PK’s NLL Power Rankings - Week 4

1.       Toronto Rock – 1-0 (Last Week: #1)

It was a bye week for the team. As you will read later in the power rankings, some teams that were also sitting out this week have moved down. That is not the case for the Rock. As of writing this article, Tom Schreiber and Chris Corbeil are still on the IR. One or both of these players would be a welcomed addition to the team. The team, I’m sure, is very interested in seeing that Schreiber and Mark Matthews connection. They travel to the lone star state this week to take on the 1-1 Panther City on Friday.

2.       Buffalo Bandits – 1-1 (Last Week: #3)

The Banner is up and the win column has grown. The defending champs have moved up 1 spot in this week’s rankings, rebounding after an ugly loss to Albany in week 2 of the NLL Season. Josh Byrne led the way with a 7 point night including a team leading 4 goals. Through 2 games, Byrne is 8th in the league in scoring and is averaging 3/5/8 per game. Dhane Smith, while having just 1 goal on the year, has 12 assists as the offense still filters through him. Matt Vinc, as he has throughout his whole Bandits tenure, bounced back vs the Seals allowing just 9 goals in a 37 save effort. We were curious how the emotions of the night would come into play and it seemed once the second half kicked off, the team settled into the offense we had seen through the playoffs last year with that 5 goal run in the 3rd. The team is off this week and will look to continue their winning ways when they host the Swarm on the 29th.

3.       Halifax Thunderbirds – 2-0 (Last Week: #5)

The bye week did not seem to affect Halifax in the slightest as they move up 2 this week. Taking on the Riptide, not only did they offense continue to produce, putting up 14, but their defense was locked in allowing just 6. That includes shutting down Jeff Teat to a 1-1-2 night on just 6 shots. That will make any goaltender’s night a bit easier. Randy Staats in his first game back seemed as ready as ever putting up a 3 goal, 6 point night. Through 3 weeks of the season, Halifax leads the league in scoring at 15.5 goals per game and tied for 2nd in fewest goals allowed with 9 a game. The only thing I will be watching for is can they keep this rhythm going. I know teams don’t like this type of schedule of play, bye, play, bye, so it will be interesting to see if they can continue this level of game in back to back weeks after their off week.

4.       Rochester Knighthawks – 2-0 (Last Week: #4)

Another team that will be looking to use this last week off and continue their hot start. The 2-0 Knighthawks will play host to the Warriors as the only game of Saturday. The red hot Connor Fields is tied for 4th in the league in points, but is actually leading the league in scoring on a per game basis with 8.5 points a game. The biggest question moving forward for this team is in net. Will they continue with Riley Hutchcraft or go back with Rylan Hartley who began the season as the net minder? I’d lean Hutchcraft as he has been the one in net when the team has played their best.

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

The Seals slide down 3 spots to number 5 in our rankings this week. The team held their own against Buffalo on Saturday night, but I don’t think there was anyone who could have beaten the Bandits on their Banner raising night. This loss should not worry anyone in San Diego. It was a very evenly matched battle throughout the first half of the game but that 5 goal run Buffalo had in the 3rd including 3 within 41 seconds was really the time the game slipped away. The Seals just could not beat Vinc in the 4th with just 1 goal with 4:26 remaining from Austin Staats (2/2/4). This team is still going to be near the top of the league in scoring and their defense looks like that will be one of the better units in the league as well. They head into the bye week after a long travel to and from the East Coast.

6.       Albany Firewolves – 3-0 (Last Week: #11)

I am not fully bought in yet, but the Firewolves have been added to my cart. 3 games in and they have already matched last year’s win total. This is a team I need to start picking in our weekly BSC predictions because I am 0-3 when going against them. This young offense does not care who they go against, they just go out and play their game and it seems to be the right formula. They are 2nd in the league in scoring, averaging 14.67 goals a game. In fact, they have 5 players in the top 9 in scoring including Alex Simmons and Ethan Walker who are at the top of that list. Now, I said I am not fully bought in and that is true. Teams have had hot starts in the past and fizzled out. This is still a super young team with their oldest players being 30. The true test is coming up as they have a stretch of 4 straight weeks of game action after this bye week including games against San Diego and Halifax who are ahead of them in these rankings. But the future is very very bright for this team that deserves more fans in the stands.

7.       Georgia Swarm – 1-1 (Last Week #6)

After a very hot start to the season that saw them put 16 on Colorado, they managed just 7 in Vancouver on Saturday night. Down 4-1 after one, the team actually tied it up early in the 3rd, until the Warriors would go on to score 11 of the next 14 to end the game on a 4 goal run. Brett Dobson was not strong in this one and was eventually pulled at the end, giving way to back up Dustin Hill who played the final 7. But it was not just on Dobson. The offense we saw in game 1 dried up in game 2. The core four in Thompson, Jackson, Bomberry and Kew contributed just 5 goals combined which will not be able to get it done in this league. The team will head out to Colorado this Friday and look to sweep the season series vs the Mammoth.

8.       Colorado Mammoth – 0-1 (Last Week: #7)

Another blow even when the team was off last weekend. Connor Kelly was added to the Short Term Hold Out List. Still no movement or word on Dillon Ward. The team is going to need more depth to step up into bigger roles if they want to stay afloat early in the season. This is still a team that knows what it takes to win enough to get into the playoffs as they have showed in previous years. Plenty of season to go but they get to play Georgia in a rematch from week 1 where they fell 16-10.

9.       Vancouver Warriors – 1-1 (Last Week: #12)

First win in the books for the newly rebuilt team and it was a solid win at that. The whole offense was involved in the 15-7 win over Georgia. Adam Charalambides, Kevin Crowley, and Keegan Bal had 3/4/7 nights while Ryan Martel led the way with a 4 goal, 9 point night. Aaron Bold was solid in net making 35 saves in the victory. The defense looked a lot better and more comfortable in the new system and the presence of Matt Beers (0/2/2) was felt. He gathered up 9 LBs, blocked 3 shots and chipped in 3 CTOs in the game. If these pieces can continue to gel and grow together, this team can begin to make some waves around the league. They get to travel to Rochester this week to face the red hot Knighthawks with a chance to spoil their Christmas.

10.   Saskatchewan Rush – 1-2 (Last Week: #13)

Another team gaining their first win in a dominating performance. The Rush offense came alive with their 17-5 win over the Desert Dogs. Ryan Keenan and Patrick Dodds combined for just 1 goal but also combined for 16 assists. They were dishing out the ball and getting everyone involved. Zach Manns and Robert Church were the main beneficiaries of those assists, having 4 goals each. As good as the offense was in this one, the defense and goaltending was just as good. Mike Messenger was a monster in this one. Not just having to deal with Zach Cole at the faceoff dot but adding a goal and 4 CTOs. That was a major assistance to Franky Scigliano in net. He struggled in the first 2 games allowing 9 in Halifax before being pulled and 15 vs Rochester but in this one he allowed just 5 on 43 shots. If this is the goalie the team that traded for, the Rush will have in the net and the scoring to climb up in the rankings.

11.   Panther City Lacrosse Club – 1-1 (Last Week: #10)

Bye week tumble, but only one spot. This has more to do with what we saw from the Warriors and the Rush than anything Panther City did. But coming out of their off week, the team will play host to our #1 ranked team in Toronto with the chance to get back above .500. After a heartbreaking OT loss to Vegas in week 2, this team is going to need to bring more offense than we have seen the first 2 weeks if they want to beat the Rock and Nick Rose in net.

12.   Calgary Roughneck – 0-2 (Last Week: #10)

Another tumble down due to the hot teams’ performances in week 3. Not only were they off last week but they are off once again this week. They will not be back until the 30th vs Vegas where they will look to rebound from a rough start to the season. 14-13 loss to Rochester in week 1 and 12-9 loss to San Diego in week 2. If they can fix their 5v5 offense, with Del Bianco in net this team will rise quickly. Hard to keep a team like this down for very long.

13.   Philadelphia Wings – 1-2 (Last Week: #8)

Loss on the field but a big loss off the field as well. Not only did Philly drop their matchup to Albany 15-10, they got news that Blaze Riorden and Holden Cattoni will be out for the next few weeks. A team that was looking like one I had possibly underestimated in the preseason will now need players like Sam LeClair and Taggart Clark to step up into bigger roles. Higgins between the pipes was not very strong vs Albany but that seems to be the growing theme early in the season. He allowed 12 goals making 30 saves before being pulled late into the 3rd quarter. The defense was not much help having little to no answer for Simmons and Walker. In fact, they were outscored 6-1 in the 3rd and 9-4 in the 2nd half after being tied entering the 3rd. They need to use the bye to adjust to life without Riorden and Cattoni.

14.   Las Vegas Desert Dogs – 1-2 (Last Week: #14)

After what was a great win vs Panther City in week 2, Vegas lost a very lopsided game to the Rush as the sole game Friday night. 9-1 after half time saw the score get more out of hand in the 2nd half where the Rush would go on to outscore Vegas 8-3 in the 2nd and 17-5 overall. It’s a pretty easy review to me. Landon Kells was not good after 2 great showings to start the season allowing 15 goals and making 30 saves. The offense could not generate any traction with Jack Hannah and Rob Hellyer getting shut out in the goal department. The biggest positive of this team is if they can get their offense going, they have a legit asset in Zach Cole who can win those face offs clean and allow more chances for the forwards to stay on the field. Also, the penalties need to stop. Another 10 PKs they needed to go on which drains your defense. They head into a well needed rest week.

15.   New York Riptide – 0-2 (Last Week: #15)

Phil’s prediction is going about as well as mine did las year. This team cannot seem to find its footing in the goal department. Yes, it was a loss against Halifax who is a top level team. But to generate just 6 goals with the offense we thought we’d see this year, it’s not a good start. They are averaging just 8 goals a game currently. Jeff Teat has been shut down through 2 games with just 2 goals and 7 points. This is not the play of a man that led the league in scoring last season, but he can’t do it alone. Connor Kearnan and Reilly O’Connor have not played to their potential with both combining for just 5 goals. It also was not Cam Dunkerley’s finest game, making 32 saves to go along with 14 goals against before being pulled. After the bye, nothing gets easier as they will head to Toronto to face our top ranked team in the Rock.