last season. Teat joins Connor Fields and Robert Church as 50-50 members this season, which is the first time it’s happened in the NLL since the Gait twins and John Grant Jr did it in 2002.

Saskatchewan Rush (7-10) @ Las Vegas Desert Dogs (5-12) – 10:30 pm – There are no stakes in the standings in this one, as both teams will look to end their season on a high note in front of Wayne Gretzky, the Desert Dogs co-owner who will be in attendance. With the limited stakes, I’m sure both teams will be having a great weekend regardless of the result of this one.

Photo Credit: NLL