NLL Insider

The calendar has turned to April and the race for the NLL Champion’s Cup is in full swing. As Chief Operating Officer of the New York Titans I try to make just about every road trip I can with the squad and this weekend is no exception as we fly to Minnesota to take on the 7-4 Swarm.

The Titans had a tough loss out there in February but that was during some early season growing pains and before we really gelled and came together. Since that loss in Minny the Titans have reeled off 5 wins in the last 6 games to bring the franchise to 6-5 this season and above .500% for the first time in our brief history.

The real challenge now is that we aren’t sneaking up on teams anymore, they know we can play. The race for the playoffs in the East is about as tight as it can get with the Titans sitting a half-game behind Buffalo for that final playoff spot and only 1.5 games out of first place. The boys are playing better and with more confidence every week and have shown some real character having played 8 of 11 games on the road thus far due to scheduling conflicts.

Now it’s time to payback Minnesota with a victory out there and then return to the friendly confines of Madison Square Garden for 3 home dates in April (12^th, 18^th and 26^th). I personally don’t think any other team in the league has a harder remaining schedule but our guys love the challenge. The remaining games on our slate are Minnesota (tied for 2^nd in the East), Colorado (1^st in the West), a recently hot Chicago squad (Just took down Rochester and Minny back to back), a third tilt with rival Philly (1^st in the East) and finally the regular season ends with the Knighthawks (defending champs) at MSG on April 26^th.

The final run starts Saturday with a Minnesota team that had our number. The biggest changes from then until now is the mixture of youth and veteran leadership Coach Mueller has put together. Our transition players and defenders have brought an energy that was needed in our earlier games. John Orsen, Mitch Belisle, Greg Peyser and Rory Smith (a 21 year old who will be a stud in this league for years to come) have all stepped up big time.

Another big factor for the turnaround is the fact that our scoring is spread around. Casey Powell is our Captain and the leader of the offense but each game someone new steps up to carry a little extra weight. Literally every player contributes by putting points on the board. Whether it’s Brendan Mundorf being an absolute sniper, Ryan Boyle dropping 13 points in the last two games, Casey putting up 11 points in one night or solid rookie Jordan Hall having a Rookie of the Year caliber season, everyone is involved. These offensive players have to get after Minnesota goalie Nick Patterson early and often. With these guys it doesn’t matter who scores on a particular night it’s the “W” that matters.

The key to the game in Minnesota is the first half. They jumped all over us last time and took a 12 to 0 lead off the bat. That’s a tough hole to climb out of in this league, but with the defense playing like a solid unit and goalie Matt Vinc starting to become an absolute brick wall, the start to Round 2 of this series will be a much different story.

This final month is the true test for the Titans. We have made some great strides both on and off the field since our inaugural year in 2007 but no one will be happy if we end up just winning a few more games than last season. We have the talent to become a playoff team this season and with the passion the players are showing I think we are ready to take that next step.

I will catch up with all of you after our battle in Minnesota this weekend and hopefully the playoff picture clears up just a bit. Keep watching, it doesn’t get more exciting than NLL action when just about everyone is fighting for their playoff lives.

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