PK’s NLL Power Rankings - Week 10

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

1.       Buffalo Bandits – 5-0 (Last Week: #1)

Their 4th of 5 bye weeks completed with another to follow after this week’s game vs Albany. As I work on the doc for our Friday show, it seems crazy to me how much of a struggle the Firewolves have given the Bandits in the regular season the last 3 years. While they are 3-0 in the playoffs, they are just 3-3 in the regular season and 1-3 the last 2 years. Last year in the regular season, they allowed 30 total goals while scoring just 23. Albany is in a tough spot this season starting 2-6. However, coming in looking for revenge for the finals sweep last year, added in the tough games they have given Buffalo in the regular season, this game has all the ingredients for a very interesting final score. The team is looking to remain unbeaten before heading into their final bye for the rest of the season. As we have said many times now, they finish the season playing 12 games in 10 weeks. If Buffalo is able to move to 6-0 before entering that tough stretch, the #1 seed is in their control the rest of the way. They can make it so the playoffs run through Banditland, which we know, no one wants that to deal with.

2.       Philadelphia Wings – 5-2 (Last Week: #2)

My apology letter was been written and is sent in to the Philly headquarters for my offseason prediction they would miss the playoffs. After their opening week loss to San Diego, Philly has won 5 of 6 with their only defeat at the hands of the Bandits. Looking ahead in the schedule, they get Rochester at home this week. What is crazy is this team has 3 back to back, home and homes left on their schedule. First up is Halifax, followed by Albany and then Georgia in April. Their offense has been incredible sitting 2nd in the league at 14.57. Joe Resetarits, Mitch Jones and Holden Cattoni has been superstars this year. You have to wonder, had Cattoni been healthy all of last year, would they have been a playoff contender? Looking at the back end though, they will need someone to step up as Scott Dominey was lost for the season with a torn ACL. It’s a massive loss for a team that has struggled at times this year out the back door. Bringing in a guy like Evan Messenger will help soften the blow. However, replacing a player like Dominey is not possible. Maybe we can see some Michael Sowers as the season continues to go on.

3.       Colorado Mammoth – 5-3  (Last Week: #4)

Moving back up are the 2nd half kings of the NLL this season. Colorado actually led 5-4 at half. Rochester would score 5 of 7 in the 3rd to take a 9-7 lead into the 4th. Rochester would go up 10-8 with 4:58 remaining. 1:19 later, Eli McLaughlin would score and 19 seconds later Will Malcolm would tie the game. Zed Williams would score with 2.3 left on the clock sending Rochester to their 2nd straight final second defeat in as many weeks. McLaughlin was 4/1/5 on the night while Malcolm went 3/1/4. Ryan Lee dished out 6 assists and snagged 13 LBs. In net Dillon Ward was a solid 39/49 in net in way to the teams 5th win of the year. After starting 2-0 on the year, the team has bounced between wins and losses the last 6 games. I said it in the last set of rankings, but it remains true in this one. This team needs to add another piece on the back end to help in front of Ward. They also need to remain more consistent on offense. Although they are 4th in the league in scoring at 13 goal a game, in their losses they are averaging 11. In their victories, they are netting 14.2.  On Saturday, they get their next test vs a red-hot Toronto Rock team that is getting healthier by the week. The team needs to start stacking wins in a row if they want to keep pace in race for a home playoff game as they sit in the 4th seed at this time.

4.       Saskatchewan Rush – 5-2 (Last Week: #5)

It was a weird day for the Rush. We got word that Frank Scigliano would not dress for the game with no real word why. Due to the leagues rules, they were unable to sign another goalie. Which means back up, 20-year-old Thomas Kiazyk would get the start, and transition player Keegan Bell would be his back up. Albany started on fire scoring the first 4 of the game. SAS would score the next 5/6 in the 1st and 9 of 13 of the half to take a 9-8 lead with 30 minutes to go. Albany would tie it at 10 all mid-way through the 3rd before a 3 goal run gave the Rush a 1 goal lead going into the 4th. Kiazyk would allow just 1 in the 4th as SAS would win 17-13 to move to 5-2 on the season. Robert Church went 5/5/10 securing just his 2nd career 10-point game of his career. Ryan Keenan continues his great 3 game stretch going 2/7/9 while Austin Shanks was 1/4/5 on the night. Nine players in total got on the scoreboard in the victory. In total Kiazyk was 39/52 in net for his first NLL victory. After he settled into the net, I thought he performed amazingly. While the one game sample was nice to see, the Rush need Frankie back between the pipes in order to remain near the top of the standings. His 9.57 GAA is 4th in the league while his 80sv% is tied for 3rd. The team travels to San Diego on Saturday night as they look to keep place with Philadelphia, Colorado and Buffalo in the standings.

5.       Vancouver Warriors – 4-3 (Last Week: #7)

If you are a fan of goals, this game was not for you. Coming off a weekend that saw the Warriors drop both of their games, the split the season series with Ottawa was massive taking the 2nd game 8-4. Down 1-0 early, Vancouver would go on a 4 goal run to take a 4-3 lead into half. Scoring 3 of 4 in the 3rd and the final 4 of 5 of the game, Vancouver gets back over .500 on the season and lands #5 in the rankings this week. Adam Charalambides led the way with a 3/3/6 night while Keegan Bal was 1/4/5 in the game. Ryan Martel showed some signs of life in this one with a goal and 3 assists which brings his season totals to 2/13/15 through 7 games. The rest of the offense was once again held in check, which has been a common problem for this unit. However, the biggest reason this team is 4-3 on the year is Aden Walsh. We talked about him on last Fridays show as one of the biggest surprises of the NLL season. 33/37 saves in this one, which 3 were on the Power Play and the other was a shorthanded goal. Not allowing a single even strength goal the entire game is incredible. He has played every second in net and has a 9 GAA which leads the league and an 80sv% which is tied for 3rd. He is putting his name not only in the goalie of the year conversation, but MVP as well. If this team can find some consistent offense, they will be in the conversation for title contender. They travel to Halifax on Friday to try and stack wins.

6.       Ottawa Black Bears – 4-3 (Last Week: #3)

Down 3 spots fall the Black Bears who seemed like they were in hibernation on Friday night. An 8-4 defeat by the Warriors saw the season series split which may have playoff seeding implications down the road. Ottawa actually lead early in this one on a shorthanded goal by Eric Fannell. However, a 4 goal run followed by the Warriors to take a 4-1 lead. Back to back PP goals by the Bears saw the half time score 4-3. But, Vancouver would take charge the rest of the way scoring the final 4 of 5. It’s nearly impossible to not score a single even strength goal, but that’s what happened Friday night. Eric Fannell had a hand in all 4 goals going 2/2/4 on the night while Connor Kearnan scored the other 2 on the PP. Jeff Teat had 3 assists on the night, but was 0/9 shooting. In net, Zach Higgins was incredible once again going 41/49. Allowing under 10 goals is usually a sign your team will take the victory. Unfortunately, for Higgins, he is on the lowest scoring team in the NLL who is averaging 8.86 goals a game. I understand they are missing Reilly O’Connor, but one player should not hurt your whole offense down. In their 7 games, they have reached double digit scoring just 3 times and are 3-0 in each one. If you remove the 18-goal game from the Bandits, the team is allowing 8 goals a game. But, in their 3 losses they are averaging 5.33 goals a game. This team needs to find ways to put the ball in the back of the net and stop relying so heavily on Zach Higgins. He has been up to the task through 7 game, but you really can’t depend on him to play the way he has for 11 more games. It is not a formula for success. The benefit is they get Calgary at home on Friday who allows the 12th most goals in the league.

7.       Calgary Roughnecks – 3-3 (Last Week: #6)

It was bad from the start for Calgary in week 9 as they drop their game 14-9 to the Toronto Rock. Down 5-1 after 1, 8-3 at half and 13-4 after 3, it never was close for the Roughnecks as they drop to .500 on the season and slide to #7 in this weeks rankings. Jesse King led the way with a 3/3/6 night while Curtis Dickson picked up 5 assists in his 6 point night. Dane Dobbie was relatively quiet on the night with just a goal on 7 shots. Cam MacLeod struggled in this one from the start and finished playing just under 35 minutes on the night making 23/35 saves. On the season his GAA stands at 14.01 with a 73sv%. My biggest question of the game though was where Brayden Mayea was and why he was not playing. In 2 games he is 3/5/8. While this offense is 5th in the league in scoring at 12.17, their GAA is 12th at 13.5. In their wins they average 14.33 goals and allow an average of 13.33 goals. In their losses though they average 10 goals and allow 13.67 goals. As we said in the offseason, this team will be better on the offensive side this year, 11 goals per game last year, but much worse on the back end, 10.78 goals allowed per game last year. This team needs to score plenty of goals to stand a chance in games. Otherwise, their spot in the standings and the rankings will slip. They get Ottawa on Friday in the capital region.

8.       Georgia Swarm – 4-3 (Last Week: #8)

Holding firm at #8 are the Swarm. There is nothing more I can say about this team that I have not already said. It comes down to consistency and guys stepping up their game. On last Fridays show we put Shayne Jackson as one of the biggest disappointments of the NLL season so far. While the reason their offense has struggled does not have everything to do with him, he was a player they were counting on this season that has not lived up to those expectation. Now, this season I have had a weird track record of calling out players and their games stepping up. Larson Sundown, Ryan Keenan, Robert Church to name a few. It’s possible that a guy like Jackson will follow. He has the talent and is a former MVP. Their first chance to break this 3 game losing streak is Saturday when they travel to Sin City. While the team currently hold the #6 seed in the standings, team behind them like Toronto ae getting healthy and looking to take someone’s spot in the race. Georgia needs to find answers to the problems in a hurry.

9.       San Diego Seals – 3-4 (Last Week: #10)

10.   Halifax Thunderbirds – 2-4 (Last Week: #11)

11.   Toronto Rock – 2-5 (Last Week: #15)

12.   Rochester Knighthawks – 3-6 (Last Week: #9)

13.   Albany FIrewolves – 2-6 (Last Week: #12)

14.   Las Vegas Desert Dogs – 2-5 (Last Week: #13)