Low goal totals are good, never go to bed early, and it's Rochester's title to lose. NLL Week 4 Overreactions

There’s a lot of season left but there’s nothing left to say about Oshawa…

The futility is staggering. In fact, it’s historic.  According the Graeme Perrow and NLLStats, Oshawa’s 21 goals through four games is the lowest total in NLL history. In the early going this week it looked like maybe they had bucked the trend. The FireWolves were out to a 3-0 lead, and up 4-1 after the first quarter. And then they went right back into the deep freeze. They went scoreless in the second quarter, a feat which sadly delayed the Teddy Bear Toss until the third quarter, and only managed two goals over the game’s final 46+ minutes. One is an accident, two is a coincidence, three is a trend. This is now three straight games of serious offensive struggles for the FireWolves. As I’ve noted before, they’ve faced excellent goalie play in the early season, but they should have managed to just steal a few in transition or via the power play by now. Oshawa doesn’t play again until January 3rd when they host Ottawa. Some time off to get out of their own heads might be just what the offensive doctor ordered. 

…but it’s ok because nobody likes goals anyway

As if that Oshawa scoring struggle wasn’t enough, we got to see a near record setting low scoring game between Saskatchewan and Georgia. We’ve now got four weeks in the books, and if I had a nickel for every time we watched a game that was near the lowest scoring regular season game ever, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it’s happened twice. The record for the lowest total in a regular season game in NLL history is 11 goals. Saskatchewan and Georgia matched it. Oshawa came close earlier this year in an 11-2 game against Halifax. The low goal totals are eyebrow raising at this point. Oshawa is the headliner, but the scoring has been low. Lyle Thompson is now 1 of 24 shooting. One of the best offensive talents the sport has seen has one goal from 24 shots on goal. This isn’t to pick on Lyle, it’s just been that way so far for everyone. Goalies are posting some truly bonkers numbers. In fact, there are several goalies, including Christian Del Bianco, Frank Scigliano, and Doug Jamieson, who are saving the ball at what could be a record saving pace. CDB and Scigliano are both averaging 42.6 saves per game, and across an 18 game season, that’s pace for best ever territory. We may need to pad up for some rock fights this winter. 

I’m never going to bed early again

Staying up the west coast games can be an adventure for us east coasters. Any excuse to go to bed early is very much appreciated. I thought Vegas gave me up. They were up 4-0 after the first on their way to a 6-0 lead that ballooned all the way to 9-1 in the middle of the second quarter. Surely my decision to go to bed at this point was a good one. We all see what’s happening here, this is a risk that’s worth it. Lesson learned, both by me and hopefully by the Desert Dogs. Don’t bet against an offense with Jeff Teat and Rob Hellyer. The Black Bears rattled off eight straight. The last four of those, which tied the game at nine, saw Jeff Teat score or serve as the primary assist on three of them. It took a Mitch Jones goal with just over two minutes left in the game to put Vegas back up by one and narrowly secure the win in their home opener. 

It’s Rochester’s title to lose

The Knighthawks are dominating in all sorts of ways. Some are expected. Connor Fields, last year’s MVP, stacked up 11 points on Saturday against Philadelphia on five goals and six assists. He also picked up five loose balls in typical Fields fashion. Ryan Lanchbury had seven assists, Ryan Smith had four points, Zed Williams had three but that undersells his impact on the offense. But all of that is what you’d expect. The Hawks are showing that they have it in more ways than what we expected. Jake Piseno had his first career hat trick, not bad for a guy who had one goal all of last season. He also led the team with nine loose balls, and was looking like the indoor version of the player who was the PLL’s LSM of the Year. Rylan Hartley had another strong showing in net, making 32 saves and surrendering just 10 goals. He also, as has now gone viral on social media, met Nick Damude at the middle of the floor for a fight (my scorecard had Hartley as the winner). The Hawks look like they’re ready for all comers. The only downside was that the crowd in the home opener wasn’t as big as I’d hoped. New ownership group, first home game, all that effort to keep the team in Rochester and they look really good, need more butts in seats. The crowd was smaller than last year’s home opener, and that just doesn’t compute to me.