PK’s NLL Power Rankings - Week 13

1.       Toronto Rock – 7-2 (Last Week: #2)

Back in 1st after a few weeks off. The Rock used a 7 goal run from the 3:10 mark in the 2nd through the 11:07 mark in the 4th to take the 16-10 win in Laval. NY actually led 5-2 after the 1st and the game was tied 7-7 at half. But the defense along with Nick Rose making 35/45 saves allowed just 3 2nd half goals which came all in the 4th. But I think the story of the game was the offense finally coming alive. After scoring just 17 in their last 2 games, 16 in this one was a bit of a difference. Mark Matthews led the way with 4 goals on an 11 point night while Tom Schreiber assisted on 8 of the 16 goals and added one himself. Corey Small netted 4 as his goal scoring pace continues to be on a career high level. This is the offense I was expecting to see from this team after they brought in Matthews, Dan Lintner and Chris Boushy in the offseason. And Boushy didn’t even play. If this team is able to maintain a threat on offense, this team is at the top of the top tier when it comes to team that can win the title. They get Vancouver on their own floor Saturday night.

2.       San Diego Seals – 6-3 (Last Week: #1)

Down just 1 spot this week in the power rankings after being on Bye. But with the Rocks convincing win over the Riptide, it was hard to not move them up a spot. The last time was saw the Seals they lost 10-8 to that NY team after leading 7-2 at half which ended a 4 game winning streak. They sit tied for 7th in goals per game at 12 but 2nd in the league allowing just 9.78 goals per game. Looking ahead for them, they still have Georgia, Toronto, Halifax, and Calgary on their schedule with 9 to go. The other 5 games they have should be wins for the club. That would get them to 11-3. If they split the 4 tough matchups left for them, 13-5 should be in contention for a top seed going into playoffs. They get Georgia at home with Friday at a very late 11pm EST time slot. 

3.       Albany Firewolves – 7-2 (Last Week: #6)

Up 3 spots this week are your 7-2 and league leading Albany Firewolves. After dropping 2 straight before their bye week, Albany took down the Mammoth Saturday night as the stand alone game 13-11. It was a back and forth affair all night. In fact, the 4th alone saw 3 ties all by Colorado evening up the game. Doug Jamieson was back for his first game since January 20th when he left injured, made 51/62 saves in the victory and looked every bit back. Alex Simmons scored 4 and appears to have re-found his scoring touch. Tye Kurtz and Ethan Walker each netted a hat trick on the night. After scoring just 13 in their last 2 games combined, the win Saturday night was a big one for this young team to stop the bleeding as well as gain confidence again that they are that team we saw in their first 6 weeks. If their young forwards can find ways of stopping runs and putting the ball in the back of the net, I think this team can be a legit threat in the playoffs. They have at least righted the ship for now as they head into Banditland with a chance to sweep the season series Saturday night.

4.       Halifax Thunderbirds – 6-4 (Last Week: #4)

Up and down weekend for the Birds. Friday night they were able to take care of business in a comeback victory over the Bandits 14-12. Down 8-2 with 5:58 remaining in the 2nd, Halifax would score 12 of the final 16 goals. Warren Hill was chased after allowing 7 on 21 shots in the 2nd quarter. Drew Hutchison came in and settled everything down making 22/27 saves in the win. Clarke Petterson and Austin Shanks had mirror games going 2/7/9 while Ryan Benesch netted 5 himself. Dawson Theede continues to be a weapon on the offensive end going 3/2/5 on the night. Flash forward to Sunday night and it was the back half of the story book. Halifax dropped their 2nd game of the weekend 17-11 to Calgary. 22 first half goals saw Halifax trail 13-9. The Birds would score the first 2 goals in the 2nd half cutting the lead to 13-11 but that would be the closest they would get to tying the game as Calgary would score the final 4 of the game. Benesch led the way with a 2/3/5 point night, while Petterson, Theede and Aaron Woods scored 2 each. Hill was pulled again but was reinserted just 7 minutes later and finished the night making 32/45 saves. I don’t think it will happen but the fans will need to watch and see if Jake Withers will be assigned a suspension for putting his hands on the ref in an effort to get to Tanner Cook. The team will get a chance for win #7 Saturday vs the Rush.

5.       Buffalo Bandits – 5-4 (Last Week: #3)

I was skeptical last week about moving Buffalo to the #1 spot after the Seals and the Rock lost while they were on bye. But I stuck with my gut and kept them at #3. That seemed to not be foolish at all after Buffalo drops their game in Halifax Friday night 14-12. Buffalo led 4-2 after 1 and 8-2 with 5:58 to go in the 2nd. Warren Hill was pulled and Drew Hutchison inserted. Everything was looking like Bandits would get the road win. But Halifax would score the next 3 in the 2nd and 4 of the 5 in the 3rd to even the game 9-9 after 3. Buffalo would find a way to take the lead or tie the game 3 different times in the 4th but each time Halifax answered shortly after. Dhane Smith led the way with a 2/7/9 night while Josh Byrne was right behind him at 2/6/8. Kyle Buchanan added a hat trick of his own and Chris Cloutier and Chase Fraser each had 2 goals. In Net Matt Vinc made 38/52 saves on the night. Some might say the story of the night was going 0-31 at the FO dot. But only 2 goals came directly off the win. To me it’s the defense through and through. 6 of the 9 games the Bandits have played they have allowed 12 or more goals. This is not a recipe that will win you games when you need them. They will try and avoid falling to .500 Saturday night and look for revenge and a season split when Albany comes to Banditland.

6.       New York Riptide – 5-5 (Last Week: #5)

Eventually this team would run into a buzz saw and see their 4 game winning streak come to an end. And that happened Friday night in Laval in the unboxed series 16-10 vs the Rock. The Riptide actually held a 5-2 lead after 1 and the game was tied 7 all at half. But that 7 goal run that took up over 22 minutes of the game is the sun that calmed the NY storm. Jeff Teat continues his insane pace of scoring on the year with a 3-5-8 night. Larson Sundown scored 3 while Stephen Keogh got 2 himself. But off nights from Riley O’Connor (0/3/3) and Connor Kearnan (1/3/4) all while Kiel Matisz was placed on the hold out list prior to the game, contributed to the loss. In net Cam Dunkerley made 39/55 saves in the losing effort. The team will look to bounce back Friday night vs the Mammoth who are fighting to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

7.       Georgia Swarm – 6-4 (Last Week: #7)

Before we saw this team head into their bye week, they were able to edge out 2 victories in back to back week’s vs Vancouver and Rochester. Georgia has been a confusing team for me all year long. Started out of the gate 4-1, until losing 3 straight to fall back to .500. And now riding a 2 game winning streak heading into a weekend with 2 games on their schedule. Both of which are on the road. They get San Diego on Friday and PC on Sunday. Both teams coming off byes of their own. The Swarm are currently sitting in that 5 seed in the standings. Dropping both will drop them back to .500. Taking both sets them up for a playoff run. Even splitting the weekend will likely be a desired outcome for the club. But as has been the case all year long, if they get scoring from their secondary pieces, I think they have the ability to leave the weekend with 2 wins in hand. 

8.       Calgary Roughnecks – 4-5 (Last Week: #10)

The rise back up continues after their 17-11 win over Halifax Sunday night. After dropping 3 straight to fall to 2-5, the Roughnecks have now stacked wins and sit just a half game back of the #8 spot in the standings. 13 first half goals will help with that. Up 13-9 at half, Halifax would score the first 2 in the 3rd to trim the lead down to 2. But Calgary would net the final 4 of the game to take the 6 goal win. Jesse King (3/6/9), Josh Currier (3/1/4) and Tyler Pace (3/3/6) all scored hat tricks while Tanner Cook scored 2 himself. Zach Currier got the monkey off his back scoring his first of the year to go with 13 LB and 4 CTO. Christian Del Bianco made 38/49 saves in the victory while also assisting on 3 goals, 2 of which went to Shane Simpson. While I do not expect this team to score 17 each week, if they can keep their average around 12 a game, they should continue to rise in these rankings and in the standings. They get that chance Saturday night vs Philly.

9.       Panther City Lacrosse Club – 4-4 (Last Week: #8)

Another team coming back off their bye week. This is another very confusing team for me to talk about. Started the season 1-3. Now wins in 3 of the last 4 games. But I think we have seen what this team really is in the most recent 4 game stretch. In the first 4 match ups they averaged 10.25 Goals a game. In their last 4 they are at 14.25. I think their true number is right smack dab in the middle at around 12.25 which I believe is the number they need to be hitting weekly to make that playoff push. 10 games remain on their schedule with 9 weeks to go. And it’s a tough 10 games. Georgia, San Diego 2 times, Halifax, Buffalo, Albany, and Calgary make up 7 of them. If this team wants to be a part of the 8 in the dance, they need to pull off some big time wins in the lead up to the playoffs. It all starts Sunday vs Georgia before their back to back game weekend next week.

10.   Saskatchewan Rush – 3-4 (Last Week: #9)

Down one spot are the Rush coming off their final bye week of the year. They have Halifax coming to town on Saturday night but if we look forward they have 11 games in 9 weeks. The weekend of March 23/24 they are at NY and at Georgia in back to back days then travel to Philly 4 days later. Then on April 5th and 6th they have a home and home with Calgary. 5 games in 15 days is an incredibly difficult feat. The benefit for them is they are playing the best lacrosse they have been all season long in their last 2 games and they should be fully rested having played just 3 games in 2024. Heading into the back half of the season and having this many games stacked up can either help or hurt your season. If you get on a run and laying well the team will not want to have those bye weeks. But if the losing starts and things begin to crumble. There is no time to address the problems in practice.

11.   Philadelphia Wings – 3-5 (Last Week: #14)

A back and forth game for most of Saturday night. The biggest lead was 3 goals as well as 4 ties in the game. But Philly was able to get the job down and take the game 10-8 in sin city. Joe Resetarits scored 5 in his 6 point night while itch Jones assisted on 8 of the 10 goals. Zach Higgins faced just 44 shots making 36 saves which for him is a quiet night. It was a much needed win for the Wings as they were teetering on the edge of playoffs. Now sitting 3-5 they are in reach of that final playoff spot sitting just a game back with 10 to play. The issue is they now have 10 games in 9 weeks including a stretch at the end of March where they play 3 in 7 days. These next 2 weeks will likely make or break their season. They have Calgary in a home and home. If they drop both to the team right above them in the standings and drop to 3-7, their playoff chances are likely over. But if they can manage to take both and get back to .500, it’s on. 

12.   Rochester Knighthawks – 3-5 (Last Week: #12)

Holding steady at #12 this week are the Knighthawks. 3-0 start to the season had me rethinking my decision not having Rochester in my playoffs. But now losers of 5 straight having had their last win come on December 23rd that prediction is looking more accurate. The team has slipped to 12th in the standings and a game out of the 8th spot held currently by Panther City. They are tied for 1st in the league in scoring with 13 a game, but dead last averaging 14 goals against a game which is more than a goal a game more than the next closest team. They know the issues is in net. The problem is I don’t think that can be addressed this year. Which means the help needs to be from the defensive side of the ball. If they can address that, this offense is as good as any in the league and can be a scary team for any favorite to have to face in a one game playoff game. They will look to break the skid Saturday vs Vegas.

13.   Las Vegas Desert Dogs – 3-6 (Last Week: #11)

Another close loss for the Dogs. In fact, in 6 of their 9 games, the final score was within 3. This tells me that this is a young team that is on the right path. Which is something I have been saying all year long. A 10-8 loss at home to Philly drops them to 13th in the rankings and 13th in the overall standings. Rob Hellyer led the way with a 4 point night. Jack Hannah went 1/2/3, while Dylan Watson continued his goal scoring touch netting 2. In net Landon Kells performed well making 32/42 saves in the losing effort. The team has a league worst 9.56 goals a game averages as well as a -27 goal differential through 9 games. They need their young core to continue to show improvement in the final 9 to give the fans hope that the team is on the right track like I think they are. They get a struggling Rochester on the road Saturday night.

14.   Colorado Mammoth – 3-7 (Last Week: #13)

The fall continues for Colorado as they have now lost 3 in a row and sit 3-7 with 8 games remaining. This was a must win game for the club to keep their playoff hopes alive. That didn’t happen as they drop their Saturday night game 13-11 vs Albany. Eli McLaughlin (3/3/6) and Connor Kelly (2/3/5) continue to be the loan bright spots of the season. Every time Colorado would tie the game in the 4th, Albany would answer to take the lead back shortly after. The Mammoth are a team that has had slow starts in prior years and still ended up making the playoffs, but with the new unified standings they are standing with 6 other teams ahead of them just to get to the 8th seed. Their season is not mathematically over, but the numbers are adding up quickly. They get New York at home in another must win game.

15.   Vancouver Warriors – 2-7 (Last Week: #15)

Coming in last once again are the Warriors. I’m not sure that they are the worst team in the league overall as I do like some of the pieces they have. But having lost 3 in a row to drop to 2-7 on the year, they would have to go on an unbelievable run just to crack into the playoffs. And the path is not easy. They get Toronto on the road Saturday night. But remaining on their schedule they have Buffalo, Albany, Halifax, NY and San Diego. 9 wins likely gets you the 8th seed. That means they need to win 7 of the next 9 games to get to 9-7 on the year. If you count 2 wins vs LV and a win over Philly, all of which are far from guaranteed, they need to win 4 of those games against 6 currently playoff seeded teams.