PK’s NLL Power Rankings - Week 6
1. Toronto Rock – 3-0 (Last Week: #1)
Our number 1 team remains one of two undefeated teams in the NLL after 5 weeks. The Rock dominated the Riptide in a game that showed a top team facing a bottom team. The closest the game ended up being was 1-1 about midway through the first. After that point, the Rock would extend the lead to 8-1 halfway through the 3rd quarter. Corey Small (3/1/4), Dan Craig (4/2/6), and Chris Boushy (0/5/5) led the way on the offensive end on a day where Mark Matthews was quiet with a 3 point night. In net Nick Rose was lights out once again and is the early front runner for Goalie of the Year with a 41 save night. Rose did get some help with 13 CTO from those in front of him with Billy Hostrawser and Brad Kri contributing 3 each. Toronto heads into another bye week this weekend hoping Tom Schreiber gets back to full health in the New Year.
2. San Diego Seals – 2-1 (Last Week: #5)
The offense that we have been saying the Seals are capable of finally came to life Friday night in San Diego. They put up 17 on the Knighthawks to move to 2-1 on the season. It was a very close, back and forth game until the 3rd where the Seals would score 4 of the 6 goals and pull out to a 14-10 lead that they would not relinquish. Wes Berg led the way with a 9 point night and got help from Dan Dobbie and Austin Staats who would contributed 8 points each in the win. 6 players had multi goal games vs Roch in a coming out party for the team. In net, Chris Origlieri might have allowed 14 but finished with 45 saves in his first game since turning 21. This is another team that will head into next week on a bye before facing the Desert Dogs and Mammoth in back to back days.
3. Georgia Swarm – 3-1 (Last Week: #6)
If we take off any bias hats we have as Buffalo fans, Friday night in Banditland saw one heck of a lacrosse game. It was a defensive, goaltending battle that saw the now 3rd ranked Georgia Swarm use a 4 goal run in the 4th to hold off the Bandits in front of 16,000+ fans. The Bandits would take an early 4th quarter lead, scoring 2 goals in a matter of 24 seconds but the Swarm responded with 2 quick goals of their own in 47 seconds to tie it up. Brett Dobson put on one of the best goaltending performances you may see this year, making 46 saves on a night that the Bandits were getting plenty of inside looks. This game felt like the Bandits were dominating but just couldn’t beat the man in net. Shayne Jackson, Lyle Thompson and Andrew Kew were the only goal scorers for the Swarm netting all 9 for the Swarm. I mentioned in last week’s rankings, if this team got the defense and goaltending to back up the potential they have as a lethal offense, this team can find themselves in title contention. They host PCLC next week.
4. Albany Firewolves – 4-0 (Last Week: #7)
Is 4th high enough for this team now? Last week I got some people angry for having Albany down at 7th. They couldn’t believe that would be the case sitting at 3-0. I explained it’s not just about the record and many things come into play including quality of wins. The game Sunday night vs the Rush was a quality win in my book against one of the hottest offenses going. The team withstood a 4 goal run in the dying seconds of the 3rd and the whole 4th from the Rush and took the game with an Ethan Walker goal just 55 seconds into OT as he completed his 6 point night. Alex Simmons is the runaway favorite for Rookie of the Year with another 3 goal, 7 point night and is tied with Connor Fields for the league lead in points. Doug Jamieson is a rock in the net once again making 44 saves in the victory and is putting his name back among the elites after a down year last year. The team sits at 4-0 and now these next 3 weeks will determine if this was just a hot start or if this young group is a legit threat. They get Halifax, Georgia and San Diego on the schedule next.
5. Buffalo Bandits – 1-2 (Last Week: #2)
Sliding down 3 spots to #5 this week are the Bandits. They played a very solid game on Friday night in front of a packed house but they just ran into an ultra-hot net minder. A 3 goal run by the Bandits gave them the early 4th quarter lead 7-5, but the Swarm would respond with the next 4 which was the nail in the coffin for the Bandits. The game felt like Buffalo was dominating in all aspects. If you were not tracking the score you might have thought the Bandits were out ahead but Dobson stonewalled them and frustrated the team. The Defense was good enough in this one that they deserved to walk out with a W but it was the offensive side of the ball that fell short. It felt like the team should have given Brandon Robinson some forward shifts in an effort to clear some lanes for Josh Byrne (2/2/4) and Chris Cloutier (2/0/2). The other thing to watch for is Dhane Smith (0/7/7). He is sitting with 20 points on the season but just 1 of those is a goal. They need to find a way to get the 2 time MVP to play just a little more selfish. The Bandits host the Mammoth Saturday night in their first matchup since Buffalo raised the cup.
6. Halifax Thunderbirds – 2-1 (Last Week: #3)
The second team to see their ranking slide a bit here are the Thunderbirds. Those pesky Wings just would not be grounded. Halifax would hold a 3-1 lead after 1, a 10-6 lead after half, a 15-13 lead with 7:48 to go and yet the Wings would battle back each time. Although he allowed 15, Zach Higgins was massive in this game making 53 saves for Philly. Ryan Benesch was incredible in this game, scoring 6 goals including 2 in the 4th that gave the team the 2 goal lead. Austin Shanks (2/3/5), Dawson Theede (2/1/3) and Randy Staats (2/4/6) had 41 combined shots but only 6 snuck by. That’s under 15% shooting. That and Warren Hill not making the saves his team needed in the 2nd half were the difference in this one. This does not get any easier for Halifax as they travel to Albany Saturday night.
7. Rochester Knighthawks – 3-1 (Last Week: #4)
Rochester slips to 7 this week as they fall to the Seals 17-14. This is another team you might be looking at and wondering why are they down at 7 with a 3-1 record. They are one of the best scoring teams in the league but it goes back to what I had been saying about Albany. It is more than the record for me with these rankings. My issue with them is that they give up a lot of goals, 13.75 a game to be exact. That is not a recipe for success. This team has the weapons on offense to compete with any team in the league. Ryan Smith had his 4th straight hat trick and Connor Fields and Thomas McConvey added 3 each of their own. But unless this team can get Hutchcraft going when he starts a game, this team is going to have to rely heavily on their forward group. In his 2 games in relief, Hutchcraft made 28 saves on 33 shots and 20 saves on 23 shots. In the 2 games he has started, 36 saves on 50 shots and 39 saves on 56 shots. They get the bye week before they host Buffalo on January 13th.
8. Calgary Roughnecks – 1-2 (Last Week: #11)
The 1st one is always the sweetest. Calgary got in the win column Saturday night as they used a 6 goal run and turned it into a victory. Jesse King had his best game of the season netting 3 along with 6 helpers. Tyler Pace chipped in 5 assists on his 6 point night and Haiden Dickson scored 4. The Roughnecks’ offense under Josh Sanderson has finally come to life including 3 in the transition game. The defense was a force in this one causing 12 turnovers which allowed Christian Del Bianco to be able to settle in and make 35 of 46 saves. We have been waiting for this team to break through after 2 late game breakdowns. Vegas cut the lead down to 4 before the 4th until Calgary put a 3 goal run together to slam the door shut for good. The team is off until the 13th when they travel to Vancouver to face their former coach in a must see event.
9. Philadelphia Wings – 2-2 (Last Week: #13)
Goonies never say die. The Wings must have watched the movie before playing on Friday night because they should not have been able to pull that win out. No Blaze Riorden, no Holden Cattoni, down 10-6 at half. Everything was working against the Wings in this game and they just did not care. Mitch Jones (4/4/8) and Joe Resetarits (1/6/7) did what they normally do. But it was the play of Tanner Buck (2/0/2), Ben McIntosh (2/1/3) and Sam LeClair (2/2/4) and their secondary scoring that saw Philly walk out of the nest with a W to pull them back to .500. After a down game vs Albany that saw him get pulled, Zach Higgins responded with a night to remember. Facing 68 shots and coming away with 53 saves is a feat for anyone let alone when those shots are coming from one of the best offensive units in the league. The Wings will face the 0-3 Riptide at home this week in a Sunday afternoon game and have a chance to pull above .500 as they wait for their team to get healthy.
10. Panther City Lacrosse Club – 1-2 (Last Week: #8)
The only team without a game last weekend and they drop 2. Once again this is more about what happened behind them than anything they did. This is still a team that I have not been able to get behind. Their offense through 3 games is averaging just a tick above 10 goals a game. Although Nick Damude is having a great start to the season, 2nd in the league in GAA with a 9.84 to go with an 81% save percentage, unless this team is able to put their offense together, we might be looking at a team that relies on winning 11-9 games rather then 14-12 games and that is very tough to do in a league like the NLL. They travel to the red hot Georgia Swarm Saturday Night.
11. Colorado Mammoth – 1-2 (Last Week: #12)
What a weird game this was. Down 5-0 just 5 minutes into the game and the team pulls Dillon Ward after making just 3 saves. Down 11-5 at half allowing 2 Warrior goals with under a minute to play in the 1st half. Those would be the last goals Vancouver would score because the Mammoth, behind Tyler Carlson’s 27 save performance, would score the next 6 in regulation and 1 in OT to finish the game on a 7 goal run and their first win of the year. Zed Williams (2/4/6), Tyson Gibson (2/1/3), Eli McLaughlin (2/2/4) and Connor Robinson (4/3/7) would score 10 of the 12 goals to lead the team to victory. The win was massive for this team but you have to start to be concerned if your franchise leader in Dillon Ward is fully healthy or not. This is back to back poor performances out of the 2022 finals MVP. It’s something to monitor as the season continues. The team travels back to Banditland on Saturday with their eyes on revenge.
12. Vancouver Warriors – 1-3 (Last Week: #9)
Down 3 spots to 12 this week for the Warriors. They let a .500 record slip out of their hands in this one. Up 6 going into 30 minutes left of play and they would get shut out. Kevin Crowley with his 5 goals and Adam Charalambidies with his 3 collected 8 of the team’s 11 goals. There is not much more I can say about this game. Tyler Carlson for the Mammoth played great but the Warriors made it a lot easier for Colorado to make their comeback netting 0 in nearly 35 minutes of play. In the NLL where the talent level is the best in the world, you just cannot have stretches like this if you want to climb back into playoff contention. After a loss like this you usually want to jump right back into action but they will have to wait an extra week until Calgary comes into town.
13. Saskatchewan Rush – 1-3 (Last Week: #10)
This was a fantastic game to end 2023. Although they left the year on the losing end, they were able to hold Albany to their lowest scoring output this season. Down 7-4 at half and 10-7 after 3, the Rush would score 3 of their own in the 4th and shut out the Firewolves to send the game to OT which they’d end up losing just 55 seconds in. Zach Manns continues to be on an absolute roll scoring 3 in a 6 point night. But it was the play of Frank Scigliano that has me excited. I said if you get the good Frankie this team has a good chance to make a run. They fell short but the expectations after this game have risen for the Rush. They get a week off before they travel to Philly on the 13th.
14. Las Vegas Desert Dogs – 1-3 (Last Week: #14)
Traveling to Calgary to face the defending MVP and Goalie of the Year is never an easy feat. Vegas was in this one until a 6 goal run closed any chances of a comeback and upset. The offense looked good considering who they were shooting on. Casey Jackson led the way with 3 while Jack Hannah and Rob Hellyer added 2 each. But in net they were let down by Landon Kells who allowed 14 on 35 shots in a forgettable game. If I can leave you with one positive in this matchup it’s that the team did a much better job staying out of the box. 12 PIMs is still not ideal but it’s a step in the right direction. They are off before hosting the Seals.
15. New York Riptide – 0-3 (Last Week: #15)
All I can say is, New York is lucky there isn’t a lower spot in these rankings. After all of the moves they made in the offseason we were excited to see the changes with the new faces but 3 games in and it’s the same results. 0-3 start and back to back games they couldn’t reach double digit goals. The team is averaging 8 goals a game while allowing 13.67. The positive is, I think they have a good goalie in Cam Dunkerley. While his numbers don’t back that up, he isn’t getting much help in front of him. The other positive is, this was Jeff Teat’s best performance of the year with 3 goals in a 6 point night. But there is nothing else positive about this team right now. They are wasting the Jeff Teat years and eventually you start to question when he will want to take his talents elsewhere. They get to travel to Philly for a Sunday afternoon game so maybe the New Year will bring out a new Riptide team.