NLL Insider

We noted early in this National Lacrosse League (NLL) season to keep an eye out for six of this year’s young goaltenders. All of those keepers have seen action in 2009, with San Jose’s Tyler Richards potentially earning a starting position and Portland’s two young goaltenders being forced into starts.

Portland

Matt Disher, who has on pace to set a record for most saves in a single NLL season, was sidelined over the weekend with a lower-body injury. Dish hurt himself at the All-Star Game and then re-aggravated the injury during the ‘Jax home and home with San Jose two weekends ago. The team is now saying Disher may be out until the playoffs.

The good news for Portland is that their two young goaltenders have played well in their appearances with each receiving a start over the weekend.

Joel Weber came into his start on Friday having stopped 14 of 15 shots two weekends ago in relief of Disher. On Friday against Edmonton, Weber was again strong, only giving up 11 goals as the ‘Jax dropped a close game, 11-10. Portland rookie Derek Lowe had hit pipe with seconds left to stop that game from going into OT.

Matt Flindell got the start in the second game for Portland in a game that did go to OT. Flindell made 49 saves including OT stops to help Portland move to second place in the Western Division as they beat Colorado, 13-12. His save percentage is near 80%, fourth best in the league and just slightly better than Rochester rookie back-up ‘tender Ben VanEvery’s.

“This weekend was amazing,” added Flindell, who led the Victoria Jr. ‘A’ Shamrocks to the Minto Cup (Canadian Junior National Championship) final this past summer. “I could not have imagined a better time to get my first start then at home against a division rival in Colorado.”

“I’ve learned a lot from Matt (Disher). Having Dallas (Eliuk) on the staff has also been key as he brings so much knowledge.”

“Going in I felt real confident and relaxed. It was great to get the start,” added Weber of his experience, agreeing Disher and Eliuk have been big influences on their game. “The coaching staff has helped a lot.”

Portland will next play at Calgary and at Minnesota in two big divisional games.

Minnesota

The Swarm are coming off a 9-7 win over Edmonton, where second year goaltender Kevin Croswell earned the start and stopped 46 shots. He sits seventh overall in league save percentage while former All-Star goaltender Nick Patterson has struggled this year with a 72% save percentage.

San Jose

In San Jose, rookie Tyler Richards looks great. Two weekends ago he allowed just six goals on 49 shots in relief of Matt Roik. Last Saturday, Richards continued his outstanding play, holding Minnesota to just three goals after the first three quarters of play. In total, the rookie goaltender stopped 46 of 54 shots last weekend. His save percentage of 82% is good for second-best in the league.

“Tyler has been a catalyst for us in our last two games helping us to climb back into the playoff picture,” added coach Chris Hall. “He’s an outstanding stopper and doesn’t get rattled in the face of adversity… (His WLA) experience has served him well in the jump to the NLL for such a young goaltender.”

Richards was co-Rookie of the Year in the Western Lacrosse Association (WLA) this past summer where he split time with Stealth teammate Matt Roik. The two helped the New Westminster Salmonbellies win the West and compete in the Mann Cup (Canadian Senior National Championship) final.

Playoffs

San Jose, Portland and Minnesota are hoping their young goaltenders’ successes over the summer and this past weekend will continue in the weeks to follow. Each team is still in the hunt for a playoff seed with just two weeks remaining in the regular season.

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