NLL Insider

It’s again a busy week in the NLL, and the week starts early with a game on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, all 12 NLL teams are back in action. I’ll give you the media call de-brief of those weekend games a little later, but for now, let’s take a look at the match-ups that will take place before the weekend even gets here.

Colorado plays in Portland this Thursday, and Calgary visits San Jose on Friday in a rematch of their OT game two weekends ago.

Colorado at Portland - Thursday

Colorado: 2-0 record. Leading scorers: Dan Carey (5G, 8A), Gavin Prout (1G, 9A), Jamie Shewchuk (3G, 3A), Jason Wulder (3G, 3A)
Portland: 0-1 record. Dan Dawson (4G, 4A), Derek Malawsky (4G, 4A), Ryan Powell (2G, 3A), Pete Jacobs (1G, 2A)

In Portland, the ‘Jax will be in tough with a Colorado squad that’s undefeated to start the season. But Colorado hasn’t had the best road record in the past and Portland’s looking to get off to a strong start.

Portland lost their season opener two weekends ago to New York giving up an early 7-1 lead. They came back on the strength of Dan Dawson and Derek Malawsky’s eight point nights to tie it at 11-11, but New York scored the next two goals while on the man-up to steal the victory. In total, New York scored nine powerplay goals in that game. Portland obviously wants to stay out of the box against the Mammoth.

In net, Dallas Eliuk will again get the start for the ‘Jax, but coach Derek Keenan noted he won’t hesitate to turn to Matt King again. “I think he’s really taken the next step in his career, so we’re real comfortable with him as well,” said Keenan. Colorado can also go with either tender; starter Gee Nash or current back-up Chris Levis.

On offense, Colorado’s guys aren’t putting up big numbers, but they’re deep. In their last game against Edmonton, 10 different Mammoth players registered at least one goal. In Portland, on the other hand, the bulk of their O has been generated by just two players, newcomers Dan Dawson and Derek Malawsky.

“We need to get some secondary scoring,” added Keenan when questioned. But he noted he’s confident he’ll get it.

“I know our other guys can score. I think we’re going to get a fair amount of that from transition, and we’ll get that from other guys like Spencer Martin, Pete Jacobs, Matt Holman, Ryan Powell and Scott Stewart. I’m not too concerned about that.”

Colorado’s also got one of the deepest transition lines, however, so expect production from their transition game as well with players the likes of Josh Sims, Nenad Gajic, Nick Carlson and Jason Bloom.

Rookie forward Dylan Llord is also expected to see action in this game or on Saturday.

”We’re really excited to see Dylan Llord play,” added Colorado GM Steve Govett. “I think we’ll get to see him some point this weekend… His Dad is traveling with him this weekend to hopefully see his debut, and we’re excited to see him get that chance.”

Calgary at San Jose - Friday

Calgary: 0-2 record. Lewis Ratcliff (6G, 10A), Scott Ranger (3G, 6A), Kaleb Toth (2G, 5A), Curt Malawsky (3G, 3A)
San Jose: 1-0 record. Jeff Zywicki (5G, 4A), Luke Wiles (4G, 3A), Colin Doyle (1G, 4A), Cam Sedgwick (1G, 4)

San Jose won the first match-up between these two teams, in OT. Both teams had bye weekend last weekend and will be itching to get at it.

Calgary jumbed out to an 8-3 lead at the half, but could not hold on against an offensively explosive Stealth team. Luke Wiles scored the OT winner to give San Jose the 13-12 victory.

Jeff Zywicki was also also a big part of that San Jose come-back, as he led all scorers in the game with nine points.

“Jeff is a very, very talented player,” added San Jose head coach Walt Christianson when questioned. “What’s a little bit scary is he hasn’t reached his potential yet… He does things were I go ‘wow’. He is that kind of player.”

And Zywicki’s just piece of the puzzle on a stacked Stealth offense that also features Wiles, Colin Doyle, Cam Sedgwick and Gary Rosyski.

“On any given night, any one of those guys can score three goals or they can be a contributor.

“We prepare as a team,” said Christianson. “There’s never any mention as to who’s going to have the ball… My philosophy is that who’s every open needs to get the ball.”

Calgary’s Steve Dietrich and San Jose’s Anthony Cosmo, will again get the starts for their respective teams. Both played well in the first match and should be ready to go again. 

Tracy Kelusky missed the last meeting between these two teams, and he’ll miss this game as well. He is out of the line-up due to a concussion.

The critical West Division match-up should make for another close game that comes down to the final quarter. Should be fun to watch.

Again, check back soon for a preview on the rest of the games this weekend. The NLLinsider.com will also have more in-depth coverage of the match-ups as we head into Week 5.

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