PK’s NLL Power Rankings - Week 18

1.       San Diego Seals – 11-4 (Last Week: #1)

I don’t know what it is about Vegas, but they seem to play the Seals tough. Desert Dogs got the win in their first matchup and were on the brink of winning this one but San Diego comes out ahead 10-9 in OT. Vegas led 5-1 after the first and 6-4 at half. But a 5-3 2nd half by San Diego saw the game go to OT where Chris Origlieri hit Tre Leclaire in stride to end the game 54 seconds in. Leclaire finished the day 3/3/6 while Wes Berg continues his MVP season going 2/6/8. Dane Dobbie (2/1/3), Jacob Dunbar (2/2/4), and Austin Staats (1/4/5) were all critical in the victory as well as the Seals have clinched a spot in the playoffs once again. In net Chris Origlieri making 40/49 saves continues to push Nick Rose for that Goalie of the Year belt. The Seals go into a bye week before finishing the season with Panther City, Saskatchewan and Vancouver.

2.       Toronto Rock – 12-3 (Last Week: #2)

To me this game proved that this is a different Rock team this year. Halifax led by 4 at two different points in this one. 4-0 after 1 and 7-3 late into the 3rd. they also led 8-6 with 1:45 left to go before the Rock would net 2 and force OT. A 4 on 2 break for Halifax led to an illegal pick being called and Tom Schreiber finding Mark Matthews on a breakaway to end it for the Rock. Dan Craig, Tom Schreiber and Mark Matthews all finished 2/1/3 while Corey Small dished out 3 helpers. Mitch de Snoo, Brad Kri, Justin Martin and Billy Hostrawser combined for 33 LBs, 13 CTO and 5 Blocked Shots in the win. While Nick Rose bounced back from an off week in Buffalo making 37/45 saves marking the 8th time keeping a team under 10 this year. The team heads into a bye week already clinching a home playoff game and can seal up a top 2 seed with a win in Albany out of the break.

3.       Halifax Thunderbirds – 8-7 (Last Week #3)

It’s strange to see a team lose one and stay in the top 3 but I felt the Thunderbirds showed enough Saturday night to still be considered one of the top teams in the league even after their 9-8 loss in Hamilton. Leading by 4 in 2 different parts of the game as well as up 2 with 1:45 remaining, it’s tough to come out of it without a win. Ryan Benesch went 3/2/5 on 14 shots. Clarke Petterson went 1/3/4 on the night while Austin Shanks handed out 4 assist. Warren Hills continues to perform well in net making 40/49 saves in the loss that I simply cannot put on his shoulders. Halifax is sitting 8-7 on the year and in the 5th spot of the playoffs. The issue for this team remains 1 thing. The inability to defeat the top teams in the league. They are 0-5 vs the top 4 seeds and 8-2 vs the teams below them in the standings. While it is true that in those 5 losses, 4 were decided by 1 or 2 goals, that to me really determines if you are a legit threat or just on the edge. They get Rochester on Saturday with a chance to get that much closer to clinching a playoff spot.

4.       Georgia Swarm – 9-7 (Last Week: #6)

Not sure if Georgia realized they were not on a bye week until the 4th quarter of their game on Sunday night but it was enough to get them the win. After being shut out in the 1st half of Sunday s game. That’s right. 0 goals for 30 minutes, Georgia would score 9 of the next 12 goals to go on to win the game 9-7 over the Rush. Lyle Thompson and Andrew Kew led the way with the same stat line of 3/2/5. Brendan Bomberry chipped in that secondary scoring with a 2/1/3 night, while Brady Kearnan threw in 3 helpers. Brett Dobson kept this team in it until the goals started to flow making 30/37 saves including allowing just those 3 second half goals. The team has Vegas and Rochester still on their schedule with 2 important bye weeks mixed in before playoffs kick off.

5.       Buffalo Bandits – 7-7 (Last Week: #4)

Down just 1 for the Bandits this week after their OT 12-11 loss to Panther City to kick off week 17’s slate of games. It was a back and forth that saw the first half end in a tie. PC would score 3 of 4 in the 3rd to take a 2 goal lead, which would turn into a Buffalo 2 goal lead 5:24 into the 4th. Callum Crawford would tie it with a shot from the point with 20 seconds left to play. Some bad defense by Buffalo and Jonathan Donville ends it in overtime. Josh Byrne led the way on offense scoring 5 on his way to a 7 point night. Dhane Smith collected 5 more assist in his own 7 point night. While Chris Cloutier and Tehoka Nanticoke went 1/3/4 in the loss. The defense contributed to the 14 blocked shots and 11 CTO. Matt Vinc went 36/47 on the night which should have been enough for the win. A lot of fans were seen calling this the Bandits worse loss of the season. I just don’t see it. Thought this was one of their better 60 minutes of play. They get Philly Saturday in a rare 1pm afternoon game which sees the Wings playing their 2nd game in less than 48 hours.

6.       Albany Firewolves – 10-5 (Last Week: #5)

The skid continues for Albany as they drop their 3rd straight game, this one 10-9 in OT to Calgary. The start of the game saw the teams go on goal runs that ended with Calgary’s 4 straight go into the 3rd. The team would score 3 in the 4th to tie the game, but Tanner Cook would slam the door shut on the Firewolves in OT. Tye Kurtz led the way for the Wolves going 3/2/5 on the night. Travis Long Longboat would go 2/1/3 while Ethan Walker dished out 4 helpers. Alex Simmons struggled to beat Del Bianco like most do netting just 1 on 13 shot attempts. In net the steady Doug Jamieson was great once again making 46/56 saves in what was good enough for a victory. Of their 5 losses, 3 have come when they have allowed 11 or fewer. The team heads into the bye week before getting Toronto at home with a chance to clinch a playoff spot with Georgia nipping at their heels.

7.       Panther City Lacrosse Club – 7-7 (Last Week: #9)

I wanted to push PC higher in the rankings this week after their 12-11 OT win vs Buffalo but it just did not shake out. Down 2 with 9:36 to go in the 4th, PC would score the final 4 of 5 in the game including the game tying goal from Callum Crawford with 20 seconds remaining as well as the game winner in OT by Jonathan Donville. Will Malcom was a monster to guard in this one going 4/3/7 while also collecting 10 LB and causing 2 TO. Donville scored 3 himself in a 5 point night while Crawford finished 1/3/4. But it felt like Nick Damude would steal the team that game. Buffalo felt like the better team in this one but just could not get the ball by Damude enough as he finished the night 51/62 in a masterful game. The team is sitting 6th in the standings heading into break before a back to back weekend getting San Diego on the road Friday before hosting Philly on Sunday the 7th.

8.       Rochester Knighthawks – 6-7 (Last Week: #7)

It was one very, very bad half for Rochester here that has them looking from the outside in at the playoffs. After leading 5-3 at half, Colorado opened the 2nd half scoring with a 6 goal run and scored 10 of the final 12 goals of the game. Connor Fields 3/1/4, Ryan Lanchbury (2/3/5, and Ryan Smith 2/1/3 did the bulk of the damage while Riley Hutchcraft made 30/40 saves in the defeat. Matt Gilray continues to make his mark and put his name in award talk with his play gather 13 LBs, 2 blocked shots and 2 CTO in the loss. But it’s the trend that keeps me from getting my hopes up for this team. After starting the season 3-0, they dropped the next 6 before winning the next 3. With this loss, is it the start of another 6 game skid? They get Halifax at home on Saturday but end the season with 3 games in 8 nights. Add in 4 of the 5 opponents left are currently in a playoff spot.

9.       Calgary Roughnecks – 6-8 (Last Week: #11)

Calgary saved their season with their 10-9 OT win on Friday night. Had they lost this game to Albany and gotten their 9th loss, I don’t think they’d have a chance at making the playoffs. But now sitting 6-8, they have a shot. After watching their 3 goal 4th quarter lead disappear, Tanner Cook would end it 3:36 into OT. Tyler Pace led the way scoring 4 in his 6 point night. Jesse King was right behind him going 2/3/5 on the night. All while Zach Currier was a monster gathering 13 LB and causing 2 TO. But in my own opinion, its last year’s MVP Christian Del Bianco for the reason this team won this game. He made 46/55 saves in the victory for the team that has struggled to find goals. They are 10th in the league in scoring while on the other side 3rd in goals allowed per game. In fact, out of the 14 games they have played, they have allowed 12 or more just 4 times. As I have said before and throughout the season, the lack of guys who can score will be the downfall of this team. They are off this week before a home and home matchup with the Rush.

10.   New York Riptide – 7-8 (Last Week: #12)

This was a must win game for the Riptide sitting 6-8 with Rush coming to town 5-6. How the season could look if this result went the other way. But NY walks home 14-11 winners and sent SAS packing. New York carried a 8-4 lead into the 2nd. After 2 goals apiece in the 3rd, SAS went on a 3 goal run in the 4th to get within 1 but that would be the closest they’d get as the Riptide would score 4 of the final 6 of the game. Jeff Teat went netted 4 to go with his 9 assists as he accounted for 13 of the 14 goals. Larson Sundown continues his electric stretch going 2/6/8 while Stephen Keogh and newbie Taggart Clark scored Hattys. Cam Dunkerley went 36/47 in net to lead the Riptide into that 8th and final playoff spot. The team heads into their bye week before getting Rochester, Vancouver and Albany to finish the season. If they can beat the Knighthawks, they are sitting pretty already having the head to head match advantage over Calgary and Philly.

11.   Vancouver Warriors – 5-9 (Last Week: #13)

This is the highest I have had Vancouver ranked in a very long time. And they deserve ever part of it with their 2nd straight win and 3rd in the last 4. An explosive 21-12 win in Philly will give the Warriors their biggest scoring output of the year and tie Panther City for the most by any team this season. The team came out flying taking a 7-1 lead early into the 2nd. Philly trimmed the lead down to 2, but an 8 goal 3rd followed by a 4 goal 4th, slammed the door on any sort of come back. Keegan Bal went 8/5/13 on the night while Riley Loewen (3/7/10) and Ryan Martel (4/4/8), led the way for the team. 10 players contributed at least a point in the blow out. Aden Walsh continues to show he can hold down the position making 34/46 saves in the victory. Their chances to make the playoffs are slim, but that is not stopping this team from proving Curt Malawsky right in holding onto his players at the deadline. The team will look to sweep the season series vs Vegas on Saturday and extending their winning streak to 3.

12.   Colorado Mammoth – 5-9 (Last Week: #14)

Another team that waited until the 2nd half to show up. After being down 5-3 in the 1st half, Colorado would go on a 6-0 run to start the 3rd and score 10 of the final 12 goals to get their 5th win of the year. Zed Williams and Eli McLaughlin both went 4/3/7 on the night while Connor Robinson went 2/3/5. No surprise it’s your 3 vets leading the way. In net you saw vintage Dillon Ward making 44/51 saves and allowing just 2 second half. While I don’t think Colorado has enough juice to sneak in, they gave themselves the chance with the upset. They head into the bye before hosting Buffalo in their classic rivalry game before finishing the season with 3 games in 8 days.

13.   Saskatchewan Rush – 5-8 (Last Week: #8)

What an epic fall for the Rush this week who drop both games over the weekend and fall to 5-8 on the year with 5 to play. I have been talking about this stretch for a long time now. The first game vs NY saw the team never hold a lead. They cut it to 1 early in the 4th but could not find that tying goal and drop the game 14-11. Robert Church went 4/2/6 while Ryan Keenan saw a 3/3/6 night. Frank Scigliano went 32/45 in net in the loss. The next day was a bit of a different story for the team. The Rush held a 4-0 lead going into the 3rd a 6-3 lead into the 4th. Georgia would score 6 of the 7 in that quarter including the final 5 of the game. Church repeated his score line of 4/2/6 while it was Zach Manns behind him going 1/3/4. Scigliano was insane in this one making 44/52 saves which should have gotten them the win. The team gets their makeup game vs Philly on Thursday before getting a home and home with Calgary next weekend. It is must win the rest of the way for this team if they want any chance at playoffs.

14.   Philadelphia Wings – 5-8 (Last Week: 10)

This was a massive game for Philly to come out and win to get to 6-7 and right in the thick of the playoff race before their tough end of the year stretch and they put out a 2nd half dud. Down 7-1 early in the 2nd, the team got back within 2 by half. But they would allow 12 of the next 17 goals and drop this one 21-12 to Vancouver. Mitch Jones once again led the way for the team going 4/5/9 while Holden Cattoni (3/3/6) and Joe Resetarits (2/3/5) did what they could. It was not a night to remember for either goalie as Zach Higgins went 21/36 and Deacon Knott went 12/18. The road is not any easier for Philly who get SAS on Thursday, Buffalo at 1pm on Saturday, Panther City the following Sunday. 3 games in 11 days where all are likely must wins is going to be a tough test.

15.   Las Vegas Desert Dogs – 4-10 (Last Week: #15)

I almost moved them up because of how close they kept their matchup but I just couldn’t do it as they lose their 4th straight game. After starting the game hot leading 5-1 and 6-4 at half, the Dogs were outscored 5-3 in the 2nd half before dropping the game 10-9 in OT. The biggest difference in this one is the Seals went 4-5 on the PP while Vegas went 2-5. When you don’t put in a ton of goals, Special Team numbers are important. Rob Hellyer and Zack Greer led the way both having 2/2/4 nights. Jack Hannah and Dylan Watson both went 1/3/4 while Casey Jackson went 1/2/3 off his 8 goal explosion. But in net you have to feel for Landon Kells. He made 54/64 saves in the losing effort. The goal scoring just continues to be an issue as they are dead last in the league. They get Vancouver in a rematch from 0 weeks ago on Saturday night.