Inside Lacrosse Staff

Friday January 10th, 2020

Goalie Warren Hill and the Halifax defense takes on a Colorado Mammoth team that's won three straight. (Photo: Trevor MacMillan)

Five games for Week 7 of the National Lacrosse League season and while they’re all big matchups, of course, there is one that should catch your eye.

If you like defense, then the potential is there for Saturday’s Colorado at Halifax game as two of the league’s best defensive units butt heads. The Buffalo at Georgia game should be interesting as well in terms of giving the Bandits a better idea of where they stand as they chase another berth in the NLL finals.

Actually, all 10 teams in action this weekend will have a better idea, so let’s get going with a closer look at the stats and figures for each with our Week 7 preview.

Friday

When: 7 p.m. (EST)

Quick take: The Wings want this one but the Warriors need it to avoid a three-game losing streak.

Warriors: The Warriors are averaging 14.75 PIM, third-most in the league…Vancouver has allowed 4 shorthanded goals, most in the league…F Jordan McBride continued his strong scoring pace with 2 more goals in Saturday’s loss to Colorado. The veteran now has 10 goals on 35 shots for a shooting percentage of 23%…McBride is tied for the team lead in scoring with 10 goals, which is tied for second-most in the NLL…F Joel McCready was in the lineup against Colorado for his first game this season and first since an injury last season limited him to five games…F Mitch Jones scored “only” 1 goal in the loss to Colorado after scoring 3, 4, and 2 in each of this first three games.

Wings: A win would make the Wings 3-1, which would be their best record at the start of a season since the 2008 team started 6-0…With New England off this weekend, a win for the Wings also would make their Dec. 18 game at the Black Wolves a matchup of early leaders in the East Divison … The Wings have allowed just 3 power-play goals (on 11 opportunities), giving them a league-best 72% on the kill…T Trevor Baptiste is doing his usual thing on faceoffs but has found a shooting touch lately with 3 goals in his last two games…The Wings are one of just two teams without a shorthanded goal this season…The Wings are 2-0 when scoring the game’s first goal.

Bottom line: The Warriors need to figure out how to close the deal. They’ve been outscored 12-9 in the fourth quarter this season.

Saturday

When: 6 p.m. (EST)

Quick take: Warren Hill in one net? Dillon Ward in the other? What’s not to like in this matchup of two defensive units ranked in the top five of the league?

Mammoth: After losing their opener, the Mammoth have won 3 straight…The game in Halifax is the first of a long road stretch for Colorado, which plays at home just once in the next six games, through Feb. 8…F Jacob Ruest cooled off a bit with just 1 goal in last week’s win, but for the season he has a team-high 11 goals on 31 shots for an impressive shooting percentage of 31%…Veteran D Ilija Gajic, who hasn’t played a game since 2017, was activated this week…The Mammoth have been trailing after the first quarter in three of their games and have won all three of those games...G Dillon Ward is fourth in the league with a save percentage of .832, which is even more impressive considering the Mammoth allow 53 shots per game, 10th-most in the league.

Thunderbirds: The Thunderbirds are allowing just 45 shots per game, lowest in the NLL…Halifax is one of two teams in the league without a shorthanded goal this season…F Stephen Keogh has 6 goals in three games this season after scoring 4 goals in seven games all of last season…G Warren Hill has 111 saves for a save percentage of .810 and a goals-against of 8.67…The Thunderbirds don’t have anyone among the top 10 scorers in the league, which may speak to their offensive balance. Twelve different players have scored at least one goal for Halifax.

Bottom line: It’s far too early to call this a championship preview, but winning this game will go a long way toward turf cred not just as a contender, but an elite contender. Rochester (0-3) at Toronto (2-1)

When: 7 p.m. (EST)

Quick take: A loss for Rochester would make the Knighthawks 0-4 for the first time since 2009.

Knighthawks: Rochester is scoring just 9 goals a game (second-worst in league) while allowing 14 (second-most in league)…Gs Craig Wende and Steve Fryer have basically split time, but neither has established himself as the No. 1. Wende (.769 save percentage, 13.40 goals-against) and Fryer (.709, 13.89) both rank in the bottom half among NLL goalies this season…After losing their opener by 10 goals, the Knighthawks have been competitive, losing their last two by a combined 5…F Holden Cattoni leads the team in scoring with 11 points on 3 goals and 8 assists…D Matthew Bennett has been a solid pickup, leading the team with 14 loose balls and 4 caused turnovers…Rochester has been shorthanded just nine times, fewest in the league, but their 44% penalty-kill success rate (4-for-9) is worst in the NLL.

Rock: Toronto has won two straight since losing its opener…F Rob Hellyer has been Rob Hellyer with 7 goals in three games; 4 of those goals came in one game (vs. Rochester)…F Dan Craig, a sixth-round draft pick in 2017, leads the team with 14 points on 6 goals and 8 assists…G Nick Rose is having his best season since 2015 with a save percentage of .822 and a goals-against of 9.33…The Rock have outscored opponents 20-13 in the first half this season, but have been outscored 15-16 in the second half.

Bottom line: Officially, Toronto leads the all-time series, 1-0. Which is still just plain weird to consider. Buffalo (1-1) at Georgia (2-1)

When: 7 p.m. (EST)

Quick take: If Buffalo wants a chance to win this one, better defense is in order. Buffalo has allowed 25 total goals in two games. Georgia has allowed 23. In three games.

Bandits: Buffalo activated D Steve Priolo, who was on injured reserve and missed the Dec. 28 loss to Halifax…The Bandits are averaging 19.5 PIM, second-most in the league…F Chris Cloutier, who scored 12 goals in eight games last season with Buffalo, has 5 in two already this season…G Matt Vinc isn’t off to a Matt Vinc start with just 84 saves and a .771 save percentage in the first two games.

Swarm: Georgia is third in the league with 12.33 goals a game and has four players in double figures for points already…F Lyle Thompson leads the team with 19 points (9-10)…G Mike Poulin has been lights out with 114 saves for a league-leading .844 save percentage and 7.37 goals-against…On 17 chances, the Swarm have allowed just 5 power-play goals, a percentage of 70.6 that is second-best in the NLL…On the flip side, the Swarm have 9 power-play goals on 15 tries, tying them with New England for best in the league at 60%.

Bottom line: It’s hard to get a gauge on the Bandits, who played in the NLL finals last year. Two games doesn’t say much, but to avoid a 1-2 start, Buffalo needs both ends to be on point for this game against a Georgia team that’s already established that it has a top O and a top D.

Sunday

When: 4 p.m. (EST)

Quick take: The Seals need to carry the momentum of the win their last time out as they head into a brutal stretch of schedule with the Rush, the Thunderbirds and two games against the Mammoth coming up.

Rush: G Evan Kirk is posting some of the best numbers of his NLL career with save percentage of .833 (third-best in NLL) and goals-against of 7.86 (second-best)...F Ben McIntosh has just 2 goals through three games on 2-for-15 (.043) shooting…The Rush are averaging just 8 PIM per game, tied with Rochester for fewest in the league…After a season of uncharacteristic “struggles” on defense by Rush standards, the unit appears to be clicking again. The Rush are giving up just 46 shots a game and allowing 8 goals a game, both being second-fewest in the league…Welcome back, D Ryan Dilks. After missing last season for work commitments, Dilks has 13 loose balls and a team-best 6 caused turnovers this season.

Seals: F Wes Berg is showing no signs of rust after missing all of last season. He has a team-leading 20 points on 8 goals and 12 assists…The patience with F Connor Fields is paying off too, after an injury limited him to two games last season after being a first-round draft pick. Fields scored 4 goals in his last game and so far this season has 13 points (8-5)…San Diego would be helped by shooting better. The Seals lead the league with 57 per game, 10th in the league…G Frank Scigliano has made 50+ saves in three games this season but his .746 save percentage puts him at No. 14 among NLL keepers.

Bottom line: Neither team is breaking scoreboards with offensive units averaging single digits in goals this season, but the Rush have a clear advantage on defense: 8 GAA vs. 13 GAA.