Lucky number eight this week. It’s week eight of the season, and there are eight games on the schedule. Some quick math. There are 14 teams in the league, that would be seven games. That means we have our first double header weekend of the season. Vancouver and Philadelphia get the honor this week. The Warriors open the weekend on Friday night in Ottawa, then visit Philly for some Monday Night Lacrosse. The Wings play in Buffalo on Saturday before hosting the Warriors.
The topsy turvy season continues. Last year’s playoff teams have a losing record combined right now. There are 16 wins between them, and eight of those belong to Buffalo and Georgia. Could this finally be the weekend Buffalo gets their first loss, and/or Toronto gets their first win? More action, and what should be more eyeballs following a viral week online for lacrosse.
Here’s the rundown for the weekend.
FRIDAY
Who: Vancouver Warriors (3-1) vs Ottawa Black Bears (3-2)
Where: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa
When: 7:00pm EST
The Spread: Ottawa favored by 1.5 (+110), game total set at 21.5
SATURDAY
Who: Rochester Knighthawks (2-5) vs Halifax Thunderbirds (2-3)
Where: Scotiabank Centre, Halifax
When: 6:00pm EST
The Spread: Halifax favored by 1.5 (+105), game total set at 25.5
Who: Saskatchewan Rush (4-1) vs Toronto Rock (0-5)
Where: Paramount Fine Foods Centre, Toronto
When: 7:00pm EST
The Spread: Saskatchewan favored by 1.5 (+120), game total set at 21.5
Who: Colorado Mammoth (4-2) vs Albany FireWolves (1-5)
Where: MVP Arena, Albany
When: 7:00pm EST
The Spread: Albany favored by 1.5 (+124), game total set at 23.5
Who: Philadelphia Wings (4-1) vs Buffalo Bandits (4-0)
Where: KeyBank Center, Buffalo
When: 7:30pm EST
The Spread: Buffalo favored by 2.5 (-120), game total set at 24.5
Who: Georgia Swarm (4-2) vs Calgary Roughnecks (2-2)
Where: WestJet Field at ScotiaBank Saddledome, Calgary
When: 9:00pm EST
The Spread: Georgia favored by 1.5 (+110), game total set at 23.5
Who: San Diego Seals (3-3) vs Las Vegas Desert Dogs (1-5)
Where: Lee’s Family Forum, Las Vegas
When: 10:00pm EST
The Spread: San Diego favored by 2.5 (-105), game total set at 22.5
MONDAY
Who: Vancouver Warriors (3-1) vs Philadelphia Wings (4-1)
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia
When: 5:00pm EST
The Spread: Not available, will update pending Friday night results
STORIES TO WATCH
Two teams on a back to back
Philadelphia will play Buffalo on Saturday night in Buffalo, and then return home to take on Vancouver on Monday. It was origically slated for Sunday, but NFL playoff scheduling pushed the game to Monday instead. Vancouver will also be on the second half of a double dip, as they visit Ottawa on Friday night. The physicality and pace of an NLL game takes a toll. Fully recovering from one game in 24-48 hours so you can play another game isn’t really feasible. On Monday, teams may be banged up or still feeling the bruises of their games earlier that weekend.
Battle for the top spot?
Philly visits Banditland on Saturday night. This game alone has plenty of stories to keep an eye on. Buffalo is still perfect on the season, Philly sits at 4-1. With a win, the Wings would have themselves at least a share of first place in the league. Brennan O’Neill will make his first trip to Banditland, where there will assuredly be thousands of fans very eager to greet him as only Buffalo fans can. This game pits the two highest scoring offenses in the league against each other. The Wings have won four straight. This is by far their toughest test of the year. It’s been a topsy turvy season in the NLL, Philly sitting atop the standings after two months feels appropriate. And if were going to talk about battling for the top spot, we have to mention the Rush. Saskatchewan sits at 4-1, and can keep pace with Philly with a win over Toronto. The Rock may be 0-5, but as they showed last week in Buffalo, they are not to be taken lightly. They can hang with the best.
New faces in new places
Albany made a deal this week that sent Eric Fannell to Ottawa in exchange for draft capital. In a corresponding move they signed Carson Moyer. The FireWolves are sitting at 1-5, and they remarkably have a positive goal differential (they’re +2). They’re back home this weekend to take on Colorado. Ottawa gets Fannell to reinforce the left side. Jeff Teat is the team’s leading scorer, the next four leading scorers are righties. Ottawa needed help without Reilly O’Connor in the lineup, Fannell provides it. The Black Bears take on Vancouver on Friday. Finally, Las Vegas sent Dylan Watson to San Diego in exchange for Drew Belgrave and a draft pick. Vegas gets a proven defender to help their back line. They give up one of their young pieces, but Watson had only appeared in three games this year, and the emergence of rookies like Adam Poitras and Jackson Webster makes it easier to part with a young star. Will these moves spark these teams to new heights? Albany is desperate for a win, Ottawa has yet to win back to back games, the Seals offense has been quiet their last three games, presumably these deals provide answers to these problems.
Can Georgia get their groove back?
The Swarm started hot, going 4-0 with two wins over San Diego and an impressive road win in Colorado. They’ve since stumbled, dropping their last two games. They’ve held the lead for just over 16 minutes total in the last two games. Some of the usual trust weapons have gone a bit cold recently. Brendan Bomberry had 15 points in the first four games, he’s had three in the past two games. Shayne Jackson had 13 points in the first four, he’s had three points in the last two games. Lyle Thompson has been outstanding through six games, and while Andrew Kew and Bryan Cole continue to be productive, in the NLL, you need points from all over the place to win consistently. This week Georgia plays Calgary, and the Roughnecks are surrendering 14 goals per game. It’s a good opportunity for the Swarm offense to heat back up.
Siss vs Wiz, Round Deux
Rochester and Halifax are on the second half of their home and home this weekend. The home crowd at the Nest has been outstanding, topping 10,000 fans back on December 28. The faceoff battle in this game features two of the best in the world. Mike Sisselberger won the matchup last week, going 24/41 and winning several big faceoffs down the stretch in the 4th quarter. Ultimately Halifax prevailed thanks to a Clarke Petterson buzzer beater. Withers is without question one of the best in the world, but he’s had a murderer’s row of matchups to start the year. Jake Naso, Joe Nardella, and Sisselberger last week are all at or near the top of the league in faceoff percentage. Halifax has done a solid job rallying after the Tyson Bell incident, and has no won back to back games. Cody Jamieson has returned. Randy Staats leads the league in assists. A vintage performance from Withers, against a difficult matchup like Sisselberger, would keep the Birds on an upward trajectory.
Who is going viral this week?
Lacrosse had maybe it’s most viral clip ever last week, courtesy of Elijah Gash fighting Zach Belter in the Rock/Bandits game. The punch heard round the world, courtesy of Gash, was shared across the sports landscape, from Pardon My Take to Joe Rogan, as people learned that 1. the NLL is a very fun league to watch and 2. fighting is in fact allowed. So what’s the encore? Presumably, the clip should translate into a whole lot of eyes on the sport this weekend as curiosity brings new fans to checking out the indoor game. Fighting in lacrosse tends to be a hot button topic. Questions like “is fighting good for lacrosse” probably should have been getting asked a couple decades ago before he was firmly entrenched as part of the sport. Regardless of how you feel about it, it brings eyeballs. Will it be a fight this week that gets people talking? Another Lyle Thompson dive? Another Jack Hannah goal? Hopefully with the new fans watching this weekend, we have no shortage of spectacular moments across the eight games.
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