Back this week are the Power Rankings, it was a jammed weekend of action. The highlight was teh UnBoxed game in Montreal, which had an electric crowd that you had to admire for their dedication to booing all things Toronto. Calgary is charging, Albany got back in the W column, and Philly put a solid win together. Only five games last weekend so not a ton of movement, here’s where things shake out now.
15 Vancouver Warriors (2-7)
Warriors were idle this week, they have the daunting task of taking on Toronto this weekend,
14 Las Vegas Desert Dogs (3-6)
Vegas lost to Philly and only put up eight goals doing it. The Philly defense has conceded a lot of high totals this year, so Vegas not being able to muster much is surprising. Only Dylan Watson had multiple goals for Vegas, as Rob Hellyer wen 1-9 shooting, Jack Hannah went 1-5, Casey Jackson went 1-8, and Zach Greer 1-14. Vegas gets another matchup against a team that’s given up plenty of goals, Rochester, this weekend to try and redeem their shooting performance.
13 Colorado Mammoth (3-7)
The Mammoth fell to Albany and dropped to 3-7 on the year. They entered the 4th quarter down by one, and tied the game at nine, 10, and 11. But they never got over the hump and took the lead. The Albany knowns were able to do plenty of damage as the Mammoth struggled to limit Simmons, Kurtz, and Walker, and if you can’t limit any of those three, it can be a long night against Albany. Dillon Ward was very good, but the Mammoth fall to 3-7 and near the bottom of the standings. A run to the playoffs needs to start now for them. They get their first chance at starting it against New York this weekend.
12 Saskatchewan Rush (3-4)
Idle this past week, they’ll play Halifax this weekend
11 Philadelphia Wings (3-5)
A solid win for Philadelphia against Las Vegas last weekend. Solid because they only scored 10 and still won the game. The Philly defense, or lack thereof most weeks, has been talked to death this year. But holding anyone in the NLL to eight goals in a game means you played some damn good defense. They conceded just two goals in the second half to Vegas. A key part of this has been Nick Rowlett, who went 63% facing off. Most of the year, Philly faced off at around 20%. That level jump means fewer defensive possessions for them, and more for their talented offense. The Wings play a hot Calgary team this weekend.
10 Rochester Knighthawks (3-5)
Idle this week, The Hawks will try to snap a five game skid when they take on Vegas this weekend
9 Panther City Lacrosse Club (4-4)
Idle this week, PCLC will play Georgia on the second half of a Swarm double dip this weekend.
8 Georgia Swarm (6-4)
Idle last week, and will have two games this weekend. First against the Seals Friday, then against PCLC on Sunday.
7 Calgary Roughnecks (4-5)
Calgary has played two excellent games in a row, with big wins against quality opponents and convincing performances in doing so. Two weeks ago they gutted out an 11-10 win over Toronto, and last weekend they ran all over Halifax. The Roughnecks looked like they were in an irrecoverable tailspin not that long ago, but suddenly they’re a force to be reckoned with. To watch Christian Del Bianco make a save and find players in transition is like watching Patrick Mahomes take a shotgun snap and drop a perfect ball onto someone for a big gain. When the transition is cooking, Calgary can do some damage. They’ll try to start hot this weekend against Philadelphia.
6 Halifax Thunderbirds (6-4)
Halifax split a double dip last weekend, notching a big win against Buffalo on Friday and then losing by a wide margin to Calgary on Sunday. The Birds gutted out a big win at home to start the weekend behind nine point performances from Clark Petterson and Austin Shanks. But on Sunday, a hot Calgary team came away with a convincing win. Halifax got some shaky goaltending over the weekend, they need to get that cleaned up down the stretch. Up next, Saskatchewan on Saturday night.
5 New York Riptide (5-5)
New York finally lost a game. They had a three goal lead against Toronto up in Montreal, but couldn’t hold on, and eventual the Rock defense was just too good. Jeff Teat still has MVP type numbers on the year. With the news that came out this week, we only have a few more months of Riptide lacrosse. Get out to the Coliseum and enjoy the season this team is having before they make the move to Ottawa.
4 Albany Firewolves (7-2)
Albany got back to their winning ways against Colorado last week, and improve to 7-2. It was hardly comfortable, the game was basically within two goals from wire to wire, and Doug Jamieson had to make 51 saves to keep Colorado on the losing side of things. But the formula was closer to what we’re used to from Albany. Four goals from Simmons, seven points from Kurtz, five points from Walker. Firewolves got back to what they do best, Jamieson did the heavy lifting. Next up, a week one rematch with Buffalo.
3 Buffalo Bandits (5-4)
Buffalo lost to Halifax on Friday night and slid back a bit. They entered the 4th quarter with a one goal lead over Halifax and the game was tied with just under five minutes to play, buf the Birds defense locked down at that point and Buffalo lost late. The Bandits made a deal this week that sent Alex Kew to Toronto for a late round draft pick in player news. The Bandits have a showdown with Albany this weekend.
2 San Diego Seals (6-3)
San Diego was idle last week but climbs to the two spot ahead of Buffalo after the Bandits loss. They take on Georgia on Friday night this week.
1 Toronto Rock (7-2)
The Rock have found their form again, and it was fully on display in the second half against New York. They put on a grand show in Montreal, despite those folks not liking Toronto all that much, and held the Riptide to just three goals in the entire second half, the last of which was in garbage time with 33 seconds to go. The Rock move to the top of the rankings and are the favorite for the title.
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