NLL Insider

The Beat

Knighthawks control their own destiny for National Lacrosse League playoffs

It looks like the Rochester Knighthawks just aren’t going to go away. Clad in pink jerseys for breast cancer awareness, Rochester beat Boston 11-10 on Saturday night in one of the closest National Lacrosse League games I’ve ever seen. Gary Gait took home game MVP honors with two goals and three assists, including a SportsCenter worthy underhand goal on Rochester’s eighth goal of the game. READ MORE »

Inside the Numbers

The Money Ballers: Week 13

He may be ranked 50th in regular league scoring, but Gary Gait has once again landed on The Money Ballers leaderboard coming outta Week 13.

The “old man” might be playing selective minutes, missing games to coach the lady Orange and doing a ton of his scoring on the power-play, but even though Gait isn’t scoring in bunches, he’s definitely been score some super important goals for the Knighthawks. READ MORE »

The Beat

Lacrosse Links: Portland can’t take two from S.J.

The Portland LumberJax couldn’t come away with a split and didn’t do themselves any favors as they chase Calgary for the Western Conference title, losing to San Jose 13-8 in the Rose Garden yesterday. The Stealth got eight points from Colin Doyle, and the Jax were hurt by a rough night from goalie Matt Disher.

Speaking of the playoffs, The Calgary Sun is reporting that the Riggers are looking for motivation with a playoff spot clinched and a month remaining in the season.
READ MORE »

From the Stands

Fan Poll: Growth of the National Lacrosse League

One of the more interesting news items we’ve seen this season was word that sports agency giant IMG has an interest in buying the media and sponsorship rights of the National Lacrosse League for the next five years.

Every potential business deal comes equipped with a list of pros and cons, but if it’s a building block for growing the game of indoor lacrosse and legitimizing the league in the eyes of the sports-going public, then what’s the problem?

Well? READ MORE »

Shanny's Power Rankings

National Lacrosse League Power Rankings: Week 13

Things sure have tightened up in the NLL. Six of the top 7 teams from last week’s Power Rankings lost games over the weekend while the bottom 5 teams each got a least one victory. READ MORE »

NLL, The Beat

National Lacrosse League, Titans down Bandits, win goaltending battle

The Buffalo Bandits were downed by the New York Titans 11-9 Saturday night at a nearly sold out HSBC Arena. The Bandits could not handle the quick answering Titans. Each time Buffalo would begin to make a comeback in a close game, the Titans would score to end the Bandits’ rally. The Bandits did not play a poor game, but the Titans were a bit too much to handle in the end, especially in the 4th quarter. READ MORE »

The Beat

Game story links from the West

Just one night after dropping a 12-10 decision to the Toronto Rock, the Calgary Roughnecks have clinched a playoff berth with a 13-10 win over the Minnesota Swarm.

The fourth quarter was the story as the Roughnecks ended the third down by one with a score of 8-7. Curt Malawsky and Kaleb Toth each struck twice — with one of Toth’s coming shorthanded — while Scott Ranger and Dane Dobbie added singles and Matt King turned away 7 of 9 shots to help his team complete the comeback. READ MORE »

The Beat

Game story links from Saturday night in the National Lacrosse League: from the East

Last night at the Wachovia Center, a big second quarter gave the Philadelphia Wings a lead and they didn’t look back from there, earning their fifth win of the season by a score of 17-13 over the Colorado Mammoth.

It was Athan Iannucci opening up scoring for the Wings in the pivotal second quarter, and after he left the floor following a fight Drew Westervelt, Rob Van Beek andKyle Wailes scored in quick succession while the defense held Colorado to eight shots, seven of which were turned away by Brandon Miller.

Iannucci finished the game with four goals and three assists, READ MORE »

The Beat

In other news:

• When it’s Tyler Codron we’re talking about, being hit by him isn’t like being hit by a football player: Oregon Live
• Pop quiz: what team has had 36 players suit up so far this season? D&C
• Brought to you by the Fred Thompson for President campaign: Rush still in race for playoffs. Edmonton Sun
• Whoa, hey, Gait may not exactly be a rookie but I don’t know that we need to break out the granddaddy label: Boston Examiner
• Bandits beginning key stretch: Buffalo News
• And can clinch a playoff spot tonight. It’ll be nice to put an end to that suspense: Niagara Gazette

The Beat

Surging Toronto Rock top Calgary Roughnecks, plus game story links

The Toronto Rock earned their third win in a row last night, besting the Calgary Roughnecks 12-10 as the former basement-dwellers of the National Lacrosse League have moved to fourth in the East.

It was Lewis Ratcliff at his old stomping ground, scoring twice to open the first and take the 2-0 lead before the powerplay took over scoring for both teams with Kaleb Toth striking twice to help Calgary to a 3-3 tie to end the first quarter. READ MORE »