NLL Insider

It was quite the weekend in the NLL. Where to start?

On Thursday the Portland Lumberjax defeated the Colorado Mammoth 16-15. Yes, it’s an upset but considering that Colorado’s two victories over Portland were by scores of 15-12 in Denver and 12-11 OT in Portland, it is hardly earth shattering news that Portland was able to pull this one off. The Mammoth’s Brian Langtry came within a goal of tying the record for 10 goals in a game (held by Paul and Gary Gait). Too bad it will always be remembered as a loss.

On Friday the Rock defeated the Edmonton Rush 14-9. I’m not surprised that the Rock took this game but I am surprised that the Rush didn’t put up a better fight – especially considering their two-game winning streak and a playoff position on the line. A victory would have brought them within a game of Calgary. In fact, the final 14-9 score was flattering. After Edmonton built a 2 -1 lead in the first Toronto went on a 9-1 run. The fact that Toronto was able to cruise to victory was probably an contributing factor to Toronto’s win in Buffalo the next night.

On Saturday the Rock went on to make it a perfect weekend by defeating the Bandits 13-9. Buffalo must hate Toronto. The Bandits only have 6 wins against the Rock in 22 games. In fact, Buffalo is 2-11 at home against the Rock. Maybe it makes sense during the Rock’s championship years but Toronto is 4-0 against Buffalo the last two inglorious seasons. Maybe I’m not giving the Rock enough credit this year. They don’t have the dominance of the early years but you still have to be impressed by their defensive numbers (tops in the league) and the play Bob Watson. During their first few championship seasons they won with smothering defense and “money” goaltending by Watson.

Chicago 12 at Rochester 11: About a month ago, I bet Rochester looked at their upcoming schedule and thought they would get three wins against Edmonton and Chicago (twice). At that point I said the Knighthawks would be life a death for a playoff spot if they didn’t sweep those game. Even you Rochester haters could not have expected them to lose 2 of 3 – especially after obliterating the Shamrox 18-8 in Chicago on March 1^st. After their loss to Edmonton during the Allstar weekend there was plenty of talk about upcoming changes. With days before the trade deadline there is talk that the offence needs to fix the chemistry. I’ve heard either Scott or Shawn Evans or Shawn Williams might be moved. Other GM’s are drooling.Each one of these guys would make a huge impact on any team – but Rochester doesn’t want to help anyone in the East. As far as firing the coaches, I think it would be crazy and I don’t think it will happen. Ed Comeau is one of the brightest coaches in the NLL and he would not have any trouble getting employment if that happened. It will be interesting to see what changes – if any – they make before the deadline. The ironic thing is that part of the reason every team in the East is cheering for the Knighthawks to fail in their playoff chase is that nobody wants to face them if they do squeeze in.

Calgary 12 at San Jose 13. I was at this game and I do feel sorry for Calgary. I won’t go so far to blame the refs, but there is no doubt that the 3 late penalties for the Roughnecks are the reason that San Jose pulled this victory out of the fire. With about 7 minutes to go Calgary seemed to have this game in hand with a 12-9 lead when Nolan Heavener was called for “holding the stick” while on offense. Andrew McBride was also given a penalty for “unsportmanlike” for “chirping” to the refs.

I’d like to say I examined the replay in slow motion but the truth is, even when working TV, the game goes so fast that we are even lucky if we get to see a replay for most penalties. San Jose scored two quick power play markers and then Wiles scored on blazing outside shot a few seconds later while playing 5 on 5. I will say that I thought the last penalty on Scott Carnegie was a good call as he hit Colin Doyle late after a break away chance. Doyle’s shot hit the post and the ball had rebounded well out of harm’s way before the hit was made. You can argue all you want on the merits of the penalties but the point is that San Jose went 3-3 on last power play opportunities. Lewis Ratcliff actually had a glorious chance to win it for Calgary on a shorthanded opportunity with about 30 seconds to go when he stripped the ball from a San Jose defender (can’t remember it was) and his shot took a strange bounce wide after it got behind Aaron Bold. There is no better money player in the NLL than Colin Doyle when you need a goal and the game is on the line. He was instrumental on 3 of the last 4 Stealth goals and finished the game with 9 points.

New York 20, Philly 13. What can you say? New York is a way better team than anyone gave them credit for at the start of the season. As I said in my weekend preview they are playing strong in every aspect of their game right now. Still I’m shocked that they handled the Wings so easily. The Wings have to be concerned about their goals against average – 2^nd worst in the league. Is it time to give Brandon Miller a start? There is no doubt that the Wings are way better than they have been in years but are they as good as their record or was their magnificent start a result of an early home heavy schedule? We’ll soon find out.

Hopefully my Power Rankings are up soon. We had some technical issues over the holiday weekend. There is a new leader at number one. It will definitely infuriate a few people. In fact I’ve probably succeeding in offending Philly and Bandit fans at the same time.

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