NLL Insider

Last week, we sang the praises of the competitive race shaping up in Major Series Lacrosse as three teams sat tied atop the standings with 12 points each. This week, we need a new superlative. Why’s that? ‘Cause now we have FOUR teams jammed at the top. Brampton, Peterborough, Six Nations and St. Regis all are sittin’ pretty with 14 points each and Kitchener-Waterloo isn’t in a bad spot either, chasin’ tail with 12 points. That leaves the contest for the sixth and final MSL playoff spot between Shawn-Williams-less-Brooklin (4 points) and Barrie (4), and they’ll get right at it with Thursday’s game at Barrie.

Both squads have seven games left in their regular seasons and they play each other twice down the stretch, the first being Thursday’s game in Barrie, followed by a July 15 match in Brooklin. But the team that claims that last playoff spot will be the team that takes care of business outside of those two head-to-head matchups. And make no mistake, both have their work cut out for them.

Of Barrie’s remaining games that are not against Brooklin, all five are against those teams currently in first place, counting two against Six Nations and two against St. Regis. And for Brooklin, four of its remaining games are against the current first-place teams and one against K–W. If you’re gonna go by stats alone, you could argue Barrie has the edge in a strange kinda way because four games are on the road and the Lakeshores are 2-4 on the road and 0-5 at home. Brooklin has three road games left, and the Redmen are 0-5 on the road and 2-4 at home.

By now, though, you’re probably thinking to yourself “Chavez, why are you being such a numpty and talking about the cellar dwellers?” Well, I see it this way. Sure, the top dawgs are great to watch and they’re staging quite a battle for fans like us to enjoy and follow. For the most part, though, these teams are in. They’re pushing each other around for things like home-court advantage and playoff positioning. Brooklin and Barrie, though, are fighting for their lives.

And you know how these boys of summer in Canada roll … it’s all about pride and chumping your buddy. Besides, the fellas up top will get their share of ink in the postseason, so their time is coming. So to me, races like the one Brooklin and Barrie are running are a lot more fun to watch. Maybe I’m in the minority here, but I’ve often found that even contests involving teams with sub-par records can be just as exciting to watch as the teams battling for a title.

Loose balls: So do ya like that trade that sent Shawn Williams to Brampton? Had to be a gut-wrenching decision for the Brooklin brass, but Brampton’s gotta love having such a sniper on the floor. Adding Williams gives the Excelsiors three of the top 10 MSL point-scorers, including the top two in Williams (19-33 for 52) and Josh Sanderson (17-34_51). … Of the eight games on tap for this week, just two feature head-to-head matchups between the first-place teams. Six Nations is at Peterborough on Thursday and St. Regis is at Peterborough on Sunday … Check out the numbers in goal for Brampton’s Anthony Cosmo: 8 games, 6-1 record, an MSL-leading 5.92 goals-against average and a very tidy save percentage of .767 … Weird stat of the week: St. Regis is tied at the top of the standings despite converting just 20-percent of its power plays. The Indians rank second with a penalty-kill percentage of 72 percent, though, and are tied at the top of MSL with 9 short-handed goals.

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