PK’s NLL Power Rankings - Week 3

*Reminder these are Power Rankings. To see the Standings please head to NLL.com

1 – Buffalo Bandits - 1-0 (Last Week: 1)

The defending champs gave us no reason to doubt they were not going anywhere and are still the beasts of the league, with their 15-7 win over Rochester Saturday night. Leading 4-1 at half, the Hawks scored 4 straight in the 3rd to take a 4-5 lead. But the Bandits would score 11 of the next 13 goals to run away with the game. Matt Vinc was incredible in this one making 54 of 61 saves showing father time has a while left to wait around. The defense in front of him showed their willingness to step in front of a shot hasn’t gone away in the offseason as they blocked 12 shots with the young defensive core of Dylan Robinson, Cam Wyers and Zack Belter accounting for 9 of those 12. Dhane Smith led all scorers with a 3 goal, 11 point night. For those tracking at home that is a 144 assist and 198 point pace. Clearly those numbers will level out but it was his goal scoring that stood out to me. He did not score his 3rd goal of the year last season until the 4th game of the season on 1/6/2024. If the goals are going to flow, paired with the assists this year like I predicted, we are going to be watching a record setting season. They kick off week 3 in the NLL vs Ottawa on Friday Night.

 2 - Albany Firewolves – 1-1 (Last Week: 4)

Well that’s one way to bounce back after an overtime defeat in week 1. Albany embarrassed the Rock Saturday night with a 15-4 thrashing in Toronto’s new home barn. In a game this lopsided you’d expect to see monster offensive numbers from Albany. Sam Firth pumped in 5 goals, but the rest of the offense was fairly spread out. 7 other players netted one while 13 of the 17 runners gathered a point. In net Doug Jamieson made 42/46 saves which is good for 91%. I know Toronto has major injuries to their team. Their defense is decimated and Tom Schreiber was out. But to allow just 4 goals through an entire NLL game is a rarity. In a league that is trying to find a solid #2 team behind the defending champs, I don’t think we need to look much further than the runner up last year who appears to have just gotten better with the experience and some fresh young faces. They look to climb above .500 on the young season when Calgary comes to town on Saturday.

3 - Colorado Mammoth – 2-0 (Last Week: 5)

It’s possible I have the Mammoth ranked higher than anyone else after their 15-9 win in Vegas on Friday night. I have been bullish on the team’s offense this offseason and for 2 second halves of lacrosse so far, you can see why. Back to back weeks of 10 goal second halves by the team who seem to finally have a fully healthy Ryan Lee back to being Ryan Lee. He put up 3 goals in his 7 point night which tied Connor Kelly and his 2 goal, 7 point night for the team lead. Zed Williams and Eli McLaughlin both provided 3/3/6 nights while Will Malcolm went 2/2/4 in his own effort. Then toss in Connor Robinson having a 5 point night as well. This is why I said the team would lead the league in scoring because their offense runs deep. Dillon Ward appears to have been able to use the longer offseason to his advantage and looks like vintage Ward once again making 47 saves in the win. But on top of all of that, it’s the defense that has shown they can make waves across the league. I believed it was their biggest question mark entering the season. Adding Damon Edwards right before the season started might be the sneaky free agent signing of the offseason. Their biggest test of this young season is Friday night when they head to San Diego.

4 - San Diego Seals – 1-1 (Last Week: 2)

Down 2 spots fall the Seals after a 13-12 OT loss in Georgia on Saturday night. After going up 11-8 with 13:31 to go in the 3rd, San Diego would score just 1 other goal the rest of the game as Georgia went on a 4-1 run from the 12:31 mark in the 3rd and on in OT. Chris Origlieri looked to bounce back after a poor performance in his first outing of the season. He made 39/52 saves which is good for 75%. Not the Orig we saw all of last year when he took the league by storm. Rob Hellyer led all Seals going 3/3/6 on the night, while Ryan Benesch and Wes Berg both went 2/2/4. Rookies Trent DiCicco and Adam Noakes provided depth scoring on the left side both going 1/1/2. But to me it’s the long droughts without goals that the Seals went on in this one. 7:33 between goals 2 and 3. 19:07 between goals 11 and 12. No goals in final 12:19 of the 4th and OT. That simply cannot happen if this team wants to get over that final hump and into the finals. The biggest take away in this one for me is something that happened before the game even began. Kyle Jackson was removed from the hold out list and added to the active roster. Now he did not play in this one, but if he is back, that provides the much needed depth for the lefties up front. They host the red hot, 2-0 Colorado Mammoth Friday night in what could be an early playoff preview.

5 – Rochester Knighthawks – 1-1 (Last Week: 3)

I was considering this as a measuring stick game for the Knighthawks to see where they stacked up against one of the league’s best. For 45 minutes in that game, they were passing that test. But a team playing their back up net minder vs one of the league’s best offenses can only hold for so long. The team drops to 1-1 on the season after the 15-7 defeat Saturday night. The combo of Connor Fields, Ryan Lanchbury, Curtis Knight and Ryan Smith combined for just 4 goals on 44 shots which is good for just 9% shooting. That will not get the job done. They were also held scoreless on 4 power play opportunities which when you are not cashing those in as the underdog, the chances of coming out with the win drop considerably. I thought Riley Hutchcraft played will once again in the loss making 46/59 saves. 78% of saves is a good mark in the NLL. But when your team is not getting the offense to back it up, winning with a relief goalie is a tough ask. The team heads west on Friday night to take on the 0-1 Warriors. Let’s hope Rylan Hartley and the offense return this weekend.

6 - Georgia Swarm – 1-0 (Last Week: 9)

Up 3 spots this week are your Swarm after their 13-12 OT win vs San Diego. Now here is where I will be getting the comments of, “Why isn’t Georgia ahead of the Seals if they just beat them?” And to that I would simply say, please read the * above the article. Georgia was not given a warm up game at all to kick off their season getting one of the best teams in the league hot off a win in opening weekend. But the team rose to the occasion battling back 2 times in the 2nd half to tie up the game. Seth Oakes tied the game at 12 with just over 4 to go in the game which gave way to none other than OT hero Andrew Kew to cash in the game winner. Unsurprising, Lyle Thompson led the way with 4 goals on the night while Brendan Bomberry chipped in 5 assists in the win. In the long waited debut of Kaleb Benedict, he provided 2 assists to go with 6 LB and a CTO. If this team is to have a chance in the much improved league they need 2 things to go their way. Depth scoring which they got in this one. But also consistent play by 3rd year starter Brett Dobson. After allowing 7 in the 2nd, Dobson settled in allowing just 3 goals in the 2nd half and OT making 41/53 saves. They host limping Toronto Saturday looking to move to 2-0 and pushing the Rock down further to 0-3.

7 – Saskatchewan Rush – 1-0 (Last Week: 6)

Relaxing in week 2 after an OT winner to start your season feels like the perfect way to kick off a season if you are the Rush. After missing the playoffs the last few season, this team, on paper, has all the ingredients to get across that line and back into the dance. The big names like Zach Manns, Robert Church and Ryan Keenan remain. The addition of Austin Shanks who was your game 1 hero and is an 80 point producer. Mike Triolo and Clark Walter provide the depth scoring and lane setting abilities that make the offense go. But it’s the rookies, Brock Haley (2/3/5) and Levi Anderson that will add a fresh young aspect to the offensive group. The defense, if it remains healthy, is loaded with young talent that has the speed to get up the floor in transition. And if we can get a steady floor from Frankie Scigliano in net, even if it isn’t as incredible as it was in week 1, this team should be able to make noise all season long on their way to a playoff spot. They host the 0-1 Thunderbirds Saturday night.

8 – Ottawa Black Bears – 1-0 (Last Week: 7)

Coming off their dominating opening night win over the Rock, Ottawa’s schedule does not get any easier as they play host to the 2 time defending champion Buffalo Bandits on Friday night. Although the team scored just 11 goals, 6 players accounted for 3 or more points each in the 11-5 win. Surprising to some, not myself, Jacob Dunbar led the way with a 3/3/6 night. I mentioned his name in the offseason plenty of times as well as in my Bold Predictions that he’d be the teams 2nd leading point producer. But even I was not expecting a 6 point night to kick things off. But I will say, he was taken 13th overall in 2021 for a reason and this is his first real chance to get significant minutes in a system since being drafted. If the connection with the likes of Connor Kearnan, Jeff Teat and Reilly O’Connor continue to build, sky is the limit for this player.

9 – Vancouver Warriors – 0-1 (Last Week: 10)

10 - Toronto Rock – 0-2 (last Week: 8)

 11 - Calgary Roughnecks – 1-0 (Last Week: 14)

12 - Philadelphia Wings – 0-1 (Last Week: 11)

13 – Las Vegas Desert Dogs – 0-2 (Last Week: 12)

14 – Halifax Thunderbirds – 0-1 (Last Week: 13)