The Lacrosse Blog

Moving

2010-12-13T17:15:00.001-05:00

Fans of The Lacrosse Blog, TLB will be moving to a new address tomorrow morning. The new site will be Inlaxwetrust.com as we move to SBNation. Thanks for all the support for the last few months and we hope you will continue to read the blog.

NLL Scrimmages Continue

2010-12-13T10:22:00.000-05:00

The NLL continues its scrimmages season as the season fast approaches. With the season less than four weeks away, several teams in the National Lacrosse League prepare.

The Colorado Mammoth were defeated in their final pre-season game to the Washington Stealth, 15-13. Ned Crotty was able to score the hat-trick along with two assists on the night. Rhys Duch, Luke Wiles and Jeff Zywicki each had two goals. Kory Kowalyk also record four goals for the Stealth.

The Mammoth surrendered ten out of twelve goals after holding a 3-1 first quarter lead. The Mammoth were able to cut the lead to one late, but could not jump ahead. Matt King started in net for the Mammoth, and exited it the game for Curtis Palidwor and Rob Blasdell.

"Tonight was good for us," said Washington coach Chris Hall following the scrimmage. "It gave the guys an opportunity to get more comfortable with one another and gave the coaches the chance to see the new guys in a game situation. We have a better sense of what we need to work on before the season gets underway."

"The players put forth a great effort," said Mammoth Head Coach Bob Hamley. "It was much better than last week."

In other pre-season news, the Buffalo Bandits defeated the Philadelphia Wings 10-6. Chris Corebeil and Rusty Kruger had two goals apiece for the Bandits. There was no scoring in the first, though Buffalo jumped out 2-0 in the second. The Wings took the lead with four straight goals, But after a few goals, one from Kruger, Buffalo had a power play opportunity. Jay Thorimbert scored on the PP, giving Buffalo the lead back.

The Wings were able to tie it one more time before the Bandits pulled away.

Training Camp News

2010-12-10T09:59:00.003-05:00

A lot to talk about in the world of lacrosse yesterday. First off, the Washington Stealth signed transition player Paul Rabil to a three year extension. “Paul is truly developing into a fantastic indoor lacrosse player,” said Stealth Head Coach Chris Hall. “He’s an explosive player and virtually impossible to handle one-on-one. He really adds another dimension to our team and in just his third NLL season, he is on the verge of becoming one of the best in the game.”

Meanwhile the Calgary Roughnecks are having their problems. Hours after learning they will not hold training camp due to disciplinary behavior, they announced camp was back on in Calgary. Here is the statement from the Roughnecks: " Yesterday an alleged incident was brought to the attention of the Calgary Roughnecks organization that may have occurred during last weekend’s training camp. The conduct alleged was not of a criminal nature but would have violated team policy and expectations. In order to emphasize to the team that their behavior is expected to represent the Roughnecks properly at all times, management determined that the proportionate response was to cancel training camp this weekend.
Upon further investigation, it was determined that cancellation of camp would be a disproportionate response to the conduct that may have actually occurred. As a result training camp has been reinstated for this weekend.
Upon the conclusion of the continuing investigation, the one player involved will be appropriately disciplined if found to be at fault. The Roughnecks will not tolerate objectionable conduct by players, staff or management."

Meanwhile, top Roughnecks player Curtis Manning will miss the entire 2011 season. The reason behind this is he will be attending a medical school. The Roughnecks will also be without Rob Van Beek, who is pursuing a career as a firefighter.

One final transaction in the NLL world; The Rochester Knighthawks traded Matt Danowski to the Philadelphia Wings for a conditional draft pick. Danowski dressed for just one game with Rochester last season, after playing nine for the Mammoth the year before.

Hall out Four Games

2010-12-09T13:07:00.001-05:00

Rochester Knighthawks transition player Jordan Hall will miss eight weeks with hernia surgery. Hall is expected to miss four regular season starts.
Hall was acquired by Rochester in the Orlando Titans dispersal.

Training Camp Update

2010-12-08T09:45:00.002-05:00

The Boston Blazers, who started up training camp over the weekend, have signed goaltender Anthony Cosmo to a two year deal. Cosmo, a three-time NLL All-Star and the 2007 NLL Goaltender of the Year, has been one of the best goaltenders in the NLL since breaking in with Toronto. "With the signings of Dan Dawson, Josh Sanderson, Casey Powell, and now Cosmo we have a core of veterans who know what it takes to win in the NLL," said Doug Reffue, Blazers President and General Manager. "Having this nucleus of players all signed for two years places us in a great position. Now it's up to them to learn how to play as a unit and teach our younger players what it takes to compete for a Champions Cup."
Two veteran defenesmen also retired from the NLL yesterday. Regy Thorpe of the Rochester Knighthawks "I understand that the team is getting bigger, faster and stronger," said Thorpe. "I think it's the best for the organization and my family that I officially retire. Who knows what the future will hold." Thorpe is known as one of the best athletes in Rochester sports history.
Meanwhile Bruce Alexander who retired with the Rush had this to say. "Lacrosse has given me the opportunity to make many lifelong friends, ultimately I have played as long as I have because of the guys, the coaches, and the first class organizations I was able to play for," said Alexander. "I will keep lots of great memories close to my heart and look forward to seeing the game continue to grow and the quality of play improve." Alexander played for seven different teams in his eleven year career. The teams he played for were Syracuse, Ottawa, Montreal, Calgary, Portland, Vancouver and Edmonton.

NLL Experiments This Pre-season

2010-12-07T09:19:00.003-05:00

If you watched the pre-season game between Colorado and Toronto, you may have noticed something different. The National Lacrosse League will use orange lacrosse balls over the course of the pre-season for experimental reasons. The orange ball experiment was issued by the NLL Competition Committee. The experiment reason is that the orange balls may help fans follow the action better than the traditional white balls. “The Competition Committee is always exploring new ways to improve the game for the fans and the players”, said Brian Lemon, NLL Vice President of Operations. “We are experimenting with the orange lacrosse ball to find out if it’s easier for our fans to see and follow than the white ball. We’ll also monitor how the players adapt to it as well"
The NLL is also testing out another potential rule change. The league has also scaled back where players’ sticks will be positioned during face-offs. The reasoning there was to increase play speed coming out of the face-off. During all preseason face offs, the referees require the two opposing players in the face off circle to begin in a set position with the heads of their sticks eight inches apart. This would presumably help the flow of the game with more fast break opportunities.

Edmonton falls to Rochester in Scrimmage

2010-12-06T09:18:00.003-05:00

In an affair not televised on NLL Network, the Edmonton Rush were defeated by the Rochester Knighthawks, 15-11. There will be a series of scrimmages in the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena. The scoring started for Edmonton three minutes in with Brodie Merrill beating new K-Hawks goaltender Matt Vinc. Gavin Prout, Andy Secore, and Alex Kehoe Hill scored goals to extend the Rush first quarter lead by four goals.
The Knighthawks rushed right back into the game, with three unanswered goals by Shawn Evans, Joel McCready and Marty Hill. At the 4:05 mark of the second quarter, Pat O'Tooke entered the game for Rochester.
Edmonton greeted the new goaltender with two straight short handed goals from Scott Tining and Merill to make the score 7-3. Evans trimmed the lead with a delayed penalty, but Edmonton did not sit still.
Edmonton was able to score four straight goals by Dane Stevens, Prout, Hill, and Dean Hill. Bobby McBride got a late goal for Rochester, but it wasn't enough as Edmonton went to halftime with twelve goals.
Aaron Bold entered the game for Rochester after the half, and they also changed their lineup. Craig Point entered the game and scored. But Stevens and Hill were able to extend the Rush lead.
Point scored again for Rochester, but it was all for naught. Edmonton continued their scoring attack on the Knighthawks goaltenders, and came home with a win.

Notes-

- Matt Vinc appeared in a K'Hawks uniform for the first time.

- Alex Kehoe Hill had a hat trick for the Rush.

- Rochester did not dress Jordon Hall, Cody Jaimeson, Shawn Williams, or Chris Schiller.

- Marty Hill registered four points for Rochester.

- Brodie Merrill scored two goals for Edmonton.

- Brandon Atherton served as the Edmonton backup goaltender for Edmonton.

Game Recap- Mammoth vs Rock

2010-12-05T09:39:00.003-05:00

Last night was the first NLL action since the Champions Cup, with the Rock beating the Mammoth 10-7 in a pre-season game.
Aaron Pascas scored the first goal of the game for Toronto, but Colorado answered quickly with a goal from Bryan Langtry. Toronto's Mat MacLeod took the lead for the Rock. Colorado would do the rest of the scoring in the first quarter, with goals from Jamie Shewchuk and Langtry.
Toronto pulled Pat Campbell from the game and started Gee Nash in net for the second quarter. Rob Hellyer scored for Toronto on a power play, but Shewchuk took the lead again for the Mammoth. However, MacLeod and Hellyer were able to make it 5-4 Rock before the end of the first half.
Andrew Potter and Aaron Pascas scored to give themselves some distance from Colorado to start the third quarter. Connor Martin scored for Colorado to make it 7-5, but Josh Wassen's goal brought the Mammoth crowd back into their seats.
Campbell re-entered the game in the fourth quarter. In the fourth, each team scored twice as Pascas earned the hat trick and Toronto came up with the win.

Game Notes:
- John Grant did not dress for this game.

- Bob Watson did not play in the game. Toronto wanted to see what they had in Nash and Campbell. Hard to judge at the end of the game, but I have a feeling they stick with Nash.

- Rookie Aaron Pascas sure make an impression on the Rock staff.

- There are going to be a few more pre-season games up in New Westminster, so stay tuned to The Lacrosse Blog!

GameDay Open Thread

2010-12-04T10:05:00.000-05:00

Here is your GameDay Open Thread for the Colorado Mammoth Toronto Rock preseason game tonight.

Game Preview: Toronto Rock vs Colorado Mammoth

2010-12-03T09:30:00.003-05:00

(Photo Credit: NLL.com)

Tomorrow night the new-look Colorado Mammoth take on the Toronto Rock in the first pre-season tilt of the NLL season. This will be the first time the two franchises have played each other since 2003, when the Mammoth moved to Colorado. The game will be seen on the National Lacrosse League's online channel, The NLL Network.
Game Notes:

Leading Scorer from last season: COL- Jamie Shewchuk TOR- Colin Doyle

Goaltender: COL- Matt King TOR- Bob Watson

Injuries:COL- Jed Prossner

Notes:

* This will be the first time John Grant jr does not wear a Rochester Knighthawks uniform.

* Former cup winning goaltender Gee Nash will make his return to Colorado as Bob Watson's backup.

* Mammoth head coach Bob Hamley said he wants to win this game, despite it only being in the pre-season.

* Matt King makes his Mammoth debut.

* Ned Crotty will make his NLL debut.

* Come over here tomorrow evening for an Open Game Thread.

Report: Rubisch Signs

2010-12-01T16:33:00.001-05:00

According to NLL insider, the Boston Blazers have signed second overall pick Kyle Rubisch to a one year deal. Not so long ago, we heard they far apart in negotiations.
Rubisch joins an improved Blazers defense with Scott Campbell and first team all-pro John Orsen.
The Philadelphia Wings also signed Max Quinzani and Parker McKee.

NLL Goaltenders; The Best, The Worst, and Matt Vinc

2010-12-01T09:48:00.002-05:00

The NLL has had some very good goaltenders over the years. Start with Dallas Eluik, who may be the best of all time. After that you look at Bob Watson, who is the current goaltender of the Toronto Rock. Currently, you would also talk about Anthony Cosmo, Matt Vinc, and Pat O'toole. But who is the best goaltender iin lacrosse? The worst? Who can lead his team to the Champions Cup?
#13 on our list of goaltenders is Andrew Leyshon of the Colorado Mammoth.Last in goals against average last season, he was the reason Colorado wanted Matt Vinc. In his career, he has a GAA of 13.05. Last season his mostly backed up Chris Levis, but he was not exactly a goaltender of the year either. He also previously backed up Curtis Palidwor, who returns to Colorado. Leyshon's future is unclear right now, with Palidwor returned and Matt King now on the Colorado roster. But one thing is for certain; He is not a starting goaltender.
#12 Mike Thompson of the Buffalo BanditsThompson came into the league in 2001 and then took a six year absence. In 2007, he returned to a 12.08 goals against average in all 16 games. In 2008 and 2009 he had some better seasons, and in 2010 he did a terrific job playing while Ken Montour was out. Unfortunately, that may be all that he is. A backup.
#11 Aaron Bold of the Rochester KnighthawksAaron Bold is probably the best backup goaltender in the league. Last season in Rochester, he had a 11.12 GAA in 16 games and 313 minutes. He had an offseason in 2009 with a GAA over 15, but he was also injured and played only seven games. In the years before that, he average a goals against average of under 11, with minutes around 145 per season.
#10 Matt King of the Colorado MammothKing played most of his career in Calgary before being traded to the Colorado Mammoth. He started off in Calgary, and then was traded to the Anaheim Storm. After they dispersed, King played backup goaltender for the Portland Lumberjaxx, backing up Aaron Bold and Dwight Maetche. In 2008, The Edmonton Rush acquired King to be their starting goaltender. But they traded him to Calgary late in the season. Since the move to Calgary, King has had GAA os 10.38 and 11.27. Now he looks to replace Vinc in Colorado.
#9 Nick Patterson of the Minnesota SwarmPatterson started his career with the Vancouver Ravens as a backup goaltender. He was traded to Minnesota in 2005, and had a GAA of 15.51. He was later made the Swarm's starting goaltender, where he put up better numbers to lower his career GAA to 12.90.
#8 Tyler Richards of the Washington StealthRichards was drafted in the fourth round of the 2007 NLL entry draft. He found himself in their in 2009 as a backup goaltender, where he had a GAA of 10.48. The Stealth made him their starter in 2010, where he helped get them to the Champions Cup. Richards also has a playoff record of 4-1, his loss coming in the 2009 loss in the Western Conference Championship to the Calgary Roughnecks.
#7 Ken Montour of the Buffalo BanditsMontour missed some of the 2010 season due to injury, but when in there he had a GAA under 11. Before that season, Montour has been the Bandits starting goaltender in 2009 and 2008. In 2009, Montour had a GAA of 9.57.
#6 Matt Disher of the Edmonton RushDisher was drafted in 1999 by the Buffalo Bandits and became their backup goaltender. In his first four seasons, his lowest GAA was 14.00. After being traded to Anaheim and then Minnesota, Disher turned his game around, excusing the 17 GAA in 2007. In his move to Edmonton, he had a career low in GAA and then Portland and Edmonton again. He helped Edmonton get to the Western Conference finals last season.
#5 Brandon Miller of the Philadelphia WingsMiller began his career in Albany/San Jose backing up Rob Blasdell and Anthony Cosmo. He was later traded to Chicago where he became the starting goaltender. Miller was successful in San Jose before moving to Chicago, with GAAs of 12.06, 10.46, and 11.45. After being traded to Philadelphia, Miller's success returned, though the Wings missed the playoffs.
#4 Bob Watson of the Toronto Rock
Read about Watson here.
#3 Pat O'toole of the Rochester Knighthawks
Read about O'toole here.
#2 Anthony Cosmo of the Boston Blazers
Read about Cosmo here.
#1 Matt Vinc of the Rochester Knighthawks
Read about Vinc here.

Player Preview: Anthony Cosmo

2010-11-29T09:50:00.002-05:00

The Blazers come into this NLL season with three superstar players. Josh Sanderson, Casey Powell, and Dan Dawson. When we talk about the season, it's mostly those players we talk about. But while the Blazers have had a terrific offseason improving their team, there is one more player in the superstar discussion. Anthony Cosmo.
Cosmo was acquired by the Blazers when they selected him first overall in the Chicago Shamrox dispersal. Since that day, they have gotten one of the league's best and consistent goaltenders. But Cosmo had a career before Boston. Let's take a look at it, and then what to expect in 2011.
Cosmo's lacrosse career started with the Mississauga Tomahawks of the Junior A Ontario Lacrosse Association. He later moved on to the Burnaby Lakers Junior A team, where he won a Minto Cup with fellow future-NLLers Kaleb Toth and Cam Sedgewick.
Cosmo made his NLL debut in 2001 with the Toronto Rock. He played in Toronto for four seasons, mostly as a backup to Bob Watson. In his five games of his rookie season, Cosmo had a Goals Against Average of 8.63.
In the mid-summer of 2004, Toronto traded Cosmo to the San Jose Stealth, where he became the primary goaltender. In his first year in San Jose, Cosmo had a rough time with a 12.28 GAA. But after that season he took off, With a GAA under 11 every season in San Jose. In 2005 and 2006 Cosmo was selected to the Western Conference All-Star team. In 2007, Cosmo was named goaltender of the year with a 10.22 GAA and a 79.15 save%.
After 2008, San Jose traded Cosmo to the Chicago Shamrox for Mike Roik. The Shamrox never played that season, and Cosmo was selected first overall by the Boston Blazers in the dispersal draft. Cosmo has had the same success in Boston as he did in San Jose. In 2010, Cosmo had a career best 9.20 GAA, but lost out on Goaltender of the Year to Matt Vinc of the Orlando Titans.
Cosmo looks to enjoy success again with the Blazers in the 2011 season. Though all the talk about Boston's new big three, Cosmo is their most important piece. If he can continue play like he has over the past two seasons in Boston, maybe they can reach their goal of the Champions Cup.

For this story and more, watch The Internet Sport Show, Lacrosse on Tuesday at Youtube.com.

What Kind of Season Can Toronto Have?

2010-11-27T09:56:00.003-05:00

(photo credit: NLL.com)

The Toronto Rock are coming off an amazing turnaround season, going to the Champions Cup. The Rock had had 3 straight losing seasons before GM Jim Veltman pulled the lever and acquired Colin Doyle from Washington, who they eventually played in the Championship.
But it was not only Doyle who helped them get back into relevance. It was rookies Stephen LeBlanc, Garret Billings, goaltender Bob Watson, as well as Blaine Manning, Sandy Chapman, and Creighton Reid. But what do the Rock have to do to overcome a much improved eastern division?
Their biggest hurdle will be the Boston Blazers(read about them here). After that the Rochester Knighthawks have also improved. What area does Toronto have an advantage? Can they return to the Champions Cup? More, after the jump.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Toronto got a huge boost when word came that Bob Watson was returning the the organization. Watson amazingly had a GAA of under nine last season. And while Steve Dietrich retired, they have a healthy backup goaltender competition.
On offense, the Rock return with most of the same lineup as last season, with some new additions, but mostly defensemen with Kyle Ross and Phil Sanderson.
In what area does Toronto have an edge over Boston? If anything, maybe defense. Toronto did trade their defensman Scott Campbell to Boston's improved defense, but Toronto certainly does not have a better offense. With Dawson, Sanderson and Powell, it's hard to beat them. But Toronto is not far behind, with Billings, LeBlanc, Doyle, etc. Boston has more electric players, but Toronto may have more depth at forwards and transition players.
Does Toronto have an advantage in Goaltending? Probably not, with Boston having Anthony Cosmo, but Watson is sure a good goaltender to have. While they don't have the exact advantage, I would not complain if I was left with Bob Watson.
Last season, Stephen LeBlanc was seventh in the league in overall goals. Billings was 11th. Those two now-sophomore players look to be a huge part of Toronto's season in 2011. LeBlanc, 24 years old, last season had 36 goals and 82 points to lead the Rock in goals. Billings had 33 goals and 83 points. They had a combined 32 points in the playoffs.

Toronto has had a very interesting training camp so far, most of it revolving around goaltenders. There are a few more non-goalies, however, who have impressed Rock officials during camp. A few of note are Brice Queener, Aaron Pascas, Damon Edwards, and Glen Bryan. Right now Toronto has 34 men on their training camp roster. They will have to narrow it down to 23. Other players on their training camp roster include Geoff McNulty, Pat Maddalena, Mat McLeod, Drew Petkoff, Sandy Chapman, Tim O’Brien, Anthony Lackey, Rob Marshall, Colin Doyle, Kasey Beirnes, Creighton Reid, Kyle Ross, Garrett Billings, Blaine Manning, Patrick Merrill, Stephan Leblanc, Phil Sanderson, Brendon Doran, Jeff Gilbert, Mike Hobbins, Cam Woods, Josh Wasson, Stephen Hoar and Watson
Toronto plans to narrow down their roster over the next weekend when they play Colorado in a pre-season game. They will also scrimmage vs Buffalo and Minnesota.
As a whole, Toronto has not had an as noticeable off-season as Boston and Rochester. And while they may have taken a step forward, Toronto has not taken a step back, and will compete with them every step of the way.

Lax Links Thanksgiving Edition

2010-11-26T16:25:00.002-05:00

Happy Holidays from The Lacrosse Blog.

Merrick Thompson to miss season-NLL Insider

Veltman steps down- NLL Insider

Rock continue camp- NLL Insider

Paul Rabil hangs with football coaching legend - NESN

Enjoy you holiday weekend.

Training Camp Update

2010-11-24T10:42:00.000-05:00

As the NLL season creeps closer, more teams are coming to agreements with their players. The Boston Blazers signed Casey Powell and Dan Dawson to two year deals today, locking up two of their new big three. The Blazers have all three of the last three MVPs in Dawson, Powell, and Josh Sanderson. “Dan is one of the most electrifying players in our league,” team president and general manager Doug Reffue said in a release by the team. “With his leadership and offensive presence as well as the addition of all-stars like Casey and Josh, we will be a major challenge for every team this year. Anything short of a Champions Cup would be a major disappointment.”
John Tavares will return to the Buffalo Bandits for one last season. He says he feels old, but wants one more season as a Bandit. “I asked my wife to put my bag in my car because it looked really heavy, since I’m too old. Once I get my stick in my hand, then it’ll be nice to be back. Now it’s like, ‘oh man,’ line after line and driving two hours to get here can be a pain, but it’s nice to be able to do it.” Buffalo looks to be another improved team in the east with additions such as Tracey Kelusky, Scott Self, Brenden Thenhaus, Travis Irving and Ben McCoullogh.
The Toronto Rock have already had an interesting training camp after the retirement of Steve Dietrich. With him out, the Rock have four backup goaltender candidates with Zack Boychuk, Gee Nash, Pat Campbell and Matt Flindell.
Over in Colorado, rookies Ned Crotty and Ben Daives have impressed. They look to add to a much improved offensive Colorado Mammoth team. They look to join John Grant, Ilija and Alex Gajic, and Jamie Shewchuk as the Mammoth offense.

Breaking: MLL Rochester Official

2010-11-24T09:55:00.003-05:00

According to Inside Lacrosse, the Toronto Nationals will move to Hamilton, Ontario for he 2011 season, and the MLL will bring back a Rochester franchise. This will be the first time a professional Lacrosse team played in Hamilton since 1998 with the NLL's Ontario Raiders.
The Lacrosse Blog has been one of the top sources for the Rochester MLL franchise updates. It will indeed be the Rochester Rattlers, with commissioner Dave Gross saying Rob Clark of the Rochester Rhinos soccer team wil own them.
UPDATE: The Rattlers will be the former Chicago Machine.

Nightly Lax Links- 11/22

2010-11-22T18:02:00.007-05:00

Here are your Monday evening Lax Links.

Mike Hasen talks K'Hawks training camp- NLL Insider

Dietrich retires- NLL Insider

Rush open camp- Edmontonrush.com

Stealth lock up Zwyicki- Stealthlax.com

And a video here for you as NBC interviewed Mike Accursi-

Boston Blazers.. Is This Their Year?

2010-11-22T09:58:00.003-05:00

(photo credit: NLL.com)

When the Boston Blazers first acquired Casey Powell, I thought they became the favorites in the East. When they acquired Josh Sanderson, I thought so even more. The Blazers certainly have what looks to be a powerhouse offense, with those additions along with Dan Dawson. But did the Blazers address their biggest need? And are there more teams to worry about in the East?
Looking at the Blazers roster up-to-down, it looks pretty solid. Along with their big three they have Scott Campbell, John Orsen, Greg Downing, Gary Bining, Kevin Buchanan, Sean Morris, and Dan Teat. Those are some pretty good complementary players to Sanderson, Dawson and Powell. And on the goaltending front, you cannot go wrong with Anthony Cosmo. So again, on paper this team looked solid.
I feel they did address their biggest problem, which was second half scoring. After teams would adjust to Dan Dawson, the Blazers did not have enough players to pick up the slack. They tried to fix this by acquiring Mat Giles, and he was ok, but he was also not their scoring solution.
By getting Powell and later Sanderson, that should solve the issue. Teams cannot double cover all three players. Especially Powell, who has had a history of good second halves.
While credit to Boston for improving the issue, Powell kind of fell right into their lap. Thanks to the Giles trade of the previous season, Boston was left with the #2 pick of the Titans dispersal. With Colorado snatching up Matt Vinc, Powell was left open for the Blazers. They did have to surrender a few players for Sanderson, but it was well worth getting the former MVP.
The rest of their additions look like good support players, like Dan Teat, who is 20th all time in NLL scoring. And then Kevin Buchanan, who looks to score a few goals.
But other teams are improving too. Toronto has a really solid roster, with Blaine Manning, Colin Doyle, Garret Billings and Wade LeBlanc. The Rock, I have always thought, would be able to contend with Boston. But with the recent additions of Rochester, the Knighthawks might jump into that mix. And it is not so much Vinc, as they always had Pat O'Toole in net.
But even with the loss of John Grant, they have Cody Jaimeson, Jordon Hall, Craig Point, Steve Toll, Shawn Evans, and Matt Zash. With a few more roster moves, they also have Brad Self and Matt Danowski.
So with the Knighthawks and Rock in the mix, that leaves the Blazers with some tough opponents. Back to the Blazers, is their still a weakness on this team? They improved their problems from last year, but that does not mean they won't have problems somewhere else.
I think the Blazers acquired some good defensive players with Orsen and Campbell, but they lost Paul Dawson, who is one of the best in the league. While those two may make up for the loss, the acquisition of Kyle Rubisch was supposed to as well. However he remains unsigned, and it is unknown if Boston will have to trade him.

Lax Links- 11/19

2010-11-19T16:40:00.002-05:00

Here are your Friday Lax Links!

Gavin Prount re-signs- NLL Insider

Knighthawks sign second round pick- Knighthawks.net

Rock begin training camp- NLL Insider

Stealth sign Duch- NLL.com

Player Preview: Bob Watson

2010-11-19T10:11:00.002-05:00

After Bob Watson officially announced he would return to the National Lacrosse League next season, I'm sure the Toronto Rock breathed a sigh of relief. Watson is known as one of the best goaltenders of all time, playing mostly with the Ontario Raiders/Toronto Rock franchise. Let's take a look at his career, and what is to come for him and his Toronto Rock.
Watson was drafted by the Baltimore Thunder, where he played for one season was a goals against average over 17 in nine games. The next season he was drafted by the Ontario Raiders in the expansion draft. The Raiders played one season, 1998, where Watson played all 12 games with a GAA of 12.02.
The next season the Raiders moved to Toronto and played as the Toronto Rock, and Watson led the team to the Champions Cup in two consecutive seasons, including a dramatic win in their second championship, with Kaleb Toth scoring with one second on the clock.
The Rock once again went to the Championship in 2001, but were defeated by the Philadelphia Wings. Watson was goaltender of the year that season, with an 8.89 GAA in all 14 games. In 2002 the Rock won another championship, defeating the Albany Attack. The Rock won again the next year, this time over Rochester.
All these championships with Watson were no coincidence. Watson was considered the best goaltender in the league, and this dynasty stretch for Toronto may have put him in the best of all time discussion.
In 2004, the Rock lost in the conference championships, and did not go to the Champions Cup. Watson that season had a 11.14 GAA with a .775%.
In 2005, the Rock went to defeat the Arizona Sting in the championship in front of 19,432. Watson had another fabulous season.
Toronto took a step back in 2006, finishing 8-8 and being bumped in the first round. Watson had a GAA of 11.35. Before 2007, the Rock were looking to be a powerhouse again, trading for Colin Doyle and Ryan Benesch. However, the Rock struggled to a 6-10 record under Watson's 11.01 GAA.
Toronto had another losing season, but Watson was named goaltender of the year with a 10.26 GAA and .787S%.
Toronto missed the playoffs again in 2009, and Watson had his career worst since 1999 in GAA at 12.79. 2010 was a different story, as Toronto traded for Colin Doyle back from Washington, giving up Lewis Ratcliff. Toronto went on to play Ratcliff and the Stealth in the Champions Cup, but lost. Watson finished the year with a GAA of 9.31, but fell in the goaltender of the year race to Matt Vinc.
Watson returns again this season to a Rock team that still looks to compete. This could be Watson's last year, and that would be the end of a lacrosse legend and future NLL hall of famer.

The Lacrosse Blog: 200 Posts and Counting

2010-11-18T16:48:00.003-05:00

Today The Lacrosse Blog celebrates it's 200th all-time post. To celebrate, we explain how it all got started, plans for the future, and cap it off with some Lax Links.

I started The Lacrosse Blog in April to help the sport of lacrosse get more attention. Since, we have had around 3,000 pageviews and several people have learned and loved the game. We have covered the NLL Championship, MLL Championship, College Championship, and the FIL. The Lacrosse Blog has been one of the top sources in the Lacrosse Webosphere covering the Orlando Titans folding, the potential Rochester MLL franchise, and recently the Matt Vinc trade to the Knighthawks.
The Lacrosse Blog has a lot of good stuff upcoming soon. We will soon resume our Games of the Year series, have more player previews, an NLL goaltenders preview, and we may start a college preview at somepoint.
The Lacrosse Blog has big plans going forward. So if you are a fan of lacrosse, kick back and enjoy the blog, comment and help the community grow!
Now Lax Links!

Bob Watson to return! (player preview on him tomorrow)-NLL Insider

John Grant signs three year deal- NLL Insider

Roughnecks release third jersey- Roughnecks.com

Matt Zash talks team USA- Knighthawks.net

Read about this lacrosse-like sport in Florida!- OCLA.com

Team USA Indoor Team Selected

2010-11-18T09:25:00.003-05:00

Team USA for the Indoor Lacrosse Championships in 2011 have been announced. The games will be held in Prague, Czech Republic.
"The chance to represent the United States at this elite level is the ultimate honor in lacrosse," said USIL President and GM Graham D'Alvia. "I am honored and look forward to the opportunity to further develop this team that will represent our great country in this sport, both on and off the turf."

Roster-

F - Kevin Buchanan - Minnesota Swarm (Ohio State)
F - Brian Langtry - Colorado Mammoth (Hofstra)
F - Bill McGlone - Philadelphia Wings (Maryland)
F - Brendan Mundorf - Philadelphia Wings (UMBC)
F - Casey Powell - Boston Blazers (Syracuse)
F - Paul Rabil - Washington Stealth (Johns Hopkins)
F - Drew Westervelt - Philadelphia Wings (UMBC)

T - Greg Downing - Boston Blazers (Fairfield)
T - Kyle Hartzell - Washington Stealth (Salisbury)
T - Chris Schiller - Rochester Knighthawks (Penn State)
T - Max Seibald - Philadelphia Wings (Cornell)
T - Matt Zash - Rochester Knighthawks (Duke)

D - Mitch Belisle - Boston Blazers (Cornell)
D - Scott Ditzell - Rochester Knighthawks (Syracuse)
D - Eric Martin - Washington Stealth (Salisbury)
D - John Orsen - Boston Blazers (Hofstra)
D - Jack Reid - Boston Blazers (UMass)

G - Erik Miller (Salisbury)

Reserve List

F - Sean Morris - Boston Blazers (UMass)
F - Chris Panos (Hofstra)

T - Matt Alrich - Edmonton Rush (Delaware)
T - Jon Christmas - Philadelphia Wings (Virginia)
T - Pat Heim - Philadelphia Wings (Penn State)
T - Ryan Hotaling - Boston Blazers (Nazareth)
T - Jarett Park - Colorado Mammoth (Syracuse)
T - Brett Queener - Boston Blazers (Albany)
T - Greg Rogowski - Boston Blazers (Merrimack)

D - Josh Funk - Minnesota Swarm (Ohio State)
D - Anthony Kelly (Ohio State)
D - Brett Manney - Washington Stealth (Delaware)
D - Steve Panarelli - Philadelphia Wings (Syracuse)
D - Joe Smith - Buffalo Bandits (Towson)

G - Ginny Capicchioni (Sacred Heart)
G - Mickey Hover - Philadelphia Wings (Montgomery)

Five players from the Reserve List will be named to the World Team roster in February.

Lax Links- 11/17

2010-11-17T14:29:00.002-05:00

Here are your Lax Links for Wednesday afternoon.

Our first glimpse of Grant in a non-Rochester jersey- NLL Insider

Rock confirm free agent and rookie camp players- NLL Insider

US indoor lacrosse announces roster- NLL Insider

Matt Vinc interview- NLL Insider

Mammoth re-sign Gajics- NLL.com

Paul Rabil interview- Inside Lacrosse

What Will the Knighthawks do with Pat O'Toole?

2010-11-17T09:38:00.006-05:00

(photo credit: Knighthawks.net)

The Knighthawks may be one of the most improved teams in the NLL this season. But they also may have helped other teams improve. They traded their star player John Grant to Colorado with Mac Allen for Matt Vinc, Matt Zash and Brad Self. The case with Vinc has always been; What do you do with Pat O'Toole?
O'Toole is a very good goaltender in his own right. He was one of the best back in the 1990's and still is today. But with the K'Hawks likely committed to Vinc (they signed him to a three year deal) it seems O'Toole will soon be on the move. What teams are out there willing to take on O'Toole?
First off, the Knighthawks offense may take a hit with the loss of Grant and Allen. They did add on some good scoring players this offseason with Cody Jaimeson, Jordon Hall, Matt Zash and Brad Self. But Allen was one of the better transition players in the league and Grant a scorer. If O'Toole is to be moved, I imagine the price for a scorer would be high. Don't get me wrong, Rochester has scoring potential. But I just think they could probably add a big name if O'Toole is moved.
What teams may be interested? The Calgary Roughnecks may be, after trading Matt King their projected starting goaltender is Mike Poulin. They may be interested in O'Toole, but with a depleted roster from so many moves, they may not be a trade fit.
The Swarm a certainly a team Rochester could fish from. Minnesota's starting goaltender, Nick Patterson, ranked near the bottom of the league in all goaltender stats. They still do have Kevin Croswell, but with a pretty good offensive team they might be willing to trade a player for O'Toole.
An unlikely trade partner my be Buffalo, as they already have Mike Thompson and are going to compete with Rochester, but it might turn out to be a possibility. Another team in this category may be Philadelphia. But after a season in which Brandon Miller was awful, I can see the Wings willing to deal for O'Toole.
This will be a fascinating season of Knighthawks lacrosse, in a vastly improved east division. Now with Vinc to lead them, O'Toole may have a new home outside of Rochester, for the first time in 13 years.

Player Preview: Gajic Brothers

2010-11-16T09:30:00.002-05:00

The Gajic brothers, Ilija, Nenard Alex, are in for an interesting season in Colorado with the new additions of John Grant and Mac Allen at their side. How is this going to affect their play, and how will their's affect the Colorado Mammoth? Here is your player preview, Alex, Nenard and Ilija Gajic.
Let's start off with Nenard, the oldest of the Gajic brothers. He was the #39 overall pick of the San Jose Stealth in the 2004 NLL draft. He became a free agent after he did not sign and sat out two seasons, as he wanted to pursue a hockey career at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Before 2007, Nenard signed with the Colorado Mammoth. In 2007, he scored 37 points and was named to the all-rookie team and the all-star team. Nenard is also the captain of the New Westminster Salmonbellies in the Western Lacrosse Association, but he missed the entire 2009 season because of injury.
Alex, in his first NLL season, was 38th in the NLL in points. Alex was the #5 overall pick by the Mammoth in the 2009 entry draft. He played at Denver University and the Junior A Barnaby Lakers before the NLL. At DU, he played 13 games while scoring 16 goals and six assists. In Burnaby, he was named team MVP as he led them to two championships.
Last season on Colorado Alex scored 26 goals in 16 games with 22 assists and 57 loose balls.
Ilija was originally selected #2 overall by the Rochester Knighthawks in the 2009 NLL draft. He was traded to Colorado for lon time fan favorite Gavin Prount. Ilija joined his brother Alex as a rookie on Colorado. In ten games, he scored 16 goals with 11 assists and 54 loose balls. He also attended the University of Denver. Ilija suffered a few injuries during the season, which held him to only ten games.
The Mammoth have locked up all three Gajic brothers for the upcoming season, with Mammoth general manager Steve Govett saying, “We want the Gajic brothers to be an integral part of this team for years to come,”
The Gajic brothers look to be on a better offensive club this season, with the additions of John Grant and Mac Allen, as well as Jamie Shewchuck returning. As the two Gajic brothers return for their Sophomore season, and Nenard returns a veteran, the Mammoth as a whole look to return a better team.

Games of the year #7- Syracuse vs Cornell

2010-11-15T10:18:00.002-05:00

Now as we get into our top seven, we have a lot of college games here. We start off with a nail biter between Syracuse and Cornell. This game comes down to the final second, as the #2 team in the nation holds on....

This game ended wild, but started off like any other game, when Syracuse's Max Bartig scored on the first shot of the game with 10:27 left in the first quarter. Most of the period were long possessions by each team, with niether really able to get much done. Finally a tally was put up for Cornell with Ryan Hurley's goal at 4:36
left going into the second.
Senior Chris Daniello scored to lead of the second for Syracuse, but the Big Red of Cornell were able to bounce back with goals from Roy Lang and David Lau. The rest of the period carryed on like the first, with both goalies having good games to that point. The quarter ended the same, and Syracuse faced their third halftime deficit of the season.
The tempo of the game finally got going in the third, but with not many goals still. Cody Jaimeson was able to get two back for Syracuse, including an impressive rebound goal off Tim Desko with 3:41 in the quarter.
Cornell was able to bury two goals, however, to make the game 6-4 in the favor of the Big Red with 10:55 left in the game. Cornell and Syracuse were able to exchange goals later in the period, but then Syracuse tied it late with goals from Tim Desko and Jovan Miller.
As the clock ticked down to 30 seconds, John Lade forced a turnover for Syracuse to get the final possession of the game. Surprisingly, head coach John Desko did not call a timeout as his team raced to the box to get off the final shot. Jaimeson got the ball with seconds ticking off, and fired to be saved by goaltender AJ Fiore. But Chris Daniello was able to pick up the rebound and score with 0:01 left on the clock.
Game Notes:
Syracuse had come back down three goals late, simaler to their championship in 2008 over Cornell. Junior goaltender John Galloway of Syracuse was a career 40-5 after that game. Syracuse outshot Cornell 40-20. Jaimeson and Daniello were the only multi-point scorers for Syracuse. Syracuse extended it's winning streak to seven games.

Media Coverage:
Inside Lacrosse

Games of the Year #8- Washington vs Edmonton

2010-11-12T09:37:00.002-05:00

In what was one of the matchups of the year in the NLL, the Washington Stealth faced off vs the Edmonton Rush in a game to determine the best of the west. Washington was coming off a first round blowout of Minnesota, and Edmonton a win over Calgary. Edmonton and Washington had fought all season for the #1 spot in the west, and while Washington ended up there Edmonton fell to third. But positioning did not matter in this game, as they were two of the best in the NLL, facing off for a berth in the Champions Cup.
Washington started the game off on a high note, with Paul Rabil scoring 3:39 into the game, followed by goals from Jeff Zywicki and two from Luke Wiles. Washington was able to hold a 4-1 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Cam Sedgewick and Rabil scored quickly into the second quarter, giving them a strong 6-1 advantage over the Rush. But Edmonton would not go away, scoring three unanswered goals in the second to cut the lead for Washington with 1:46 left. Rhys Duch of Washington was able to give the Stealth a bit more breathing room with his late period goal.
The Rush were motivated going into the third, scoring two straight goals to open the new half. But once again the Stealth had an answer, with Zywicki opening up the score to 8-6. Duch scored again seconds later, to make the score 9-6 going into the pivotal fourth quarter.
The Rush had beaten the Stealth twice in their three matchups this season, their two wins one goal wins. The Stealth knew the Rush had the ability to come back late in games. The Rush and Stealth traded goals to start the period, with Luke Wiles scoring his third of the night. Brodie Merrill was able to make the score 11-9 with 3:39 left in the quarter. The Rush pulled their goaltender Matt Disher for the final two minutes, and 55 seconds in Corey Small scored to make the score 11-10. With 20 seconds left Andy Secore tied the score at 11, and the final buzzer sounded with a tie. “I thought we were a little unlucky in the last four minutes,” said Stealth Head Coach Chris Hall. “We talked at halftime about it getting scrappy and intense down the stretch. We managed to stay poised and battle through it.”
Overtime lasted a mere eight seconds, as the Rush watched their hope melt away at the stick of Paul Rabil. Jamison Koesterer won a big faceoff for Washington, which trickled to Rabil who scored past Disher for the Washington win, and a chance to compete in the Champions Cup.

Media
Stealthlax.com
The Lacrosse Blog

Knighthawks Lock up Vinc

2010-11-11T16:16:00.002-05:00

NLL Insider has confirmed that the Rochester Knighthawks locked up their goaltender Matt Vinc to a three year deal.
Vinc was traded two weeks ago from Colorado for John Grant and Mac Allen. The salary figures were not revealed, but Vinc's agent, Chaka Bainbridge has confirmed it makes him one of the highest payed players in the National Lacrosse League. “He is excited to help bring Rochester back as a perennial title contender,” said Bainbridge. “Curt (Styres) and the entire Knighthawk staff are serious about succeeding and winning multiple Cups and this signing shows their commitment to that.”
Vinc is coming off a busy year, being named goaltender of the year with Orlando, being drafted by Colorado in the dispersal and then traded to Rochester, and leading team Canada to the FIL championship game.
“With every team getting stronger in the off-season the Knighthawks had to make some changes to stay competitive and right now I think they would have to be considered to have leap frogged Toronto and Boston as a favourite with Buffalo to advance to the Champion’s Cup from the East,” added Bainbridge
I think I will disagree with that last statement, as I think Toronto and Boston are still the favorites. But their is no doubt Rochester has improved this offseason via draft and free agency, as well as the Vinc trade.

Lax Links 11/11

2010-11-11T09:50:00.002-05:00

Happy Veterans Day!

The NLL looks back with Tony Resch- NLL Insider

Doyle talks Watson- NLL Insider

Blazers sign Powell to two year deal- NLL Insider

Rush sign four players- Lax Allstars

Games of the Year #9- Toronto vs Buffalo

2010-11-10T09:40:00.002-05:00

The Toronto Rock were the #2 team in the eastern conference, behind only the Orlando Titans. The Buffalo Bandits were the #3 seed, and had to go into Toronto with hopes of advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Rock were 0-2 vs Buffalo this season, so it was already a tough matchup for them. And Toronto was in for a tough game again.
Toronto was down 6-0 by the middle of the second quarter, being held scoreless by Buffalo goaltender Micheal Thompson pitching a shutout.
The scoring got started for Buffalo when Roger Vyse got it past Bob Watson three minutes into the game. The next eight minutes was defensive beauty, with not a goal until the end of the period by Brent Bucktooth.
Into the second quarter Bucktooth scored again along with Mike Accursi and Mark Steenhius. Toronto changed their goaltender to Steve Dietrich but Accursi scored again almost immediately. After a faceoff win by Blaine Manning, rookie Stephen LeBlanc scored to put the Rock on the board. After Mike Accursi scored again for Buffalo, Bob Watson re-entered the game as the Toronto goaltender. LeBlanc scored again not long after, followed by Colin Doyle to end the half.
The third period started in back-and-forth fashion, with Accursi and then Doyle scoring, and then Accursi again followed by Toronto's Mike Hominuck. LeBlanc scored the hat trick with his third goal of the game, but then after Steenhius' goal for Buffalo it was 10-7 Bandits. LeBlanc was able to score again, making it 10-8 going into the fourth.
Doyle started the period with a goal to put it within one, but Mike Accursi's sixth goal of the night made sure it did not last very long. Manning was able to score to bring it back within one, and Garret Billing's goal tied it up for the first time since 0-0.
LeBlanc and Doyle scored again, giving Toronto their first lead of the night and the final score stayed that way, with Toronto pulling off a 13-11 comeback victory and a chance to play the Orlando Titans in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Media Coverage:
TorontoRock.com
The Lacrosse Blog

Box Score:

VISITORS: BUFFALO
PLAYERS Pos. G A SOG S LB PIM FO
55 Goodleaf, Angus G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0/0
66 Thompson, Mike G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0/0
2 Llord, Ian D 0 0 0 0 1 0 0/0
3 Smith, Billy Dee D 0 1 0 0 6 2 0/0
6 White, Chris D 0 0 0 0 7 2 0/0
7 Harasym, Jon F 0 1 1 1 6 0 0/0
9 Steenhuis, Mark T 2 4 10 13 4 0 0/0
11 Tavares, John F 0 2 8 9 5 0 0/0
15 Corbeil, Chris D 0 0 0 1 12 0 0/0
24 Schmelzle, Kyle D 0 0 0 0 6 0 7/14
26 Bucktooth, Brett F 2 1 4 8 1 0 0/0
44 Accursi, Mike F 6 3 10 13 3 0 0/0
51 Dostie, Kevin F 0 4 1 2 6 0 0/0
63 Montour, Tom F 0 0 0 0 2 0 0/0
65 Hill, Clay D 0 0 0 0 2 0 0/0
81 Vyse, Roger F 1 3 3 3 3 0 0/0
84 Francis, Brandon F 0 0 0 0 0 0 6/14
91 Gibson, Darryl D 0 0 0 0 5 0 0/0
TEAM 11 37 50 69 4 13/28

Goalies GA Mins SOG SVS PIM
55 Goodleaf, Angus 0 4:58 4 4 0
66 Thompson, Mike 13 55:02 42 29 0
Coach: Darris Kilgour

HOME: TORONTO
PLAYERS Pos. G A SOG S LB PIM FO
29 Watson, Bob G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0/0
30 Dietrich, Steve G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0/0
4 Gilbert, Jeff D 0 0 0 0 3 0 0/0
5 Chapman, Sandy D 0 0 0 1 7 0 0/0
7 Doyle, Colin F 4 2 8 13 5 0 0/0
8 Reid, Creighton D 0 0 1 1 6 2 0/0
10 McCready, Pat D 0 3 0 2 6 0 0/0
11 Hobbins, Mike D 0 0 2 2 5 0 0/0
13 Billings, Garrett F 1 5 6 9 7 0 0/0
14 Marshall, Rob D 0 1 0 0 7 0 0/0
16 Manning, Blaine F 2 3 5 12 6 0 0/0
17 Leblanc, Stephan F 5 3 11 14 9 0 0/0
18 Sanderson, Phil D 0 0 0 0 4 0 0/0
23 Wasson, Josh F 0 0 3 8 4 0 0/0
33 Beirnes, Kasey F 0 2 3 4 4 0 0/0
44 Hoar, Stephen D 0 0 0 0 2 0 15/28
56 Petkoff, Drew D 0 0 0 1 2 0 0/0
90 Hominuck, Mike F 1 2 7 8 8 0 0/0
TEAM 13 46 75 85 2 15/28

Goalies GA Mins SOG SVS PIM
29 Watson, Bob 9 56:53 35 26 0
30 Dietrich, Steve 2 3:07 2 0 0
Coach: Troy Cordingley

Nightly Lax Links

2010-11-09T17:29:00.002-05:00

Lax Links for your Tuesday evening.

Bruce Alexander retires- NLL Insider

Craig Point is ready for 2011- Knighthawks.net

NHL following in NLL's footsteps?- TSN.ca

Rush re-sign key player- NLL.com

Jamieson has a lot of work to do- Examiner.com

Player Preview: John Grant

2010-11-09T09:38:00.002-05:00

With the bloackbuster trade of Matt Vinc and John Grant last week, we had a Vinc player preview with his new team in upstate New York. Now, we look at the player moving from the only franchise he's ever known to Denver.
Grant was originally a third round pick for the Buffalo Bandits in 1995, but opted not to sign and to stay in college. He re-entered the draft four years later in 1999, and was selected first overall by the Rochester Knighthawks, and was named rookie of the year. In the next three years in Rochester, Grant scored 95, 105, and 99 points. The year where he scored 105 came in a 14 game season, and the year he scored 95 was in 12 games.
The next season, 2004, Grant was injured most of the year and was only able to score 35 points in 5 games.
In 2007, Grant set a National Lacrosse league record with 15 points in a single game in a win over the New York Titans. Grant was also named MVP that season, as well as Champions Cup MVP with the championship in Rochester. The record does not hold, as Mark Steenhius of the Buffalo Bandits broke it.
Grant missed the entire 2009 season with emergency knee surgery. He returned to play 15 out of the Knighthawks 16 games in 2010, but they did not make the playoffs after falling to the Washington Stealth in the last game of the season.
In the MLL, Grant was a member of the Rochester Rattlers in their inaugural season. He finished second in the league with 59 points, and won offensive player of the year.
He skipped the 2002-2004 seasons, but returned to the Rattlers in 2005. In 2007, he broke the single season points record with 71, and was again named offensive player of the year, and also the MVP. He again led the league in scoring in 2008, and was again names MVP.
With the Rattlers folded, Grant now plays on the Toronto Nationals. He has been to two championship games, one in Rochester and one in Toronto.
Grant also played in the Ontario Lacrosse Association, with the Peterbourogh Lakers in the junior OLA. He was the league's top scorer in 1993, 1994, and 1995, as well as MVP in 1994. In 1995, Grant moved up to Major Series Lacrosse, also with the Lakers, and won the Rookie of the Year award. In 2000, he won the league's MVP. In 2002 and 2003, Grant moved to the Western Lacrosse Association, with the Coquitlam Adanacs.
Grant returned to Peterbourough in 2005, and led his team to the Mann Cup Championship. He also won the championship with the Lakers in 2006 and 2007. Grant surprisingly played in 2009, after his knee surgery that kept out of the Knighthawks lineup. In 2010, the Lakers won the championship again.

Grant is about to write a whole new chapter to his lacrosse legacy in Colorado now, hoping to lead the Mammoth the the playoffs, and the Champions Cup.

Game of the year #10- Colorado over Michigan

2010-11-08T09:07:00.002-05:00

The Michigan Wolverines were the #1 team in the MCLA, and on a 49 game winning streak. The #22 Colorado Buffaloes, on a four game losing streak, were the obvious underdogs.
The Wolverines streak of 49 consecutive wins spanned three seasons and two national championships, while Colorado had so many problems they changed their coach mid season.
Colorado was also 2-5, with six remaining games vs top ten teams. They were done, season over. “Nobody thought we were going to beat Michigan,” said Mike Ryder, Colorado’s new head coach. “Even some of our fans didn’t think we’d win this game.”

The Buffaloes started this one off on the right note, with AJ Blackburn scoring only 1:12 into the game. Little did they know at the time, that was the game winning goal, as Colorado never looked back.
Michigan was dysfunctional all period, with their dynamic duo of Kevin Zorovich and Trevor Yealy not being able to penetrate the Colorado defense.
Colorado scored three more goals in the period, another by Blackburn, and then Colin Rosenblum and Darren Hulik. Michigan was able to score one in the period, a tally from Clark McIntyre.
The second period was more of the same for both teams, except for Zorovich and Yealy scoring one a piece to make it 4-3 and get back into the game a little bit.
However, Roseblum scored two more goals for the hat trick and Kyle Drive beat the buzzer in Colorado's final possession of the half.
If Michigan was able to make any halftime adjustments, they did not show it. The third quarter continued like the previous, with five goals by the Buffaloes to the Wolverines two.
The fourth quarter began with I am sure the Buffaloes feeling like they were about to accomplish the unthinkable. And the Wolverines either felt a sense of panic or determination to get that 50th win in a row, and remain atop the MCLA standings.
Michigan showed up and played their game, playing physical and being aggressive on loose balls. Colorado salvaged an early goal in the period, but did not get more than that. The Wolverines finished the period out shooting the Buffaloes 16-6.
The defense was getting tired in the end, and head coach Mike Ryder had to call a timeout late, where he told his team to "just finish".
Michigan kept the pressure going all period, with time of possession dominating in the Wolverines favor. Goaltender Brad MacNee absolutely stood on his head all period.
“We knew we had the game up”, MacNee stated, “we also knew that it could go away in a second. We kept it tight, they got a few quick ones in, but we stayed calm and came out on top and held it until the last second.”
By the waning seconds of the period Michigan had all the momentum, but Colorado was able to hold on by the skin of their teeth and come out with a victory, and a stunning upset.
“The MCLA is a great league”, Ryder further commented. “A lot of tough competition and Michigan has played in a lot of close games. No one thought we were going to win this one coming in, they thought we were going to be number 50. But it’s one thing I told these guys, we got to end this streak today on our field. We just couldn’t afford to lose anymore on this turf. And this is going to be a turning point for the rest of this program’s season. “
Meanwhile, there is always the other side to an upset. And Michigan coach John Paul talked to the media after the game, saying “It was a matter of time. We were flat all day and in warm-ups. We’re telling the guys right up to the start that they were about to get punched in the mouth.”

Media Coverage:
Lacrosse Magazine

Morning Lax Links

2010-11-06T10:03:00.002-04:00

Here are your Lax Links for your Saturday Morning...

Which first rounders have signed?- NLL Insider

Who is the best goalie in history?- NLL Insider

Stealth sigh McElroy- NLL Insider

Swarm sign top pick- NLL.com

Game of the Year #11 Bayhawks vs Cannons

2010-11-05T09:56:00.002-04:00

I wrote about this matchup intensely leading up to the MLL semi-final between the Boston Cannons and Chesapeake Bayhawks. The Cannons were the best team in the league, with the MVP and goaltender of the year. The Bayhawks were the last seed in the playoffs and they barely snuck in with a winning record. I wrote at the time the only chance the Bayhawks had of beating Boston was if goaltender Chris Garritty stood on his head.
.... He did. Here is your 11th game of the year, the Bayhawks and the Cannons!
The Cannons came out firing in this win, winning the opening faceoff and scoring almost immediately. Max Quinzani, the rookie from Duke, scored the first goal of the game.
But Chesapeake came back moments later, when Bugs Combs scored a goal standing right in front of the crease and beating the goaltender of the year Kip Turner. Kevin Buchanan took the lead with his goal for Boston, but it would be their last lead of the game.
That is when the Bayhawks got hot, scoring five straight goals. The first of his three came from Ben Hunt, with his two pointer to give the Bayhawks a quick lead in the first quarter. After that Jeff Reynolds let one go inside the two point line, making it 4-2 Bayhawks after one quarter. Garrity played on his head that period, absolutely shutting down the Cannons.
The Cannons are a good defensive team, but they are mostly a running defensive team. Unless they score, they did not have much of a shot.
In the starting seconds of the second quarter Hunt strikes again, making it a 5-2 lead. Hunt also scored the next goal. The Cannons were having complete defensive breakdowns.
The last goal of their streak came from Jed Prossner beating Turner high. I was wondering why Turner wasn't pulled right there, when they have a good backup in Burke. But Boston stuck with the goaltender of the year, and eventually scored.
After a bad offensive sequence, Boston gets the ball and Buchanan makes them pay, slimming the lead to 7-3. But about one minute later that changed with Combs' goal.
Chesapeake would score two more times to make it 10-3 going into the half. I imagine the Cannons were stunned, but the Bayhawks really game planned for this one good.
The Bayhawks came out firing again, scoring twice sandwiching a Buchanan goal. Boston began their mini-comeback, scoring three straight goals to make it 12-7. That is when Kip Turner was pulled for Jordon Burke.
Into the fourth quarter, Ryan Boyle got a two point shot to make it 12-9. Burke did a terrific job, but Chesapeake scored one more to make it 13-9 which was the final. Boston had a few more possessions with chances to score, but could not, completing one of the biggest upsets in lacrosse this year.

Media Coverage:
Inside lacrosse
The Lacrosse Blog

Update

2010-11-04T23:16:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow morning we will have our #11 game of the year as well as Lax Links at some point.
Also starting at some point I am going to have the top 100 lacrosse players of all time. That could happen any time between next week and December.
Also a news update regarding the blog. I have been in talks with getting the blog on SBNation and have been informed that they have contacted the NLL for blog recommendations. This blog will be assessed in the coming days so if you want to see The Lacrosse Blog on SBN, support it by commenting and reading the blog.
As always comment with any of your thoughts.

NLL Defensive Preview

2010-11-04T09:31:00.002-04:00

In the month of October we previewed some of the goal scorers of the NLL. We looked at who would lead, be in last, and score the most. But offense is not the only part of lacrosse. No, you also need a good defense...

NLL Preview- DefenseThese days, lacrosse is more of a game of scoring goals. I mean, the name of the game is scoring more goals than the other team. But you need something else. You need a good defense to stop other teams from scoring. You need to play physical, pick up loose balls, and do not allow top offensive players to penetrate. So, who is the best defensive player in lacrosse? Who has the best defensive team?

Who will lead? In NLL history, the best to play the game of defense is Brodie Merrill of the Edmonton Rush. He was second in the league in loose balls, behind only Geoff Snider. Now, Merrill is not a defenseman, but that does not automatically disqualify you. Merrill is a transition player, allowing him to play defense and offense.
Last year in loose balls, the top three were Snider, Merrill and Steve Toll. Those three will probably continue similar numbers, as three of the best defenders in the game.

Best defensive team? Well having Merrill automatically makes you one of the best, so let's but Edmonton up there. Boston has a good chance to be a good defensive team, even after losing Paul Dawson. They acquired John Orsen, Scott Campbell, and are hoping Kyle Rubisch signs with them soon.

Lead the league? Who will lead the league in loose balls? That is the stat I am going to use here, as there are no real defensive stats to defy a player. As I said above, Snider and Merrill are almost sure bets, and I am also going to drop in Orsen.

Top 5? Top five defensive players in the game: Brodie Merrill, Geoff Snider, Steve Toll, Eric Martin, Greg Peyser. After Merrill and Snider it's a toss up. If you have any ideas of who you would like to see there, tell me in the comments.

Nightly Lax Links- 11/3

2010-11-03T18:02:00.003-04:00

Lax Links for your November 3rd afternoon...

Who won the Matt Vinc deal?- NLL Insider

Blasdell signs with Colorado- NLL Insider

Swarm resign Sullivan- NLL.com

Who is the all time faceoff leader?- NLL.com

Game of the Year #12 Duke vs USA

2010-11-03T09:17:00.003-04:00

This was probably one of the biggest upsets in the year of lacrosse. It was only an exibition for Duke, but it was an important tuneup for USA. So, what happened in our #12 game of the year?
In a game in Orlando, Florida, in January, was the biggest upset of the year in lacrosse. A game that could have set Team USA back.Duke had been down in the game by five goals and were able to come back. Max Quinzani had the game wining goal with 5.8seconds left.
Team USA jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first quarter, with goals by Matt Streibal, Matt Zash, and Drew Westervelt. But Duke brought the heat in the second quarter, with Joh Offit scoring twice and a goal from Stephen Coyle.
Will McKee and Offit scored again, tying it quickly into the second. But USA settled down their defense in the third quarter, and took the lead 7-5 with goals from Westervelt and Paul Rabil. But USA go undisciplined, and took three penalties. Zach Howell scored two straight extra man goals to tie the game at seven a piece. Brandon Mundorf again put team USA up by one, but Duke would not stay down, with Robert Rotanz tying it.
USA had an extra man opportunity in their last possession, but Duke's defense was able to hold them without a goal. But after the opportunity with USA with the ball, Kyle Dixon dropped it and a scrum for the ball ensued. Long pole Parker McKee and also a member of team USA's forty man roster recovered the ball, and fed it to Quinzani for the game winner.

Notes:
Drew Westervelt and Josh Offit each got hat tricks on the night. Offit was the MVP. Duke played a terrific defense all night, even without all-American players Mike Manley and CJ Costabile. Duke was also forced to use three goaltenders in the game. Devon Sherwood, a five year senior, starting the game, but briefly. He was quickly replaced by Mike Rock, who was later replaced by Drew Wigrizer. Their fourth goaltender, Sean Brady, was serving a suspension.

Media Coverage:
Lacrosse Magazine
Inside Lacrosse

The Lacrosse Blog did not cover this game, as it did not yet exist in January.

Player Preview: Matt Vinc

2010-11-02T09:38:00.003-04:00

I was planing on Mark Steenhius this week but with all the commotion of the Vinc trade, I'm going to go with him this week. So, first let's take a look at his career.
Vinc played high school lacrosse with Billy Dee Smith and Craig Conn, and was the sixth overall pick in the 2005 draft by the San Jose Stealth. In 2006, Vinc played in only four games for the Stealth, with a 6.34 GAA.
In the 2006 New York Titans expansion draft, Vinc was selected. He became the starting goaltender in 2007.
In 2008, he put up a 11.35 GAA, his career high. In 2009, he led the Titans to 10-6, and a three way tie with Buffalo and Boston. The Titans, however, got first place due to tiebreakers.
In the eastern conference championship, Vinc held Buffalo to three goals, saving 41 of 44 shots to lead New York into the National Lacrosse League championship. New York went on to lose to the Calgary Roughnecks.
The next season to franchise moved to Orlando to become the Orlando Titans. Orlando made it to the eastern conference final, to lose to Toronto.
Vinc won goaltender of the year, and was selected by the Colorado Mammoth with the first overall pick in the dispersal.
Vinc was later traded to the Rochester Knighthawks for John Grant and Mac Allen. This trade did not make sense for some people, but Vinc is a teacher in Ontario, and did not want to play on the west coast.
However, you still wonder why Colorado selected him when Casey Powell was next.

Nightly Lax Links

2010-11-01T16:19:00.002-04:00

I'm going to try to post Lax Links daily now, maybe in the morning or night. Tomorrow we have a player feature on Matt Vinc.

Read about the Mammoth's rookie and free agent camp- NLL Insider

Wings fans react to assistant coach hiring- Wingszone

Eight of the best to enter hall of fame- Lacrosse Magazine

TSN talks about Mike Accursi- TSN.ca

Games of the Year- #13

2010-11-01T09:28:00.002-04:00

This is going to seem like an odd game but it just stood out to me as one of the most exciting games in the NLL this season.
It was a regular season game between the Boston Blazers and Colorado Mammoth. There was a brawl, goalies ejected, and a game with playoff implications coming down to the final seconds. So here is your number 13 game of the year.
This was the first ever meeting between the Blazers and Mammoth,but they played like they had known each other for a long time.
It was a low scoring game, with no one scoring until ten minutes into the first quarter. Boston did a terrific job defending Colorado, who had averaged 12 goals per game in their last three.
Boston ended up with a 2-0 lead after the first quarter, after goals from Daryl Veltman and Jamie Rooney.
Colorado made it 2-1 seconds into the second, but Dan Dawson scored 28 seconds after that.
The controversy began when Alex Gajic shot hit the post, then deflected behind Anthony Cosmo's leg and the ball spun on the goal line before Boston picked up the loose ball.
However, Colorado coach Bob Hamley threw the challenge flag and the officials ruled the play a good goal.
However, the officials reviewed the play again at halftime and stripped the Mammoth of their second goal, making it 3-1 Boston at halftime.
The third quarter was a high scoring one, with the score at 6-4 Boston going into the final frame.
The Mammoth got lucky when Boston goalie Anthony Cosmo was thrown out of the game for having enlarged pads. So Boston had to go with their backup goaltender,Nick Rose. The Mammoth took advantage of their momentum and starting shooting several shots on net. Colorado tied the game at six before Dan Dawson again worked his magic to take the lead for the Blazers.
Rich Catton tied it again for Colorado, but after a Dan Dawson and Jon Harnett goal the playoffs hope for Colorado were over.

Media coverage:
NLL.com

Box Score:
PLAYERS Pos. G A SOG S LB PIM FO
44 Cosmo, Anthony G 0 0 0 0 0 12 0/0
66 Rose, Nick G 0 1 0 0 0 0 0/0
2 Dawson, Paul D 0 0 0 0 6 2 0/0
6 Dawson, Dan F 5 3 12 13 4 0 0/0
8 Downing, Greg T 0 1 1 1 4 0 0/0
9 Bining, Gary F 0 0 4 5 2 0 0/0
12 Durno, Jon D 0 0 0 0 3 4 0/0
16 Veltman, Daryl F 1 2 7 11 4 0 0/0
18 Reid, Jack D 0 0 0 0 3 2 0/0
20 Hotaling, Ryan T 0 1 1 6 8 0 10/21
23 Queener, Brett T 0 3 0 1 3 0 0/0
26 Kirk, Mike D 0 0 0 0 5 0 0/0
27 Giles, Mat F 1 2 6 6 4 0 0/0
33 Harnett, Jon D 1 0 1 1 4 0 0/0
37 Cotter, Nick F 0 1 9 9 3 2 0/0
85 Belisle, Mitch D 0 0 0 0 7 2 0/0
90 Rooney, Jamie F 1 0 4 6 6 2 0/0
97 Ross, Kyle T 0 0 1 2 2 2 0/0
TEAM 9 46 61 68 28 10/21

PLAYERS Pos. G A SOG S LB PIM FO
30 Levis, Chris G 0 0 0 0 1 0 0/0
41 Leyshon, Andrew G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0/0
1 Prossner, Jed F 2 1 12 15 6 0 0/0
6 Langtry, Brian F 0 2 8 14 5 0 0/0
8 Carlson, Nick T 0 0 0 0 2 2 0/0
9 Gajic, Ilija F 0 0 6 12 4 4 0/0
10 Gajic, Alex F 1 0 8 8 2 2 0/0
11 Gallant, John D 0 0 0 0 4 0 0/0
17 Richardson, Brad D 0 1 0 0 5 0 11/21
18 Malawsky, Derek F 0 2 4 4 2 2 0/0
20 Murray, Bruce D 0 0 0 0 1 0 0/0
24 McFadyen, Ryan D 0 0 1 1 3 0 0/0
27 Smith, Cliff T 1 0 1 1 7 0 0/0
28 Ethington, Tom D 0 0 0 0 5 0 0/0
36 McKay, Chris D 0 2 0 0 7 4 0/0
48 Catton, Rich D 1 0 1 1 2 0 0/0
85 Shewchuk, Jamie F 2 0 9 14 6 0 0/0
91 Conway, Cory F 0 0 2 3 2 0 0/0
TEAM 7 52 73 64 14 11/21

Open Thread

2010-10-30T12:36:00.001-04:00

TLB has a big week next week, but weekends are always busy so there may not be as many posts.
Talk here amongst yourselves about any lacrosse. Matt Vinc trade, NLL, MLL, upcoming college, whatever.
Enjoy!

Nightly Lax Links

2010-10-29T18:59:00.002-04:00

Some Lax Links to enjoy this Friday night as we head into Halloween weekend.

What will the K'Hawks do with O'Toole and Bold?- NLL Insider

Who is the best defender in NLL history?- NLL Insider

Maddalena signs with Rock- NLL Insider

Grant surprised by trade- Lacrosse Magazine

Upcoming this week: A player feature on Matt Vinc, The #13, 12, and 11 games of the year, plenty of lax links, and a NLL defensive players preview.

Game #14- MLL All-star Game

2010-10-29T10:07:00.002-04:00

This was another game that was special to me, as I attended it as well. But this was about as an exciting all-star game as you will see in any sport. It was not phony, like the NBA or NHL. The players didn't shoot it off, like the NFL, and it was not overboard like the MLB. No, the MLL did this right.
They selected the top players of the MLL that were not on Team USA, and pitted them against that team who was to go overseas in the next week to take on the FIL.
The MLL All-stars did give USA a scare. So let's revisit this game, as we count down our top 15.....
We had coverage of this game here in July, so here is the recap from it that I wrote at the time;

Team USA eked by the MLL All-Stars, 13-12, to finish their exhibition play.
The Bud Light MVP Brenden Mundorf scored six goals for USA and scored the game winner. Ryan Powell scored the goal that brought them within one and the game winner. For the MLL All-Stars, they put in a terrific effort, with Anthony Kelly, Kevin LeVeille, and Peet Poillon scoring two goals a piece.
The key to the game was the MLL All-Stars great defense that shut down Paul Rabil. The MLL All-Stars were projected to have great defense, but at times in the first half Team USA looked over matched. They dropped a lot passes and looked very sloppy on offense, and blew some coverages on defense. They ended up with the lead after two though, with a five goal second period.
The Halftime skills contest was spectacular. Paul Rabil defended his title as hardest shot, and tied his record shooting 111. Chicago rookie Ned Crotty won the two point contest, and Kevin Buchanan won the free style, scoring after running up a staircase made of people (including Anthony Kelly) balanced on the crossbar, and scored.
In the second half, the MLL All-Stars made a run and took the lead, 9-6. Matt Danowski scored on a two point shot to tie it and then the All-Stars scored three more goals. But Mundorf took over again and scored two goals before the end of the period to cut the lead to one going into the fourth quarter. Ryan Powell put in the game winner with 1:00 left.

Media Coverage:
Inside Lacrosse
NESN

Reaction to Matt Vinc trade

2010-10-28T09:22:00.003-04:00

The Matt Vinc trade sure was interesting. Colorado trades their #1 overall pick when Casey Powell went right behind, that is what I don't get. Yeah, Vinc turned into John Grant and Mac Allen, but I mean, Casey Powell!
Colorado went and got Matt King from Calgary afterwords. There are rumors in Rochester that Vinc or Pat O'toole could be traded now, so keep an eye on those stories. Here is some reaction to yesterday.

Lacrosse Magazine talks about all the deals the Mammoth made yesterday.

Jody Gage says John Grant will always be a Knighthawk- NLLInsider

Grant happy to be in Denver- NLLInsider

What do fans think of this deal?

NLL.com talks about the blockbuster

Remember, tomorrow is the #14 game!

Mammoth trade Vinc

2010-10-27T16:44:00.004-04:00

The Colorado Mammoth have traded Orlando Titans dispersal pick Matt Vinc and forward Matt Zash to the Rochester Knighthawks for John Grant and Mac Allen, reported by NLLInsider.
Vinc had been the subject of trade rumors for a few weeks, but I still cannot understand why. The Mammoth committed to Vinc in the dispersal with the #1 overall pick, when last year's MVP Casey Powell went second. I also do not understand Rochester wanting Vinc, as they have recently signed Pat O'Toole to an extension.
Grant and Allen will supply Colorado with a lot of offense, but Colorado's issue last season was not scoring, but goaltending.
There were also rumors of Grant being traded to Buffalo for rookie defenseman Travis Irving. Colorado has acquired Matt King from Calgary, but Colorado needed an elite goaltender in Vinc.
There is also the possibility of Rochester trading Vinc somewhere else with a bigger deal in the works as well.
This was probably not the greatest deal for both parties. Rochester loses their points leader in Grant, but Colorado loses their goaltender. But Colorado may have come out with the better deal after acquiring King.
More to come.

Top Games---- #15 Orlando Titans vs Boston Blazers

2010-10-27T09:22:00.004-04:00

A first round playoff matchup between the #1 Orlando Titans and #4 Boston Blazers. Boston dominated the early half of the game, but Orlando made a terrific comeback on the shoulders of Casey Powell.
As I attended this game, my only of the year, this does hold a special place in my heart. So here is you #15 game of the year....

The Titans were the favorites going into the game, the #1 seed in the east with the #1 player in the world, Casey Powell. Boston came in as a good team that struggled at times in second halfs, with their #1 player Dan Dawson.
The Blazers had a problem in the second half of the season; Teams made a halftime adjustment to double-cover Dawson. Boston had some other good scorers, Daryl Veltman, Ryan Hotaling, Mat Giles and Gary Bining. But none good enough to take the double-cover off one of the best players in the game.
Boston played a terrific second half, dominating an Orlando team that had not been dominated, and carried a 7-4 lead into halftime.
But remember, Phil Jackson, Boston lovvves to blow a lead in the fourth quarter.
Casey Powell went on a rampage, scoring five goals to lead the game in goals and named game MVP.
Dawson, though scoring was shut down, did dish out 7 assists to go along with one goal.
Orlando tied the game 8-8 late in the third period, but Boston battled back and took the lead, 9-8. But it wasn't over there. In the fourth quarter, Casey Powell scored two goals to make it 10-9 Orlando before Jarret Park scored a goal to make it 11-9.
Boston continued to battle and tied it at 11 with one minute remaining and possession, but a turnover got the ball to the Titans and Jordon Hall scored the game winning goal. Matt Vinc had 35 saves in Orlando's comeback win.
Now, this could be an odd pick to some people. But like I said, because I was at this game it holds a special place in my heart. But this game was also one of the best in the NLL all season. Orlando made a terrific comeback, tying the game and then taking the lead, it was a classic back and forth.
Our #14 game will be the MLL All-Star game on Friday.

Media:
NLL Insider Coverage
Game Recap from The Lacrosse Blog

Game Stats:
Blazers
PLAYERS Pos. G A SOG S LB PIM FO
4Cosmo, Anthony G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0/0
66 Rose, Nick G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0/0
2 Dawson, Paul D 0 0 0 0 7 0 0/0
6 Dawson, Dan F 1 7 4 10 5 0 0/0
8Downing, Greg T 0 0 0 1 11 0 0/0
9 Bining, Gary F 2 1 4 4 3 0 0/0
12 Durno, Jon D 0 0 0 0 1 2 0/0
16Veltman, Daryl F 3 3 10 14 4 0 0/0
18 Reid, Jack D 0 0 0 0 3 2 2/2
20Hotaling, Ryan T0 2 2 2 3 0 17/25
23Queener, Brett T0 0 0 0 0 2 0/0
26 Kirk, Mike D 0 0 0 0 6 0 0/0
27 Giles, Mat F 1 4 8 9 7 2 0/0
33Harnett, Jon D 0 0 1 1 5 2 0/0
37Cotter, Nick F 2 0 9 11 6 4 0/0
85Belisle, Mitch D0 1 1 1 12 0 0/0
90Rooney, Jamie F 2 1 7 9 1 0 0/0
97 Ross, Kyle T 0 0 0 0 2 0 0/0
TEAM 11 46 62 76 14 19/27

Titans
PLAYERS Pos. G A SOG S LB PIM FO
3 Wagar, Kurtis G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0/0
48 Vinc, Matt G 0 0 0 0 1 0 0/0
3 Alrich, Matt F 0 0 7 9 4 0 0/0
6 Bigas, Jeff D 0 0 0 0 2 0 0/0
10 Zash, Matt D 1 1 3 3 7 0 2/6
12 ark, Jarett T 1 0 1 1 7 2 0/0
14 Boyle, Ryan F 0 1 1 4 0 0 0/0
15 MacLeod, Mat F 0 1 1 1 3 0 0/0
16 Merrill, Pat D 0 1 2 2 2 2 0/1
17 Greer, Bill D 1 0 1 1 3 0 0/0
19McLellan, Mike F1 1 6 8 2 0 0/0
20 Peyser, Greg D 0 2 0 1 10 2 6/20
21Koneczny, Chet D 0 1 2 2 3 0 0/0
22 Powell, Casey F 5 2 12 14 2 0 0/0
24 Smith, Rory D 0 0 0 0 2 2 0/0
42Maddalena, Pat F 1 4 4 8 4 0 0/0
44 Hall, Jordan T 1 2 9 12 5 2 0/0
56 Orsen, John T 1 1 0 0 10 0 0/0
TEAM 12 49 66 67 10 8/27

Other Notes:
Shots on Goal: Bos: 46 Orl: 49
PP: Bos: 1-3 Orl: 1-4
FO: Bos: 19 of 27 Orl: 8 of 27

Player Preview: John Tavares

2010-10-26T09:10:00.002-04:00

John Tavares, also the uncle of New York islanders player John Tavares. He is the oldest player in lacrosse and the longest tenured Bandit in their history. Tavares was drafted by Detroit in 1992, and was traded to Buffalo in their inaugural season, and has played no where else since. Tavares, a sure fire hall of famer, returns again to Buffalo this season, so let's take a look at his career before a preview.
Tavares in his first season, played in only eight games. However, he did score 43 points, showing more talent to come. Back then in the NLL it was only an eight game schedule, and in those next three years he scored 58, 47, and 45 points. They then went to a 10, 12 and 15 game schedule, and then Tavares really took off, scoring a career high in points in 2001 with 115 points. Tavares is currently the NLL's leader in career goals, points, and assists, passing Gary Gait in the goal scoring in 2008.
Tavares has scored over 100 points four times, in 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2007. Last season he scored only 49 in 10 games, but that might be because he was 41 during the regular season.
Tavares is also legendary in Major Series Lacrosse, and won the championship with the Peterbourough Lakers over the summer. He started off with Orangeville Northman before signing with the Vancouver Burrards. After spending two seasons there, he signed with Brampton Excelsors, then the Six Nations Chiefs, Akwesane Thunder, Victoria Shamrocks and St Regis Indians. His career high in points is 140 in 1996.
Tavares returns to a Bandits team this winter in which he is not the only face. They have Mark Steenhaius, who was fourth in the league in scoring. But Tavares is still getting it done with the Bandits, and looks to win their first championship since 2006.

Top 15 Games of the Year

2010-10-25T09:36:00.002-04:00

The Top 15 Lacrosse Games of the year are set and will come out on Wednesday, counting down 15-1 until December.
It was a hard and long process, and includes games from College Lacrosse, the National Lacrosse League, and Major League Lacrosse.
We will feature a writeup of the game, links of coverage of that game, and former articles from The Lacrosse Blog about that game, plus a player feature.
We look forward to unveiling the top 15 games, and have some Lax Links for you right now as you prepare for the TLB Games of the year.

Top fights of the year in the NLL- NLL Insider

NLL Personality of the year- NLL Insider

Remember to watch the lacrosse edition of The Internet Sport Show on Tuesday.

Lax Links- 10/22

2010-10-22T13:26:00.003-04:00

Lax Links for Friday.

Blazers sign Teat- NLL Insider

20 questions with Rory Smith- NLL Insider

Cody Jaimeson ready for Knighthawks season- NLL Insider

The Internet Sport Show talks lacrosse every Tuesday- YouTube

NLL Season Preview- October

2010-10-20T09:28:00.003-04:00

The NLL is still months away, but a lot has happened this offseason to shape the season already. Every month we will have an NLL preview, talking about different aspects that will matter this season.

NLL Preview- Scoring
A lot of prime offensive players switched teams this offseason. Including last season's MVP Casey Powell. The Boston Blazers offense has been well documented this offseason, acquiring Powell and Josh Sanderson from the Calgary Roughnecks.
But those were not the only players to switch teams. Geoff Snider was traded to Calgary, and Jeff Zwycki left the Washington Stealth. And with Colin Doyle being traded last offseason, this looks to be the norm in the NLL.

Who will lead?In the east, I think Boston. I've talked about them a lot so far already, so how about the west. If Calgary didn;t trace everybody, I would have said them, but I am going to go with Washington for now, the defending champs. Paul Rabil leads that team obviously, so I believe as of right now Washington will lead the West in scoring.

Who is in the cellar?Philadelphia. They lost Snider, which really hurts their offense. I don't see them even making the playoffs as of right now. In the west, I'm going with Colorado, though I do see them making the playoffs with Vinc. I think Minnesota will score more, but I do not believe they are good enough to make the playoffs this season.

Lead the league?I think Josh Sanderson will lead the league again. With playmaker Casey Powell playing with him, I can see a repeat for Sanderson.

Top 5?My top 5 point getters this season, in no order, would be Sanderson, Powell, Lewis Ratcliff, Colin Doyle, and Callum Crawford. Honorable mention: Paul Rabil

Player Preview: Ryan Benesch

2010-10-19T10:12:00.003-04:00

Ryan Benesch was always a player that sparked my interest. This year for Minnesota he was 11th in the NLL ins scoring, scoring a career high 83 points. So we are going to look over Benesch's career so far, and tell what to expect this upcoming 2011 season.
Benesch was the first overall pick of the San Jose Stealth in the 2006 draft. He was soon traded to the Toronto Rock with two other players for 2005 MVP Colin Doyle. That season, Benesch was named rookie of the month in the month of May, and he also made the first-team all rookies.
In the offseason, Benesch was traded to the Edmonton Rush along with Derek Suddons. Benesch was later traded to the Minnesota Swarm along with Scott Self for Ryan Ward.
Last season on three occasions he scored the hat trick. He broke two Swarm records with 11 points in a game and nine assists in a game. He was the 2007 rookie of the year, and he led the Swarm in scoring in the playoffs last season. His career high in points before last season was 58, his rookie year in Toronto.
Benesch is a terrific young player and i would expect an even better year this season, maybe 90-100 points.

Top 15 Lax Games of the Year... Plus Lax Links

2010-10-18T09:32:00.002-04:00

Starting this week, we will be counting down the top 15 college and pro lacrosse games of the year. If you have any recommendations, please post them in the comments.
We will also have a player feature on Matt Benesch and have an NLL season preview. For now, Lax Links.

Who is Ben Davies?- NLL Insider

Seven questions until college lacrosse- Lacrosse Magazine

Rush get new lease- NLL.com

Stealth add new coaches- NLL.com

Lax Links- 11/14

2010-10-14T09:44:00.002-04:00

Lax Links today.

Max Seiblad talks about his Nike BOOM commercial- NLL Insider

Tracey Kelusky talks about adjusting to Buffalo- Peterborough Examiner

What does next year's NLL draft hold?- NLL Insider

Who are the top Canadien prospects? - Inside Lacrosse

Be sure to watch my new show, The Internet Sport Show, every Tuesday on YouTube for Lacrosse talk.

Player Preview: Casey Powell

2010-10-13T10:08:00.002-04:00

Casey Powell is arguably the best player in lacrosse. He is the reigning NLL MVP, and was acquired by the Boston Blazers in the Orlando Titans dispersal. Powell finished only 14th in scoring, but he is going to be playing side by side with the man who finished first, Josh Sanderson.
Powell is coming into a great situation in Boston, playing with two former MVPs in Sanderson and Dan Dawson. How will this affect Powell's numbers? It should in ways both good and bad. His point totals will go up, but his goal totals may go down. He will be double covered more than Sanderson or Dawson, but his assist numbers will go through the roofs playing with a finisher like Sanderson. But how did this all begin for Powell? How did he become the best player in the NLL?
Let's take a first look at his MLL career. In 2001 he was drafted by the Long Island Lizards, and led the Lizards to the first ever MLL championship. He led them to a championship again in 2003, and was then sent to the Rochester Rattlers in a blockbuster deal. In 2005, Powell was named offensive player of the week three times in the final four weeks of the season.
Powell was named MLL offensive player of the year in 2007. Powell is considered the best player in MLL history.
In the NLL, Powell has also had a storied career. Powell was drafted by the Rochester Knighthawks in 1998, and was traded to Buffalo two years later. He never reported, and was then traded to the Anaheim Storm where he made his mark. Powell was selected by the Portland LumberJaxx in the Storm dispersal, but elected again not to play. Powell was later traded to the New York Titans, and eventually Boston when the Orlando Titans dispersed.
His career year points wise in the NLL was 2008 when he scored 86 points. Something tells me he might overtake that mark this season in Boston.

1-1 with Casey Powell

2010-10-12T13:37:00.003-04:00

A video from NLL Insider.com. Watch an interview with the NLL MVP and Boston Blazer Casey Powell, who we will have a feature about tomorrow.
Powell talks about playing in Boston, what Florida lacrosse did for him, preventing head injuries in lacrosse, and his new partnership with Eastern-bell.

Lax Links- 10/11

2010-10-11T12:34:00.002-04:00

I have been busy all weekend, but I promise a look at Casey Powell this week.

Kelusky still heartbroken about trade- NLL Insider

Mammoth sign Curtis Palidwor- Mammoth.com

Wings GM Johnny Mouradian loves the acquisition of Paul Dawson- Wingslax.com

A review of the Syracuse Alum game- NLL Insider

USA squeaks by Harvard- Lacrosse Magazine

National Lax 10/8

2010-10-08T11:06:00.003-04:00

A new feature at The Lacrosse Blog. We will talk about where we see lacrosse outside of the lacrosse community. For example, any lacrosse commercials, or features on TV, outside of lacrosse games and videos. Our first National Lax feature is Paul Rabil in ESPN Magazine.

Paul Rabil will be in ESPN's second annual body issue. That is similar to the SI swimsuit issue, but instead it is male and female athletes practically nude. Rabil is the first lacrosse player to participate in this.
Rabil had a busy year this year, winning the National Lacrosse League's champions cup, winning gold for team USA, and making the playoffs with Major league Lacrosse's Boston Cannons.

Either over the weekend or Monday we will have a player feature on Casey Powell.

Morning Blog Post

2010-10-07T11:51:00.002-04:00

OK everyone, no Lax Links today because not much has changed since yesterday. But this is just a random post for today. I'll write a few lacrosse things on my mind and this can kinda be an open thread.

* Tracey Kelusky trade-- I kind of understand it, and I kind of don't. They already lost Josh Sanderson, but did pick up a good player in Daryl Veltman. They traded Dawson, but picked up Snider. I thought the Roughnecks would be one of the better teams in the NLL this season, but now I don't know what direction they are going in. I wonder if this trade has anything to do with the concussion he sustained midseason?

* The Boston Blazers are going to be awesome this year. I keep saying it, but I really believe it. I thought the Blazers could have a real good season last season, but when teams zoned in on Dan Dawson there were not many other players who could score. Yeah, they had Veltman and Mat Giles, but they could not produce when Dawson was covered haevily.
But this year with Sanderson and Powell, they will be a scoring machine. They still have Anthony Cosmo in net, and their defense is improved by acquring John Orsen and Scott Capmpbell. So I'm going to throw this out there now; My pick to win the NLL Championship is Boston.

So, Open thread for the day, I'll report any news here if something worth writing about comes about.

Lax Links- 10/6

2010-10-06T10:31:00.002-04:00

Paul Dawson traded again? This time to Philadelphia- NLL Insider

Watch the new Nike commercial featuring Max Seibald- Inside Lacrosse

An interveiw with Ned Crotty and Ken Clausen- Inside Lacrosse

Iroquois Nationals set rosters for Hawaii inventational- Inside lacrosse

Watch the best games on the year in the MLL- majorleaguelacrosse.com

NLL Celebrates 25 years

2010-10-05T09:32:00.003-04:00

(Photo Credit: NLL Insider)

The NLL will celebrate their 25th season starting in January, and have made this spacial logo to celebrate it.
It is a special thing to last for 25 years. Other than the four major sports, not many leagues have lasted more than 20 years. The old UFL, the old UHL, the leagues who have always foolishly tried to compete with the major leagues. Maybe that is why the NLL has lasted so long, because it does not have to compete with anyone, and stands alone.
When the NLL began in 1987, not many people outside of Canada knew what box lacrosse was. Since the leagues began, more and more American players were drafted, showing the league's success in the states.
The only orig anal teams left from that first season are the Philadelphia Wings, and the Baltimore Thunder, which are now the Colorado Mammoth. The other two teams, the New Jersey Saints and Washington Wave both folded.
That year, with only four teams and a schedule of six games, the Wings beat the Thunder for the first ever NLL championship.
This year ten teams are playing a sixteen game schedule, in cities all over, like Boston, Calgary, Buffalo, and Minnesota. The NLL's ratings on the NLL Network online have gone up 20% in the last year, and the championship game in Everret, Washington, sold out the entire crowd. The NLL has grown in a lot of ways the past 25 years.
Happy Anniversary to the National Lacrosse League!

NLL Player Preview: Josh Sanderson

2010-10-04T09:16:00.002-04:00

After all the NLL team previews, we will now look at some player previews. We will look at some of the more intriguing players in the NLL. It will be a total of 20 players, with at least one from each team. This series will stretch until January.

Right now, it's Josh Sanderson.
Sanderson was originally drafted by the Rochester Knighthawks in 1998. In his rookie year, he played in four games and scored four points. The next he played five and then Rochester traded him to the Albany Attack. With the Attack in 2002, he scored 103 points with 35 goals. That was his peak in Albany, while he scored 76 and 89 points, the last year with San Jose before the franchise moved on from him and he went to Toronto. With the Rock he broke out, scoring 102, 98 and 85 points before being traded to Calgary. With Calgary, he had only 16 points in an injury plagued season and ended up back in Toronto. He scored only 50 points in 11 games that year before he was shipped back out to the Roughnecks, for Lewis Ratcliff. He then scored 103 and 104 points, leading the league last season and was second the year before. He was also named MVP of the 2009 Champions Cup with Calgary.
In the offseason, he was traded to the Boston Blazers, where he will play alongside Casey Powell and Dan Dawson.
Josh Sanderson is related to the goaltender, Chris Sanderson, who was an all-time goaltending great in the MLL. He recently returned from brain cancer and played in the FIL for team Canada.

Sanderson has won two NLL Champions Cups, with Calgary and Toronto. In 2002 he won the MVP of the Mann Cup in Major Series Lacrosse. He has been an all-pro in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2010. He was also a starter for the 2009 NLL all-star game. Sanderson was MVP of Calgary's Championship. He also played in the Bowhunter Cup.

The Next Player Preview will be Ryan Powell at some time this month. If you have any ideas of who you want to see next in this series, write it in the comments.

Knighthawks D-Man inducted Into Rochester Lacrosse HOF... + Lax Links

2010-10-02T18:59:00.003-04:00

Rochester Knighthawks defenseman Chris Schiller, former Rattlers head coach BJ O'Hara, and two others will be inducted into the US Lacrosse Greater Rochester Hall of Fame. Schiller just recently signed a three year extension with the team.

Now Lax Links.... NCAA Edition!

A rule I like, the NCAA will try to remove all hits to the head- Lacrosse Magazine

Cal's coach looks at why the school cut women's lacrosse- Lacrosse Magazine

A check in with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish- Inside Lacrosse

This week we will do a feature looking at players to watch this NLL season.

Lax Links 9/30- NLL Edition

2010-09-30T20:02:00.002-04:00

Last of the month. In October we will feature some of the best in the lacrosse year.

Team-by-team look at the NLL- NLL Insider

Stealth's championship to be recognized- NLL Insider

Rush re-sign Mydske- NLL.com

'Necks extend Veltman- NLL.com

NLL Preview: Rochester Knighthawks

2010-09-29T09:26:00.003-04:00

(Photo credit: NLL.com)

The Knigthawks have missed the post season twice in a row now, including last year in heart breaking fashion. With Boston losing to Buffalo on the final week of the season, Buffalo would just have to beat Washington, who has nothing else to play for. But they lost, and finished 7-9. On the positive side, Rochester now has the number one overall pick in Cody Jaimeson and a new head coach. So now in the final NLL Preview, here are the Knighthawks.
As we always do, let's look at their leading scorers. Last season Rochester's top scorer was ranked 9th, and it was John Grant with 83 points. That was his least amount of points since 2004, when he played only five games. The previous three years he had scored 92, 111, and 97 points. Is this the first signs on decline for Grant?
Rochester's next top scorer is Shawn Williams, who ranked 20th in the NLL with 69 points. This was also a low scoring year for Williams, who averaged 82 goals with Rochester. Williams had spent the start of his career in Toronto and then Buffalo, and scored 77 goals in his first real chance to start. He took off when he went to Rochester, scoring over 100 points twice. But he may be on the decline too, like Grant, at age 36.
We are going to look at two more Knighthawks scorers; Shawn Evans and Craig Point. Point has been in the league for four years, and two with the Knighthawks. In his two years with Rochester he has 46 and 28 points, and his career high61 in his first year in Minnesota. He played only ten games the year he scored 28 points, so maybe he can build on next year to reach his full potential.
Shawn Evans has played in Rochester since 2006, scoring his carer high in points two years ago at 79. Last year he may have took a step back, scoring only 45 points, his career low other than his rookie season. The Knighthawks look for Evans to step up this season, and be what they thought he would.
The goaltenders. Pat O'Toole started most of the games for Rochester, and finished with a 11.26 GAA. Rochester's backup, Aaron Bold, did get into every game, but had 313:00 minutes compared to O'Toole's 650:21. Bold's 11.12 GAA actually ranks ahead of O'Toole. Bold was acquired from the Stealth before last season. In San Jose, his best season came in 2008 when he got into sixteen games and put up a GAA og 10.29. O'Toole has been a Knighthawk since 1999. His best year was in 2003, when he put up a 10.21 GAA.
What is my prediction for Rochester? I think they make the playoffs. They finish as the third seed. We didn't even talk about Cody Jaimeson, the Knigthhawk's first overall pick. Thank you for reading the NLL Preview Series!

NLL Preview Buffalo Bandits

2010-09-28T09:38:00.002-04:00

The Bandits finished 8-8 last season, making the playoffs as the third seed. They lost to the eventual east champions Toronto Rock in the first round. The Bandits made the playoffs on the last day of the season, beating the Boston Blazers to clinch.
Buffalo had a terrific year from Mark Steenhius, who finished fourth in the league in scoring with 90 points and 36 goals. Steenhius was looking to prove himself in elite player in this league, scoring 101 goals the previous season. Steenhius was also second in the league with 175 shots on goal, second to only John Grant.
Buffalo's next leading goal scorer was 37th in the league, and it was the 42 year old John Tavares. Tavares, a Bandit since 1992 and a future hall of famer, scored 49 points and was second on the team. He scored 21 goals and 28 assits.
Buffalo's next three top scorers were Mike Accursi, Kevin Dostie, and Brett Bucktooth. Buffalo was third in the East in goals scored, scoring more than Boston, Rochester, and Philadelphia. But their goals again est was also third in the east with 170 GA. One of their goaltenders, Mike Thompson, had a 9.92 GAA. The other two goaltenders for the Bandits, Ken Montour and Angus Goodleaf, had 10.89 and 10.75 GAAs, respectively.
Buffalo played more overtime games than anyone last season in the east, winning two and losing one. Their wins were a thrilling win over Toronto, and a nailbaiter in Boston. Their loss came vs Colorado. Buffalo had only one winning streak all season, and that was a three game winning streak vs Orlando, Toronto and Boston.
Buffalo has made some good acquisitions this offseason. They signed former Boston Blazer Brenden Thenhaus and Kyle Clancy, who was the Bandits first round pick last season. Buffalo also drafted Travis Irving with their ninth overall pick, and also drafted Ben McCollough.
Buffalo is going to have a tough time in the east this season. Orlando is gone, but Toronto is still there and Boston is much improved. The Bandits will make the playoffs, but probably no higher than a third seed. Buffalo will now be three years removed from their 2008 championship, and need to start a whole new dynasty this season.

Next On Previews: Rochester Knighthawks

MLL Teams Announce Protected Rosters

2010-09-26T10:14:00.002-04:00

Major League Lacrosse announced their protected 23 man rosters today. They can fill out their forty man rosters with the 2011 Supplemental Draft. Here are which players each team protected.

Boston: Ryan Boyle, Chris Passavia, Mitch Beisle, Matt Poskay, Kevin Buchanan, Max Quinzani, Jordon Burke, Paul Rabil, Matt Casey, Jack Reid, Jimmy Connolly, Brad Ross, Greg Downing, Matt Smalley, Chris Eck, Mike Stone, Pat Heim, Kyle Sweeny, Chris Nixon, Kip Turner, Ryan Nizolek, Justin Smith, John Ortolani

Chicago: Greg Bice, Bill McGlone, Steven Brooks, Kenny Nims, Martin Cahill, Jarret Park, Brian Clayton, Justin Pennngton, Ned Crotty, Casey Powell, Mike Gabel, Doc Schnieder, Diogo Godoi, Josh Sims, Kyle Gaudagnado, Joe Smith, Anthony Kelly, Matt Streibel, Mike Levielle, Steve Whittenberg, Jorden Levine

Chesapeake: Matt Abbott, Brian Phillips, Brain Carroll, Peet Poillon, Joe Cinosky, Jed Porssner, Sam DeVore, Jeff Reynolds, Kyle Dixon, PT Ricci, Micheal Evans, Ben Ruboer, Chris Garrty, Jeremy Sieverts, Danny Glading, Alex Smith, Kyle Hartzell, Brian Vetter, Ben Hunt, Kyle Wimer, Micheal Kimmell, Jeff Zywicki, Ray Megill

Denver: Matt Bocklett, Connor Martin, Matt Brown, Eric Martin, Casey Cittadino, Ryan McFadyen, Ken Clasuon, Brenden Mundorf, Will Dalton, Dillon Roy, Sean DeLaney, Jesse Schwatzman, Adam Fullerton, Max Seibald, Steve Giannone, Kevin Unterstein, Dan Hardy, Nate Watkins, Andrew Hennessy, Drew Westervelt, Alex Hopmann, Lee Zink, Brian Langtry

Long Island: Drew Adams, Albert Maione, Stephen Berger, Parker McKee, Dan Cocchi, John Orson, Kevn Cromwell, Ricky Pages, Matt Danowski, Stephen Peyser, Chris Fiore, Nicky Polonco, John Glynn, Christen, Scuderi, Tim Goettelmann, Brian Spillana, Zack greer, Mike Unterstein, Greg Gurelian, Peter Vlahakis, Brent Herbst, Mike Ward, Scott Kocis

Toronto: Mac Allen, Daniel McRae, Garret Billings, Brodie Merrill, Brent Bucktooth, Merrick Thompson, Mike Timms, Sid Smith, Chris Daniello, Brett Queener, Dan Dawson, Scott Rodgers, Billy Dee Smith, Corey Small, John Grant jr, Geoff Snider, Jordon Hall, Mark Steenhius, Kevin Huntley, Steven Waldeck, Cody Jaimeson, Matt Vinc, Joe Walters

Roughnecks trade Wray to Rush

2010-09-24T18:42:00.002-04:00

The Calgary Roughnecks have traded long time Roughneck Devan Wray to the Edmonton Rush for a sixth round pick in the 2011 draft.
Wray was acquired by Calgary in 2003 from Vancouver for a first round pick. President and General Manager, Brad Banister expresses, “It is a sad day for the Roughnecks as Devan has been with us for a long time. He has always been a tireless work horse and a great leader for the team, on and off the floor.”

"It came to the point where he wasn’t going to get a whole bunch of playing time with us, due to the addition of Geoff Snider and still having Nolan Heavenor in the line-up. We really wanted Devan to stay within the organization, but he still wishes to continue his playing career.”
Wray stacked up 41 loose balls last season, but saw his playing time decrease. “We would have loved to have had him aboard the coaching staff, but realistically he is going to be a great addition for Edmonton, as he was born and raised there. It will be nice for him to go back to his roots and play professional lacrosse in Edmonton and we wish him all the best.”

NLL Preview Minnesota Swarm

2010-09-23T09:22:00.001-04:00

The Swarm had a very disappointing year, going 5-11 but making the playoffs due to Colorado's horrendous season. But Minnesota could not have been happy with their efforts as they try to regain their form again.
Minnesota barely made the playoffs, losing their last six games of their season, they made it only when Colorado lost their second to last game of the season. It's no surprise either, they were tied for the worst goals again est average in the league. Both their goaltenders, Nick Patterson and Eric Croswell, had GAA's over 12.
One of the bright spots in the Swarm season was the play of Callum Crawford. Crawford had bounced around in his first five seasons, playing on five different teams. His 96 points were his career high by a large margin, his previous high being 41 the season before. It was also the first time Crawford had played a full season, playing only 13 games before with Edmonton, and before that 12, 13, and 5 games per season. The Swarm look for Crawford to continue off his breakout season and be their catalyst on offense.
The next leading scorer for Minnesota was Ryan Benesch. Benesch scored 81 points in his first year in Minnesota, also a career high for him. His previous high had been 58 in his rookie year with Toronto. The Swarm also acquired Benesch from Edmonton, was traded for Ryan Ward, who turned out to be Edmonton's leading scorer. Benesch had been traded from Toronto to Edmonton previous of that.
The Swarm's next leading scorer is Tim Campeau, with 48 points. Acquired from Portland in the dispersal draft, Campeau scored twenty more points than the previous year and picked up 51 more loose balls.
I'm going to look at one more player here from Minnesota, one I expect big things from in the future. Zack Greer was just a rookie last season, and played in 13 games and picked up 13 points. Greer is one of the top scorers on the MLL's Long Island Lizards, and I think a big year may in the waiting for Greer in Minnesota.
Minnesota had enough scoring to go by. In fact, they scored more than Edmonton, Boston, and Buffalo, who all made the playoffs with a better record. But their issue once again leads to goaltending. They gave up 201 goals on the year. Nick Patterson was 13th in the league in goals against. His save percentage was the third lowest in league, only Andrew Leyshon and Matt King was a lower save percentage. Patterson has been a long time member of the Swarm, coming over from the Vancouver Ravens in 2005. In that time period his best GAA was in 2006 when he had a 10.16 GAA, and the year after that it was 10.88. Patterson has been good in the past, but his GAA has gone up every year since then. But the one thing that stands out about Patterson is his playoff numbers. His career GAA in the playoffs is 14.01. His save percentage is only .713. And he has never had a playoff win, holding a record of 0-4.
I really think the Swarm can make the playoffs again, but they need an all around better year from their goaltenders.

The next and final preview: Buffalo

Lax Links- 9/22

2010-09-22T12:01:00.003-04:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, the combination of computer problems and another project are the reason for that. I promise to get a Minnesota Swarm preview up before next week. but let's do Lax Links for now.

Great article here from Lax Magazine- Lacrosse Magazine

Inside Lacrosse podcast talks to Tom Ryan- NLL Insider

Rabil added to Bowhunter cup- NLL Insider

Lax Links- 9/17

2010-09-17T17:08:00.002-04:00

We have only two editions left of the NLL Previews, and those are Minnesota and Buffalo. I hope to get those up next week.

Lax Links

Knighthawks name Mike Hasen head coach- Lacrosse Magazine

Rush release McElroy- NLL Insider

Stealth and Wings make trade- NLL Insider

The Boston Cannons season in review- Lax United

NLL Preview Calgary Roughnecks

2010-09-16T13:11:00.000-04:00

The Roughnecks are an interesting case. Two years removed from their NLL championship, they still look like one of the favorites in the west. They may even be the favorite, but they have Washington to worry about in that division. The Rougnecks finished second in the west last season, but were defeated at home by Edmonton in the first round. They look to improve off of that, and take another step forward this season.
The Roughnecks had one of the best offseasons in the NLL this year. They acquired Geoff Snider, Paul Dawson, and Daryl Veltman. But with those acquisitions came a loss. The 2009 Champions Cup MVP and NLL leading scorer last season, Josh Sanderson.
Sanderson was shipped out to Boston in offseason, leaving the Roughnecks with Veltman and Kyle Ross (who was later acquired by Toronto). But the trade of Sanderson is certainly not waving the white flag for the season. As we saw with the Colin Doyle trade, sometimes trading your superstar player can really help an organization, and change their approach.
The Roughnecks were certainly represented in the top twenty scorers, but that was mostly from Sanderson, who is now in Boston. So a lot of that scoring will have to be made up. Some of it will be, with Veltman and Snider now, but it will take a lot to make up that much production. The Roughnecks next top scorer was Dane Dobbie at 15th with 80 points. And after that was Tracey Kelusky, who missed time last season due to a concussion. But remember Veltman, who played all season with Boston, had 65 points last season. And Geoff Snider had 41 points. None of it exactly makes up Sanderson, but they still have the pieces to be a scoring productive team.
Matt King was starting goaltender for Calgary most of the season, but Mike Poulin contributed as well. Poulin's GAA was 9.79 while King's was 11.27. I imagine they will stick with that tandem, but I would not be surprised to see Poulin as their starting goaltender.
I imagine the Roughnecks to finish in the top two in the West. Either they or Washington will win the division. I think the Roughnecks may even have the pieces to win it all.

Toronto Aquires Pat Merrill

2010-09-15T11:39:00.001-04:00

Today the Toronto Rock signed free agent Pat Merril. Here is the press release.

The Toronto Rock Lacrosse Club have acquired unrestricted free agent and former Orlando Titans defender Patrick Merrill to a four year deal this week. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Introduced into the NLL as a Rock player in 2003, Merrill played in Toronto for the first five seasons of his career until he was picked up second overall by the New York Titans during the 2007 Expansion Draft.
Being very familiar with the coaching staff in Rock assistant coach and GM Terry Sanderson, Patrick is looking forward to playing for Toronto again.

“I’m extremely thrilled to be back playing for the Rock organization” Merrill says. “It’s a very strong team on the floor and a first class organization off the floor. I know the Rock ownership, coaching staff and players put winning first and that is very important to me.”

The assistant captain and defenseman spent two seasons as a Titan in New York before the team moved to Florida where he spent the 2010 season with the Orlando Titans and tallying 13 regular season points (1 goal, 12 assists). Along with his Titans squad, Patrick appeared in two NLL playoff games in 2010, the second of which was the East Division final where the Toronto Rock defeated the Titans 15-10 and pushed them into the Championship game.

Having coached him in the past during summer lacrosse, Sanderson and head coach Troy Cordingley know Merrill is comfortable with the way they run the defense and are big fans of the way he plays the game.

“He plays with an edge that in a way makes us a harder team to compete against” says Sanderson, “and brings a great wealth of leadership qualities that you really can’t have enough of.”

Merrill, 31, has appeared in the NLL playoffs every season he’s played in the League. Two of these playoff years were with the Rock that also led to NLL Champions Cup titles. The first in 2003 when the Rock defeated the Rochester Knighthawks and most recently the 2005 season when he was a part of the Championship victory for the Rock over the Arizona Sting at the Air Canada Centre.

‘It was an amazing experience to be a part of two Championship teams with the Rock and I’m really hoping to help this team bring another to the great lacrosse fans of Toronto” Merrill adds.

Patrick, along with his Toronto Rock teammates will kick off the 2011 regular season against his younger brother Brodie Merrill and the Edmonton Rush. The Rock home opener takes place on Saturday January 8th at 7:00 p.m. ET at the Air Canada Centre

Schedule Update: Look out for the Roughnecks preview tomorrow.

NLL Preview: Washington Stealth

2010-09-14T09:14:00.004-04:00

The NLL season is now only a few months away, and it's time to preview them.

The Stealth won their first ever championship last season, defeating the Toronto Rock in the Champions Cup. The Stealth held the best record all season, and when threatened by teams like Edmonton and Calgary, they hung on. The Stealth got clutch production all season long, and look like the favorites again in the west going into 2011.
The Stealth season started with one of their biggest trades in franchise history, trading Colin Doyle to Toronto for Lewis Ratcliff. Ratcliff responded to the move by becoming the second leading scorer in the NLL.
The Stealth had plenty of scorers in the top twenty along with Ratcliff, Rhys Duch, and Jeff Zywicki, who they just traded to Edmonton.
The Stealth played their first season in Washington as an up and coming team. They had made the playoffs the previous year, but were still under .500. The Roughnecks looked like the team to beat in the west. And many people were stunned when the Stealth traded Doyle, the face of the franchise for so long. The Stealth came out of the gate strong, and continued it until the end to win their championship.
The Stealth look a little different this year, trading away Jeff Zywicki and acquiring Jeff Moelski. But the Stealth don't look to let up, as they still have Paul Rabil, Cam Sedgewick, and Brian Carroll. Also in the mix is playoff hero Mike Grimes, a defensman.
The Stealth put a lot on young goaltender Tyler Richards last season, and he delivered. Richards, the Stealth's third round pick in 2007, was spending his third year in the league and was looking to make a big leap. Richards spent time as the Stealth's backup in 2009, playing in ten games with a save percentage of .803%. He was 3-1 that season. The Stealth named him their starting goaltender in 2010, and Richards played in every game. He went 5-4 with a .771%. Though Richards did not rank high in the goaltender rankings, he won the world championship.
The Stealth are one of the favorites again this season, keeping much of their team together.

The Potential of a Rochester MLL team

2010-09-13T13:22:00.003-04:00

We have heard rumors all summer of the MLL returning to Rochester. Well, recently more details have emerged with this potential idea. In an article at Inside Lacrosse.com, it says soccer club Rochester Rhinos owner Rob Clark wants to bring the MLL back to Rochester. Here is the exact quote:

"Rhinos owner Rob Clark, 37, who acquired the team in early 2008 after owners Donner, Frank DuRoss and Chris Economides defaulted on a $10.8 million loan, says he may bring the MLL back next year. The team would play about 10 games at Marina Auto Stadium, something city officials and the Rhinos, who run the city-owned facility, want.

More events would help the Rhinos attract corporate sponsors. The soccer team would run the lacrosse club, just as the sports group did the Rattlers, who Clark says "were never marketed here at all."

The NLL team Rochester Knighthawks have always drawn very well, proving that lacrosse can market itself in Rochester. So will we see an MLL team in Rochester? Signs are pointing to yes.

Lax Links- 9/12

2010-09-12T10:07:00.003-04:00

Sorry for the lack of updates, been having computer problems of late. For today, we have Lax Links. But look for a Washington Stealth preview later in the week.

Iroquois to play in Hawaii- Inside Lacrosse

More about the Iroquois- Lacrosse Magazine

A review of the Bayhawks season- Lax United

NLL had three players inducted to the hall of fame- NLL.com

NLL Draft Recap

2010-09-09T15:42:00.003-04:00

Last night was the 2011 NLL Draft in Toronto, Ontario. With the Rochester Knighthawks holding the first pick, here is how the draft went.

#1- Kinghthawks- Cody Jaimeson
I don't think many people were surprised by this pick. For more info on Jaimeson, read this.

#2- Blazers- Kyle Rubisch
A defender, and the best one in the draft. No surprise the Blazers drafted him, they need someone to replace Paul Dawson.

#3- Roughnecks- Curtis Dickson
Again, not a real surprise. For more on Dickson, read this.

#4- Swarm- Andrew Suiter
Suiter, a smiler player to Rory Smith, will fit right in Minnesota's defensive plans.

#5- Knighthawks- Jarret Davis
Davis ripped up the WLA, and is a pro-ready offensive player who should fit right in with Rochester.

#6- Roughnecks- Dan McRae
A defender who improved his stock in the MSL this summer, he may be the best all around defensman in the draft someday.

#7- Blazers- David Brock
A two-way player, big time goal scorer.

#8- Roughnecks- Brian Ivey
Kind of a surprising first round pick here, Ivey may have impressed the 'Necks at the Minto Cup.

#9- Bandits- Travis Irving
Perfect Buffalo type of player, a big strong defender.

#10- Knighthawks- Ryan McLelland
Has played in almost every other pro lacrosse league, but I don't know where he fits in the K'Hawks plans.

NLL Mock Draft

2010-09-08T11:39:00.002-04:00

Tonight is the NLL draft, and The Lacrosse Blog has you covered. Tonight we will hold an open thread for the draft, but riht now here is what you will want to expect.

Knigthawks- Cody Jaimeson, Syracuse
Blazers- Kyle Rubisch, Downing College
Roughnecks- Curtis Dickson, Delaware
Swarm- Derek Hopcraft, Bellarmine University
Knighthawks- Andrew Suiter, RIT
Blazers- Ryan McClelland, Colgate
Roughnecks- Travi Irving, BCJALL
Bandits- Ben McCullogh,
Knighthawks- Holden Vyse

Other players taken in the first Round could be Jarret Davis, Dan McRae, and Glen Bryan.
The draft can be seen at NLL.com tonight at 6pm.

NLL Preview Edmonton Rush

2010-09-07T10:40:00.003-04:00

The NLL Draft will be soon upon us. The NLL season is now only a few months away, and it's time to preview them.

The Edmonton Rush made their first apperence in playoff history last season, and made it to the western division finals. The Rush were able to beat the defending champion Roughnecks on the road before falling to the Washington Stealth. The Rush ere one of the most dangerous teams in the NLL last season, getting hot down the stretch and one of the favorites to win the cup.
The Rush have goaltender Matt Disher returning after an up and down season. His reguler season GAA was at the bottom of the pack, but he stepped it up down the stretch. They also had great years from the likes of Gavin Prount, Brodie Merrill and Ryan Ward, their leading goal scorer. Ward was also their leading scorer in the playoffs, coming up clutch with 12 assists.
Edmonton had only one runner in the top 20 scorers, and that was Ward. But after that was Gavin Prount, Andy Secore, and Ryan Powell. Prount, though a solid season, scored the least amount of points in his career. With the Mammoth, Prount scored 91, 78, 93, 89, 92, and 78 points. In his first year in Edmonton only 67 while playing the full season. Prount is 32, maybe we are seeing a decline in him.
Now let's look at Ryan Powell. Powell has always been a good player, but his brother Casey has always been the superstar. Powell last year played his first season with the Rush, scoring 51 points. Powell was aquired by Edmonton in the Portland Lumberjaxx dispersal draft, where Powell had spent the bulk of his career. Powell had some really good seasons with the Lumberjaxx before moving to the Rush, so maybe he is starting to get on a roll. The Rush would love some better contribuations from Powell and Prount to get that championship.
There is a lot of parody in the west this year. Washington will still be good, as will Calgary, and Colorado has improved. The Rush will be among that class, and have a good of shot as any at the Champions cup this season.

Lax Links- 8/3

2010-09-03T10:46:00.002-04:00

Here are your Lax Links for this Friday afternoon.

MLL All-star game to return to Boston- Inside Lacrosse

Goettelman to return- Lacrosse Magazine

A review of the champions- majorleaguelacrosse.com

Wings hire new GM- NLL.com

NLL Schedule Released

2010-09-02T17:38:00.004-04:00

The National Lacrosse League announced it's schedule for the 2011 season today. here it is: http://www.nllinsider.com/2010/09/02/national-lacrosse-league-announces-2011-regular-season-schedule/

Games of note:
*Champion Washington Stealth host Colorado in their first game of the season. They host Calgary the next night
* Defending east champions Toronto plays Edmonton their first game.
* The first rematch of the championship is April 1 when Washington travels to Toronto.
* The first Boston-Toronto game is January 21st.
* Last game of the season is April 23rd, Colorado @ Minnesota

Other NLL Notes:
The draft will take place September 8th in Toronto. It can be seen at 6pm on NLL Network. The Lacrosse Blog will have an open thread.
Meanwhile, NLL Insider has come up with some top prospects for the draft. As we expected, they list Cody Jameson, Kyle Rubisch and Curtis Dickson to go 1-2-3. It's pretty wide open after that. We have done Prospect Previews of Jameson and Dickson in the past.

NLL Preview Colorado Mammoth

2010-09-01T11:04:00.002-04:00

The NLL Draft will be soon upon us. The NLL season is now only a few months away, and it's time to preview them.

The Mammoth had their worst season in franchise history last season, finishing last in the west and in the NLL. The year before, Colorado was the last seed to make the playoffs in the west, but lost in the first round to the champion Calgary.
The Mammoth's biggest problem last season was their goaltending. Their starting goaltender, Andrew Leyshon, had the worst goals against average in the NLL at 13.38 and only a .718 save percentage. That is one thing the Mammoth have sured up this offseason; Goaltending.
The Mammoth were in a good spot when the Titan's dispersal came with the #1 pick. They could have had last year's MP Casey Powell, but they went with the goaltender of the year, Matt Vinc. Last season Vinc was third in GAA and S%. That sures up their biggest issue.
The Mammoth did not have any of their runners in the top 20 goals scored. In fact, their highest goal scorer was ranked 22nd in the league, Jamie Shewchuk. After him at 23d was Brian Langtry. Even with Vinc between the pipes this season, the Mammoth will need better scoring from their veterans. Alex Gajic is their next ranking scorer. Gajic had a great rookie season, competing for rookie of the year. But this season he will need to take the next step to become a true goal scorer in this league.
The Mammoth, even with their horrible record, did have a shot at the playoffs with two weeks left. Minnesota had gone cold and the Mammoth had a game in Boston. If they won the next two and Minnesota lost, they could have still made it. But Colorado lost a heart breaker to Boston, one of the best games of the year in the NLL. The Mammoth showed fight even when there was little hope left. The Mammoth will compete for a playoff spot again this season.

NLL Preview: Philadelphia Wings

2010-08-30T17:38:00.005-04:00

The NLL Draft will be soon upon us. The NLL season is now only a few months away, and it's time to preview them.

The Wings have already had an active offseason, to be expected after one of the worst years in the storied franchise's history. With more championships than any other NLL team, the Wings always draw high expectations. Last season their final game drew less than 10,000 fans, which is unheard of in Wings lacrosse.
The first shakeup of the season for the Wings was trading one of the franchise's faces in Geoff Snider. Snider, a fan favorite, was shipped out to Calgary for a pick in the Titans dispersal draft. The Wings drafted well, selecting MLL superstar Brenden Mundorf and Ryan Boyle. The Wings also fired their head coach, Dave Huntley, and hired John Tucker, a former Wings great.
The Wings by no stretch of the imagination will be Champions Cup favorites. But they will be an improved team in 2010, and may compete with Buffalo and Rochester for the last playoff spot.
They will need a better year from their goaltender Brandon Miller. Miller ranked near the bottom of the league in goals against average, ahead of only Matt Disher and Andrew Leyshon. Miller gave up 183 goals on the season, more than any other goalie, the next highest being Disher at 174. Elite teams have elite goaltending, and the Wings will need him to be that to get back to where they want to be.
Last year's highest Wings scorer was 18th in the league, Drew Westervelt. In the rankings ahead of him were four Toronto Rock players. The next highest in the top scorers for the Wings were Kyle Wieles (27th) and Geoff Snider (46). The Wings will need more out of players like Max Seibald this season. Seibald was 114th in the league with only 11 points over only 12 games played. Seibald, however, did produce on the loose balls. But I think the Wings would like to see a little more point production out of Seibald, one of the better players in the MLL.
The Wings will not have a first round pick and do not pick until 20th overall. Boston acquired their pick in the Mat Giles trade. It is unclear who the Wings will select, though it is speculated it could be Kyle Dixon or Ned Crotty.
The Wings look to improve on a 5-11 year, tied for the worst year in Wings history.

Upcoming on The Lacrosse Blog...

2010-08-30T14:30:00.003-04:00

Later today we will have an NLL Preview of the Philadelphia Wings. I will also have a Colorado Mammoth one later in the week.
Also a new feature here, we will be taking requests for features you want to see here in the Lax Links thread. If you want a preview or review of a certain team or player, a look into some prospects, anything you want.
This isn't Lax Links, but you can post your requests here for now. Lax Links will be appearing daily most of the time except on weekends.

Boston Blazers Preview

2010-08-28T12:33:00.003-04:00

The NLL Draft will be soon upon us. The NLL season is now only a few months away, and it's time to preview them.

The Boston Blazers bounced back last season from a devastating defeat to the Buffalo Bandits in the playoffs. They made the playoffs on the final day of the season, beating out the Rochester Knighthawks, but they barely backed in. They lost to Buffalo that night and needed Washington to defeat Rochester. Lucky for them, they did. But it once again proved Boston's inconsistencies with a season full of them.
Boston had one issue all season long; If Dan Dawson was shut down, so were the Blazers. They had some good players in Daryl Veltman and they went out and acquired Mat Giles, but it was not enough. They relied on Dawson and their goaltender Anthony Cosmo to get it done.
Boston finished fourth in the east and had to travel to Orlando for their playoff showdown. They lost similarly to the rest of their regular season: They had a lead, but Orlando adjusted to shutting down Boston's top scorer. Well, the Blazers were full aware of this flaw and used a golden opportunity to fix it.
The Blazers have lucked out on dispersal drafts their entire existence, having the number one pick to steal Dawson from Arizona and Cosmo from Chicago. This year they had a number two pick for the Orlando Titan's dispersal, and they drafted league MVP Casey Powell. Now with Dawson and Powell on offense, that was sure to fix a flawed offense. But even better, Boston made one of the bigger blockbusters of the last few years and acquired Josh Sanderson, the 2009 playoffs MVP. Similar to the Boston Celtics big three, the Blazers look to take this opportunity and win the whole thing.
With the best team in the east, Orlando, out of the league, their only real competition will be Toronto and maybe Buffalo might be a surprise team. But Boston has a real golden opportunity to make this their year.

Lax Links- 8/27

2010-08-27T10:05:00.002-04:00

We'll see if I can get a Boston Blazers post up later, but for now, Lax Links.

Kyle Ross a Toronto Rock- NLL Insider

Wings address their fan base- NLL Insider

Outlaws to make some changes?- Lacrosse Magazine

Hall of Fame Ceremonies in the NLL- NLL.com

NLL Preview: Toronto Rock

2010-08-26T11:31:00.002-04:00

The NLL Draft will be soon upon us. The NLL season is now only a few months away, and it's time to preview them.

The Toronto Rock finished in second place in the East last season and made it to the Champions Cup where they were defeated by the Washington Stealth. Key players for the Rock last season were rookies Garret Billings and Stephen LeBlanc, an then of course Colin Doyle, Blaine Manning and Sandy Chapman. But what will the Rock look like this year?
The Rock lost the division to the Orlando Titans. While they may not be in the league any more, expect the Boston Blazers to have a strong season. If the Rock want to compete, they will need those players and others to contribute. With Bob Watson getting older, the Rock will need a new "rock" in net. They already have Steve Dietrich, but can he step in and be the everyday goaltender? Or will the Rock go via the draft to find a new goaltender? They may still keep Watson on the roster, but he can not do everyday what he used to. I expect them to draft a young goalie to learn under Watson and Dietrich.
The Rock made a questionable deal this off-season, trading veteran defense man Scott Campbell to Boston for a second round draft pick. The Rock, however, did try to fill that void by attempting to sign restricted free agent defensemen Paul Dawson, Kyle Ross and John Orsen. They failed at the first two, but have a shot at Ross. The contract would make him one of the highest paid NLL defensmen, but he is not as good as Campbell.
In the dispersal draft this year, the Rock picked up attack man Mike McLellan. A great pick up, it adds a ton of scoring depth for an already high-powered Rock offense. Garret Billings was rookie of the year last season, and I just expect for him and LeBlanc to keep getting better.
I see the Blazers as the East champions, but the Rock are going to have a good shot at it too.

NLL Deals

2010-08-24T11:34:00.002-04:00

Some trades in the NLL the last few days will be recapped.
The Minnesota Swarm traded Kevin Buchanan to the Boston Blazers for Mat Giles. Giles was acquired from Philadelphia in the middle of last season to sure up the power play. Buchanan on the other hand was the first round pick for Minnesota in the 2008 draft and led rookies in scoring in 2009 and made the all NLL-rookie team. Buchanan will fit in with the Blazers, he is also a player on the Boston Cannons.
Meanwhile the Rock and restricted free agent drama continues with them claiming Kyle Ross from the Roughnecks. Ross was in the deal that sent Josh Sanderson to Boston and Calgary is on the clock to match the deal. This is the third time the Rock have claimed a RFA free agent, the first two being Paul Dawson and John Orsen.
The Buffalo Bandits have acquired Scott Self and Jay Thorimbert fro the Minnesota Swarm for their second round pick and a first rounder in 2012.

Also a notice: The NLL Entry Draft is September 8th in Toronto. It will be broad casted at NLL Network at NLL.com, but stay at The Lacrosse Blog as we will Live Blog the draft here. There will be an open thread, so feel free to join.

Lax Links 8/23

2010-08-23T13:20:00.002-04:00

Let's unwind from Championship Weekend with some Lax Links.

The Blazers matched the offer sheet for John Orson- NLL Insider

The MLL announces the 20-anniversary team- Inside Lacrosse

All-time MLL goals leader to retire- Lacrosse Magazine

Official honored in the NLL- NLL.com

From now on Lax Links will also serve as the discussion post throughout the day, sort of like an open thread. So, if you have anything to say, post it here.

Bayhawks Shock the World

2010-08-22T19:32:00.003-04:00

I was writing here all week how the Bayhawks would not win the championship unless they did a few major things. Like, score consistently, have Kyle Dixon on his game, and stop Boston and Long Island from scoring. I said it would not happen.
It happened.
The Chesapeake Bayhawks took home the Steinfield Cup Sunday, defeating old-rival Long Island Lizrads. The Bayhawks already defeated favorite Boston the day before, their first playoff game since 2005 when they beat the Philadelphia Barrage to win it all. The Bayhawks and Lizards had matched up four times before in the early
2000's, winning the first the first three ever.
Peet Poillon was my player of the game, an absolutely outstanding day for the league's most improved player. The game was deadlocked or close most of the game until the Bayhawks began to dominate, scoring five in the fourth to the Lizard's one goal.
It was 4-4 at halftime and 8-8 going into the fourth quarter. The Lizards lost their rhythm on offense, partially thanks to Chris Garrity, my playoff MVP. Other top performers of the playoffs for Chesapeake where rookies Brian Carrol and Micheal Kimmel. Carrol scoring the hat trick for the Bayhawks, and Kimmel scoring a late goal to seal it.
The Lizards could have played this game better. They looked scattered on offense and Alex Smith dominated them on faceoffs. The Lizards lost their cool late and took too many penalties, highlighted by the Brian Spallina one in the second. Matt Danowski was held without a point for the first time this season, an obvious key to the Lizards loss.
No one gave the Bayhawks a chance, but they lived up to the old Baltimore Bayhawks tradition and beat the Long Island Lizards. This is the end of the MLL season. But stay here at the Lacrosse Blog, NLL season is right around the corner.

Bayhawks stifle Cannons, Upest Leads to Championship Berth

2010-08-21T16:04:00.002-04:00

The Chesapeake Bayhawks were given no shot, by me or anyone else. They could'nt score enough to beat the mighty Cannons. But they could'nt? Well they did.
The Bayhawks defeated the Boston Cannons, 13-9 to go to the MLL Championship. The Bayhawks had an early lead and did not look back after leading the Cannons 5-2. It was 2-1 Cannons when they went on a four goal streak. Ben Hunt led the offensive charge for the Bayhawks, scoring a hat trick.
Onto the recap, after the 5-2 lead Chesapeake scored two ,ore goals to lead 7-2 before Matt Poskay, the MLL MVP, scored his first of two goals. The Bayhawks scored three more times to lead 10-3 at halftime, and things looked bleack for the Cannons. The one bright spot of the half with John Ortolani in the face-off circle was doing admirerable, seeing his opponet was Alex Smith.
Boston scored to make it 13-4 sandwhiched inbetween two Bayhawks goals. This is when I thought the game was over, but the Cannons said no. Boston scored four more goals between the third and fourth quarters to make it 12-9 and legitimitly in it, but that was as far as they would get when Brian Vetter scored the empty net goal to seal the game for the Bayhawks, 13-9.

Game Notes:
* In the Cannons 8 semi-finals appearences, they have lost 7.

* The Bayhawks go to the final for the first time since 2005, when they won the Steinfield Cup.

* Paul Rabil was held to just one assist.

* Kevin Bucchannan scored the hat trick for Boston.

* The Bayhawks will play the winner of Long Island-Denver tomorrow at 1 pm on ESPN2.

MLL Semi-Finals Open Thread

2010-08-21T08:30:00.001-04:00

Cannons vs Bayhawks and Lizards vs Outlaws

Lax Links-9/20

2010-08-20T12:47:00.003-04:00

I know I haven't had a real post up this week, but don't worry. Nothing much has been happening of late other than some NLL deals. Tomorrow there will be an open thread for the playoff games and then a recap, followed by the same Sunday. Until then, your Lax Links....

The Colorado Mammoth traded for Matt Zash- NLL Insider

The All-MLL team is announced- Inside Lacrosse

Poskay named MVP- Lacrosse Magazine

Merill D-Man o the year- Lacrosse Magazine

Remember tomorrow at 12pm on ESPN2: Cannons vs Bayhawks. And Lizards vs Outlaws will be on your local CSN

Rock sign Orson to Offer Sheet, New Trend in the NLL?

2010-08-19T11:54:00.003-04:00

The Toronto Rock have signed yet another Boston Blazer's restricted FA defenseman, John Orson. The Blazers, similar to Paul Dawson, have up to 72 hours to match that. The Blazers are obviously vulnerable with money after acquiring Casey Powell and Josh Sanderson, but may have cleared some space trading Daryl Veltman. The Blazers acquired Orson from the Orlando Titans in the recent dispersal draft. Orson was expected to be a key in the Blazer's defensive plans.
Meanwhile, there will be an arbitration hearing for the whole Paul Dawson thing. The Blazers traded him to the Calgary Roughnecks and they matched the offer sheet Toronto signed him to. The question is what is Dawson owed for the 2011 season?
Quote from Inside Lacrosse:

The league maintains the stance that a matching offer to a restricted free agent only include the player’s base compensation and bonuses, the Professional Lacrosse Player’s Association also looking for promotional monies to be included, Dawson’s offer from the Rock also including those additional payments which normally includes non-playing additions like appearances, camps and extras of that nature

This will resolve an NLL-wide issue, as Professional lacrosse Players Association member David Succamore says. Dawson is still expected to be a Calgary Roughneck in this upcoming season.

Lax Links-8/18

2010-08-18T11:24:00.002-04:00

Here are your Lax Links, with MLL Championship Weekend only three days away....

Matt Poskay named Offensive Player of the year. MVP next?- Inside Lacrosse

How the Two-Point shot has separated the MLL from the rest- Lacrosse Magazine

The Lizards look to make some noise in the playoffs- Lacrosse Magazine

What is the severity to Bill Dee Smith's injury?- NLL Insider

Who Will Win MVP? Matt Poskay

2010-08-17T17:30:00.003-04:00

This is an interesting debate. You have Matt Danowski, Kevin Leveille and Matt Poskay, the recently named MLL Offensive Player of the Year.
My Case; Matt Poskay. There are several reasons. For one, where would the Cannons be without him? Other than Paul Rabil, Boston does not have many other dominant scorers. Rabil has 20 less points this season than last season, so I wonder where the Cannons would be without him. Playoff bound, probably, but maybe not championship bound like I see them.
Poskay is like the Rajon Rondo of lacrosse, he is undfendable. You cannot come up with a game plan to stop him. He'll do something else. Poskay has made a stellar comeback from cancer last season as well, when many thought he would never play lacrosse again, where he has become one of the MLL's most dominant forces. We saw this from Poskay a few years ago, and thought he might become the player he is. But after his illness-shortened season, we wondered if he would ever be that dominant force in the MLL. he has come out and proven to be more,the MVP of Major League Lacrosse. (At least in my book)

Blazers, Roughnecks, make Blockbuster

2010-08-14T12:27:00.002-04:00

The Boston Blazers and Calgray Roughnecsk continued their busy offseasons Friday afternoon with the Roughnecks sending Boston the NLL's leading goal scorer Josh Sanderson for Jon Harnett, Daryl Veltman and Kyle Ross.
The Roughnecks recently acquired Paul Dawson from the Blazers, a move which Boston probably did not want to make, but had to with the added salary of Casey Powell. But while they lost their best defensive player, they strengthened up an already electric offense adding Sanderson to Dan Dawson and Powell.
The Roughnecks also acquire Boston's third rounder while the Blazers get Calgary's seventh rounder.

Scouting Reports for the Semi-Finals

2010-08-12T12:11:00.004-04:00

( Inside Lacrosse)
Let's look at the matchups heading into nest week's semi-finals.

Cannons:
Key Player: It has to be Matt Poskay, the MLL MVP to-be this year. He leads the MLL in goals and points, and the newly anointed Cannons all-time goal leader. Poskay keeps the Cannons unpredictable to cover, with him, Paul Rabil, Justin Smith, and Kevin Buchanan.

Key Stat: The Cannon are 5-1 at home. They may be the #1 ed, but there is no home field advantage for th playoffs in the MLL. They will have to work around the Bayhawks home field advantage to win.

Advantage: The Cannons ability to score is the obvious advantage, but let's look at oaltending. Kip Turner, the MLL goalie of the year, has to be the sticking point for a powerhoue Cannons team. The Cannons will score, but itwil be all for naught if they cannot hld the Bayhawks.

Disadvantage: The Cannons biggest issue this season has been blowing leads. They will have to say together and buckle down on defense in the forth.

Prediction: The Cannon will win this one.

Outlaws:

Key Player: Drew Westervelt has to be Drew Westervelt. Coming off bad year overshadowed by Breden Mundorf and Max Seilbald, the Outlaws could be unbeatable if Westervelt turns it on.

Key Stat: Denver's Faceoff % is second to last in the league with it at .472, only ahead of the lowly Toronto Natonals. Andrew Hesseny will need to work his faceoffs better vs Long Island, a team that scores very well.

Advantage: Denver has the best man-up % in the MLL at 40%. That is only percentage points higher than Boston and Chicago, but the Outlaws will take any advantage they can get. This is where Westervelt will be key.

Disadvantage: The Outlaws have always been an emotional team and will have to chill out to stay in it with Long Island. The Outlaws have a tendency to look ahead to their next opponent, and they have to just play with the Lizards.

Prediction: The Outlaws will lose.

Lizards:

Key Player: Could it be anyone else but Matt Danowski? Again an MVP candidate, Danowski will have to be a shut-down player on defense againest the likes of Brenden Mundorf, Drew Westervelt, and Max Seibald. Danowski will also hav to stay hot on offense, scoring 12 goals in his last five games.

Key Stat: The Lizards have won those last five games where Danowski went on a tear, and that is no coincidence. How Danowski plays, the Lizards play. He will have to remain hot, and I wonder if this week off hurts Danowski more than it helps.

Advantage: It has to be defense.Long Island gave up less goals than anyone else, and not only because of Danowski, but goaltender Drew Adams and defensemen John Orson, Nicky Polonco, and Brian Spallina. The Lizards will have to shut down a tough Denver offense.

Disadvantage: The Lizards can hold Denver as long as they want, but they will have to score at some point, and that does not mean completely relying on Danowski. They will need Zack Greer to step it up and contribute some offense as well as Tim Goettelman, but this has been a problem all year.

Prediction: The Lizards go to the cup.

Bayhawks:

Key Player: Chris Garrity. He will need to absolutely shut down the Cannons offense if they want to beat them. They will have to completely rely on him to stop Poskay and Rabil if they have a shot, which is slim at best anyways.

Key Stat: The Bayhawks are only 3-3 at home, and they will have a sort of home field advantage this game. They will need to play better at home than hey played all season.

Advantage: Alex Smith is one of the Bayhawks only advantages, leading the MLL in faceoff percent. Chris Eck is not slouch on faceoffs, but Smith should be able to handle the faceoffs for Chesapeake.

Disadvantage: Offense. The Bayhawks are very inconsistent scoring, so this may turn out to be an advantage. But the Bayhawks will need to overcome their inconsistencies on offense for that to happen.

Prediction: The Bayhawks will lose in their first playoff appearance since 2005.