IL Indoor

The Buffalo Bandits are in the thick of the East Division playoff scramble. (Photo: Larry Palumbo)

Four National Lacrosse League teams are in, leaving 6 teams scratching and clawing for the final 4 playoff spots as we head into the final 2 weekends of the regular season. So far, Washington, Calgary and Edmonton from the West are in, and Orlando in the East is in. What’s left to figure out in the West is who wins the division title, which sets up the Calgary at Edmonton game on Friday as one huge tilt. In the East, Boston, Buffalo, Rochester and Toronto all are within 1.5 games of East leader Orlando, making the Buffalo at Orlando and Rochester at Toronto games pretty huge as well. It’s a frantic sprint to the end, so check out the playoff breakdowns for everyone in our weekly reports.

Boston Blazers (7-7) East Division

Last week: defeated Minnesota, 13-8.
This week: Friday at Colorado, 9 p.m. (EST).
TV/radio: Webcast on NLL.com.
Reported injuries: none.

Hot: F Nick Cotter had his biggest game of the season, scoring 4 goals with 2 assists for a season-high 6 points. It’s the third time this season he’s scored 4 goals in a game, but the first time since Jan. 23. He scored a natural hat trick, including a short-handed goal, early in the fourth quarter to help Boston pull away from a 9-8 lead. “It was a very important win for us,” coach Tom Ryan said. “We had a good sense that the guys are all in … there was some question to that in the couple of weeks before.” … Penalty killers gave up just 3 goals on 9 chances … G Anthony Cosmo made 46 saves, including one on a penalty shot by Minnesota F Callum Crawford in the second quarter. Cosmo is 1-for-2 on penalty-shot saves this season … Blazers are 3-0 vs. West Division teams this season.
Not: Power play was 2-for-7. “The last few weeks we’ve have had new personnel on the power play and we’ve been around 40%,” Ryan said. “We’ve been getting good looks with the new guys and I like the movement, but the power play has been something we’ve been underperforming on through the season.” … Boston’s power play is next-to-last in the NLL (24 of 78) at 30% … F Gary Bining was scoreless on 7 shots … Rookie T Ryan Hotaling won just 8 of 24 faceoffs … 17% of team’s goals come from the power play (24 of 142), which ranks No. 8 in NLL.
Playoff positioning: Blazers can clinch a playoff berth by winning their final two games. They can also clinch with 1 win and 2 Rochester losses, or with a Buffalo loss to Orlando this weekend and a Boston win over Buffalo next weekend.

Buffalo Bandits (7-7) East Division

Last week: defeated Toronto, 13-10.
This week: Friday at Orlando, 7:35 p.m. (EST).
TV/radio: WWKB (1520-AM), Webcast on NLL.com.
Reported injuries: G Ken Montour (concussion symptoms).

Hot: G Mike Thompson made 48 saves vs. Toronto, which included a breakaway stop late in the game when the Bandits were protecting an 11-10 lead, to improve to 4-0 this season … Thompson made 11 saves on 13 shots in the fourth quarter. … Defense allowed just 10 goals on 58 shots … F Mike Accursi scored 4 goals, including the game-winner … T Mark Steenhuis scored 3 goals … Rookie D Chris Corbeil returned from injury and had 1 goal, 1 assist and led team with 10 loose balls … F Brett Bucktooth scored 1 goal, giving him 6 of his 14 goals this season in his last 3 games … D Kyle Schmelzle scored his first goal of the season, an empty-netter.
Not: Team blew 7-2 halftime lead by allowing 6 Toronto goals in third quarter before rallying with 3 unanswered goals in the fourth quarter. “We felt we had a good effort,” general manager Derek Graham said. “We got into some penalty trouble in the third quarter and we almost blew it, but we did what we had to do to win.” … Power play was 0-for-1 … Penalty killers gave up 5 goals on 7 chances … F Sean Greenhalgh played his first game since March 6 but was scoreless. He’s played in just 2 games since scoring his last goal on Jan. 23 … 18% of team’s goals come from power play (27 of 147), which is tied for No. 6 in NLL … Bandits have allowed a league-high 726 total shots, an average of 52 per game.
Playoff positioning: Buffalo can clinch a playoff berth with a win over Orlando AND a Boston loss to Colorado or a Toronto loss to Rochester.

Orlando Titans (8-5) East Division

Last week: lost to Washington, 17-7.
This week: Friday vs. Buffalo, 7:35 p.m. (EST).
TV/radio: Webcast on NLL.com.
Reported injuries: none.

Hot: 20% of team’s goals come from the power play (29 of 14), which is tied for No. 4 in the NLL … F Mike McLellan has scored 2 goals in each of his last 3 games, the 6 goals coming on just 11 combined shots … T Jordan Hall had 2 assists in his first game back since March 27 … T Jarett Park played his first game since March 20 and had 7 loose balls.
Not: Team was outscored 7-3 in the second quarter and 5-1 in the fourth. “We’re disappointed with the outcome,” coach Ed Comeau said. “We’re pretty embarrassed by the loss. We just have to play more urgently and more complete.” … F Ryan Boyle? Unsportsmanlike conduct? That was the call against him in the fourth quarter … Power play was 0-for-3 and penalty killers gave up 4 goals on 6 chances … G Matt Vinc allowed 14 goals to fall from first to fourth in goals-against average in the NLL … D Rory Smith served a 1-game suspension for the second time this season. The Titans have lost both games he’s missed, giving up a season-high 17 goals this past weekend and 13 goals on a Jan. 23 loss, the second-highest goals total surrended by Orlando this season.
Playoff positioning: Team has clinched a playoff berth. Titans can clinch a first-round home game with a win over Buffalo. They can clinch the East Division title with a win over Buffalo and either a Boston loss to Colorado or a Rochester loss to Toronto.

Rochester Knighthawks (7-7) East Division

Last week: defeated Minnesota 12-11, defeated Philadelphia, 15-12.
This week: Friday at Toronto, 7:30 p.m. (EST).
TV/radio: WZNE (94.1-FM), Webcast on NLL.com.
Reported injuries: none.

Hot: Team snapped 4-game losing streak. “We did a good job of staying out of the penalty box, something that’s plagued us all season, especially at home,” coach Paul Gait said. “The ball movement and player movement was much better.” … F Gary Gait played for the first time since March 13 and had 2 goals and 4 assists, including the game-winner vs. Philadelphia. Statistically, it was his best game of the season … F Scott Evans played for the first time since March 13 and scored 2 goals vs. Minnesota and 1 goal against Philadelphia … F Shawn Williams had 10 points vs. Philadelphia (3-7) and 5 points vs. Minnesota (2-3) … F Craig Point had 6 points (3-3) vs. Philadelphia, equaling his output for his previous 3 games combined … 9 of Rochester’s 16 runners scooped at least 5 loose balls vs. Philadelphia … Power play was 2-for-2 vs. Minnesota and penalty killers gave up just 1 power play goal on 3 chances against the NLL’s top power play … 23% of team’s goals come from the power play (33 of 139), which ranks No. 2 in NLL … G Aaron Bold made 38 saves on 44 shots vs. Philadelphia in relief of starter Pat O’Toole and just might get the start vs. Toronto based on past success vs. the Rock: In 2 games this season, he’s made 50 saves on 61 shots vs. the Rock. “He helped us work our way back into it,” Paul Gait said. “There’s a good chance he’ll play.”
Not: Team won just 1 of 31 faceoffs against Philadelphia, with D Sid Smith getting that lone win in 17 draws … D Kevin Fines was 0-for-11 in faceoffs vs. Philly … T Chris Schiller scored vs. Philadelphia, his first goal since Feb. 20 … Team won just 12 of 27 faceoffs vs. Minnesota … F Shawn Evans was scoreless vs. Minnesota to extend his scoreless game streak to 3 straight before breaking his slump with 2 goals against Philly.
Playoff positioning: Can clinch a playoff berth with a win over Toronto or a Boston loss to Colorado AND a Buffalo loss to Orlando. Can clinch a first-round home playoff game with a win AND a Boston loss to Colorado and a Buffalo loss to Orlando.

Toronto Rock (8-7) East Division

Last week: lost to Buffalo, 13-10.
This week: Friday vs. Rochester, 7:30 p.m. (EST).
TV: TSN2 tape-delay starts at 11 p.m. (EST)/Webcast on NLL.com is blacked out in Canada.
Reported injuries: none.

Hot: Rookie F Garrett Billings scored 3 goals vs. Buffalo, 2 of them in the second half to fuel a Rock rally that came up short … D Stephen Hoar won 13 of 25 faceoffs … D Scott Campbell scored his fifth goal of the season, his first since Feb. 21 … Power play was 5-for-7 … 28% of team’s goals come from the power play (52 of 182), which is No. 1 in the NLL … D Pat McCready assisted on a Blaine Manning goal for his first point since March 27 … Rock have a league-high 4 players in NLL’s Top 10 scoring list: F Colin Doyle (82), Billings (80), Leblanc (76) and F Blaine Manning (76).
Not: Doyle scored 2 goals on 12 shots … Team shot just 17% (10 of 58) vs. Buffalo, which included just 2 goals on 25 shots (.08%) in the first half. “Last week was what we consider a playoff game and we got thoroughly outworked,” GM Terry Sanderson said. “It was an untimely time for us to put out that kind of effort.” … The 5 power play goals is nice, but that means the Rock scored just 5 goals even-strength. Is that the strength of Buffalo’s defense, or a flaw in Toronto’s set pieces? Maybe a bit of both? … Has rookie F Stephan Leblanc set his bar too high? He scored “only” 1 goal vs. Buffalo after scoring 5 and 4 in each of his 2 previous games.
Playoff positioning: Can clinch a playoff berth with a win over Rochester or a Boston loss to Colorado or a Buffalo loss to Orlando. Can clinch a first-round home game with a win and a Buffalo loss to Orlando.

Philadelphia Wings (4-10) East Division

Last week: lost to Rochester, 15-12.
This week: Saturday at Minnesota, 8:35 p.m. (EST).
TV/radio: Webcast on NLL.com.
Reported injuries: F Merrick Thomson, D Shawn Nadelen, F Dan Teat.

Hot: F Drew Westervelt scored a natural hat trick in the first quarter to help Philly take a 6-1 lead .. T Geoff Snider won an incredible 30 of 31 faceoffs vs. Rochester … T Max Seibald scored a career-high 2 goals, his first goal since March 12 … Snider led team with 16 losse balls … D Kyle Sweeney scored his first goal since Feb. 5 … F Bill McGlone scored in his 7th straight game and has at least 1 goal in all but 1 game this season … Rookie F Kevin Huntley had his most productive game this season with 1 goal and 4 assists … T Josh Sims scored his first goal, on a breakaway, since Feb. 27 … Last meeting with Swarm saw Wings score 20 goals, tops for a single-game in the NLL this season. “I don’t think we’re 9 goals better than them,” coach Dave Huntley said. “It was just one of those games where everything we did was perfect. Minnesota has an athletic bunch and is very balanced offensively.”
Not: Team wasted leads of 6-1 and 10-5 vs. Rochester … Penalty killers gave up 2 goals on 3 chances … After scoring 5 goals in his first 3 games since signing with the Wings, F David Mitchell has just 1 goal in his last 4 games, including 2 straight games without a goal. He was scoreless on 10 shots vs. Rochester … 16% of team’s goals come from the power play (24 of 150), which ranks No. 9 in NLL.
Assessement, now that the Wings have been officially eliminated from playoff contention: “I really don’t think we’ll be looking to 2011,” said Huntley. “The players were contracted for 2010 and we’ll go to Minnesota and put out or best effort. There were a couple of games we’d like to have back, but I like the way the guys worked together and I liked the development of some of our younger players.”

Calgary Roughnecks (8-6) West Division

Last week: defeated Colorado, 12-11.
This week: Friday at Edmonton, 9 p.m. (EST).
TV/radio: Webcast on NLL.com.
Reported injuries: D Rob Kirkby (Achilles, out).

Hot: F Tracey Kelusky returned from injury to score 2 goals, including the game-winner, and assist on 3 others to help the Riggers clinch a playoff spot … F Josh Sanderson had 3 goals and 4 assists. “I thought they were fantastic,” coach Dave Pym said, including F Kaleb Toth in the mix. “When these guys stand up and speak and then go out and back up their words, it’s one of the reasons they’re the best in the game.” … G Mike Poulin made 17 saves in relief of starter M att King to improve his record to 3-1 since being obtained in a trade with Boston … Penalty killers allowed just 2 goals on 8 chances … F Jeff Shattler has scored at least 1 goal in 5 straight games … T Nolan Heavenor won 20 of 26 faceoffs … F Kaleb Toth played his first game since March 20 and scored 1 goal … 22% of the team’s goals come from the power play (38 of 167), which ranks No. 3 in the NLL … Team is an NLL-best 8-2 when scoring the first goal.
Not: F Craig Conn was scoreless on 2 shots to snap a 4-game scoring streak … Defense gave up 5 goals in the second quarter, but responded by holding the Mammoth to 4 goals in the second half … Riggers won despite a season-high 37 penalty minutes, 17 of which belonged to D Jeff Moleski after he was tagged with a 5-minute major, a 2-minute instigator and 10-minute game misconduct in the first quarter following his fight with Colorado rookie Ryan McFadyen. “A lot of credit to the Mammoth for getting out emotions out of line,” Pym said. “We did much better in the second half.”
Playoff positioning: Team has clinched a playoff berth. Can clinch a home playoff game in the first round with a win over Edmonton on Friday and an Edmonton loss to Washington on Saturday.

Colorado Mammoth (4-10) West Division

Last week: defeated Edmonton 14-10, lost to Calgary, 12-11.
This week: Friday vs. Boston, 9 p.m. (EST).
TV/radio: AltitudeTV/Webcast on NLL.com in Boston.
Reported injuries: F Ilija Gajic (sickness)

Hot: Victory over Edmonton was team’s first in regulation this season. “The effort last week was terrific,” assistant GM Bill Hall said. “We couldn’t ask for much more. The guys really are reacting well to the new staff.” … F Jamie Shewchuk had 4 goals and 5 assists in the win over Edmonton … F Brian Langtry was on fire, scoring 5 goals vs. Edmonton, 4 of them coming in the game’s first 16 minutes … The Mammoth scored on 5 of their first 10 shots vs. Edmonton … F Jed Prossner scored 4 goals in the loss to Calgary … F Derek Malawsky has scored 2 goals in each of his last 3 games.
Not: Power play was 2-for-8 vs. Calgary and 0-for-2 vs. Edmonton … Rookie T Brad Richardson won just 5 of 25 faceoffs in Calgary … 13% of the team’s goals come from the power play (19 of 15), which ranks 11th in the NLL … Rookie F Alex Gajic was scoreless on 7 shots vs. Calgary … F Jamie Floris played his third straigth game since being activated, but has yet to score a goal … Defense gave up 5 goals in third quarter vs. Calgary after allowing 4 in the first half.
Playoff positioning: Can clinch a playoff berth by winning their final 2 games and Minnesota losing its final 2 games.

Edmonton Rush (9-5) West Division

Last week: lost to Colorado, 14-10.
This week: Friday vs. Calgary, 9 p.m. (EST), Saturday at Washington, 10:30 p.m. (EST).
TV/radio: CFRN 1260-AM, Webcast on NLL.com.
Reported injuries: T Chris McElroy (questionable).

Hot: Penalty killers gave up 0 goals on 2 chances vs. Colorado … Rookie F Corey Small led the team with 3 goals vs. Colorado, scoring the first two Rush goals … F Gavin Prout scored 2 goals and has a combined 7 goals in his last 3 games … D Rory Glaves scored his first goal of the season.
Not: 15% of team’s goals come from the power play (25 of 158), which ranks No. 10 in NLL … After picking up a pair of victories and earning NLL honors the week before, G Brandon Atherton got the start vs. Colorado but didn’t last long: He got the hook after giving up 7 goals on 14 shots in 22 minutes … G Matt Disher will get the start vs. Calgary. “Both played well off the bench,” coach Derek Keenan said. “We’ll go with Disher on Friday and see what happens on Saturday.” … F Dean Hill was scoreless on 7 shots vs. Colorado … T Brodie Merrilll cooled off a bit with just 3 assists after having a combined 14 points (6-8) in his 3 games prior … Team scored just 1 goal on 13 shots in fourth quarter vs. Colorado. “We didn’t shoot particularly well,” Keenan said, adding that the defense wasn’t at its best either. “Instead of playing with instinct, they’re thinking too much. I think we need to let it all hang out this weekend and play with instinct and athleticism, and I think we’ll be far better off than worrying about making mistakes.”
Playoff positioning: Have clinched a playoff berth. Can clinch the West Division title with wins over Calgary and Washington this weekend. Can clinch the No. 1 overall seed for the playoffs with 2 wins and an Orlando loss this weekend.

Minnesota Swarm (5-9) West Division

Last week: lost to Rochester, 12-11, lost to Boston 13-8.
This week: Saturday vs. Philadelphia, 8:35 p.m. (EST).
TV/radio: Webcast on NLL.com.
Reported injuries: none.

Hot: F Aaron Wilson scored 3 goals against Boston and 3 against Rochester, giving him 14 goals in his last 5 games. He’s scored 35 goals this season, 6 short of his career-high of 41 for Toronto in 2005 … Wilson leads NLL with 12 power play goals … F Callum Crawford had 2-4 vs. Rochester and 0-6 vs. Boston and now has 85 points (28-57) this season, second-highest in the NLL … Wilson, Crawford and F Ryan Benesch (23-51, 74) are ranked in the top 10 in NLL scoring … F Sean Pollock scored 2 goals vs. Rochester and 2 goals against Boston … Rookie F Zack Greer has scored at least 1 goal in 4 straight games … T Jay Thorimbert, a former Boston Blazer, won 18 of 26 faceoffs against his old team … Thorimbert also had a team-high 10 loose balls against Boston … 20% of team’s goals come from the power play (34 of 166), which is tied for No. 4 in the NLL.
Not: Team has lost 4 straight since defeating Calgary on March 26 … F Tim Campeau has just 1 goal in his last 5 games … Power play was 3-for-9 vs. Boston and 1-for-3 vs. Rochester … In team’s last game vs. Wings, Swarm gave up 20 goals in 20-11 loss on March 13 … Team shot just 15% (8-for-54) vs. Boston.
Playoff positioning: Can clinch a playoff berth with a win or a Colorado loss in any of its final 2 games.

Washington Stealth (10-4) West Division

Last week: defeated Orlando, 17-7.
This week: Saturday vs. Edmonton, 10:30 p.m. (EST).
TV/radio: Webcast on NLL.com.
Reported injuries: D Travis Gillespie.

Hot: F Lewis Ratcliff scored 3 goals and hasn’t scored less than 3 in any of his last 4 games … F Rhys Duch had 3 goals and 6 assists and also won both faceoffs he took … F Luke Wiles had a season-high 8 points (3-5) … D Eric Martin led the team with 10 loosies and and scored his third goal of the season, which was the game-winner … G Matt Roik got the start and made 34 saves on 41 shots to improve to 6-0 this season … Power play was 4-for-6 and penalty killers didn’t allow a goal in 3 chances … All 6 forwards scored at least 1 goal. “At 10-4, we can’t be anything but pleased,” coach Chris Hall said. “But we’re still on task to get that No. 1 overall seed.” … Last meeting with Edmonton saw teams combine for 20 goals in first half for a 10-10 halftime tie. “The coach who figures out how to put the brakes on momentum is going to be incredibly well-paid,” said Hall. I don’t know how the switch gets flipped. We weren’t too happy with our defense against Edmonton and we challenged the guys to work on some things to improve and we came up with a great effort against Orlando.” … F Jeff Zywicki should make his return to the lineup after missing 2 games with a lower body strain.
Not: Of the Stealth’s NLL-leading 184 goals, 18% come from the power play (34 of 184), which is tied for No. 6 in the NLL … Team lost loose ball battle, 73-67 … T Jamison Koesterer won just 11 of 23 faceoffs.
Playoff positioning: Stealth have clinched a first-round home playoff game. They can clinch the West Division title and the No. 1 overall seed with a win over Edmonton.

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