IL Indoor

Lewis Ratcliff and the Stealth offense are still searching for their groove in an 0-2 start. (Photo: Larry Palumbo)

So Colorado is 3-0, Washington and Toronto, the participants in the last 2 National Lacrosse League title games, are a combined 0-4, and your fantasy team is losing again. Such is the nature of the beast for an NLL season. Just when we think we know what’s going on, we’re taught a lesson much like Knighthawks coach Mike Hasen said was offered to his team against Buffalo last week. But if things were predictable, we’d lead boring lives, right? Right. Onward we head into the new weekend of the NLL and if you’re wondering what’s on the minds of the brain trust for your favorite team, click on the “read more” tag and we’ll fill ya in as best we can.

Buffalo Bandits (2-0)

Last week: defeated Rochester, 12-9
This week: vs. Philadelphia on Friday, 7:30 p.m. (EST); at Minnesota on Saturday, 8 p.m. (EST).
TV/radio: WWKB (1520-AM); NLL.com

What’s up: Veteran F John Tavares was 4-4 … The return of F Roger Vyse was a welcome one as he scored 2 goals, both in the fourth quarter and his first goal, at 4:41, turned out to be the winner … F Luke Wiles was 2-4, scoring the first goal of the game and the first goal of the second half … Bandits D held Rochester to 3 goals on 16 shots in the first half … G Mike Thompson made 31 saves on 40 shots, 18 of them coming in the second half, and coach Darris Kilgour said he was a bit surprised, pleasantly, at how advanced his defense is this season after usually taking time to adjust in past seasons. “We’re very happy with where we are, but it’s just 2 games,” he said. “I thought in the first game against Toronto, our defense was running around a bit and Mikey stood on his head for us. Against Rochester, the defense did a better job of making it a 5-on-5 game.” … Rookie T Jeremy Thompson led the team with 7 loose balls … Bandits are 22-20 all-time against the Wings, including 12-9 at home. Buffalo is 13-2 all-time against the Swarm, including 7-2 at Minnesota.

Calgary Roughnecks (2-1)

Last week: lost to Colorado, 13-12 (OT).
This week: vs. Toronto on Saturday, 9 p.m. (EST).
TV/radio: NLL.com.

What’s up: F Jeff Shattler was scoreless on 8 shots, but he did have 3 assists … F Daryl Veltman had his best game in years, leading the team with 3 goals and 3 assists and 5 of those points came in the first half. “He turned the corner before he arrived at camp this year,” coach Dave Pym said. “He arrived In great shape and it’s carried forward.” … F Shawn Evans rebounded from a scoreless effort last week to card a 2-3 game vs. Colorado … F Curtis Manning scored 2 goals on 2 shots … Power play was 4-for-8 and the killers gave up 6 power play goals on 10 chances … Defense surrendered 22 shots in the first quarter against Colorado … Ready for Toronto? “In the first game, it was our work ethic and discipline that were stellar so that will be a focus of our practice on Friday.” … The Riggers are 9-13 lifetime against the Rock, including the win earlier this season, and are 5-5 vs. Toronto at home.

Colorado Mammoth (3-0)

Last week: defeated Edmonton on Friday, 13-12; defeated Calgary on Saturday, 13-12 (OT).
This week: vs. Rochester on Saturday, 9 p.m. (EST).
TV/radio: NLL.com.

What’s up: The numbers for John Grant Jr. kinda speak for themselves so far. He scored 3 goals and 4 assists in Friday’s win over Edmonton, including the winner with 15 seconds left. Then he added 4-6 in Saturday’s OT win at Calgary. “He’s really fit, really strong,” coach Bob Hamley said, crediting the team’s fitness coach in working with Junior since the end of last season. “And beyond that, we all know how great he is with his stick, but this year with guys like Jamie Lincoln, Adam Jones, Derek Hopcroft and Gavin Prout contributing, he has a real confidence in those guys.” … Rookie F Adam Jones continues to play beyond his years, scoring 5 goals (on 12 shots) and 2 assists vs. Edmonton and 3 goals and 5 assists on Saturday in Calgary … G Chris Levis had a shaky start against the Rush, falling behind 3-1, but he finished with 32 saves on 41 shots faced. He made 44 saves against Calgary … Mammoth was 2-for-2 on the power play vs. Edmonton … Mammoth won loose ball battle in Edmonton, 106 to 65 … Mammoth took an incredible 22 shots on goal in the first quarter against Calgary, scoring 5 goals … F Prout was 2-4 against Calgary, including the OT winner … Colorado is 10-11 all-time against the Knighthawks, 7-5 in Colorado.

Edmonton Rush (0-1)

Last week: lost to Colorado, 13-12.
This week: at Washington on Saturday, 10:30 p.m. (EST).

What’s up: F Zack Greer opened his season with a 3-1 effort in the loss to Colorado … New F Shawn Williams was 1-8 … F Ryan Ward was 3-2 with a team-high 6 shots and scored on the power play and short-handed. His short-handed goal gave the Rush a 12-11 lead at 9:50 of the fourth quarter, but the Rush didn’t score again … New D Chris Corbeil led the team with 9 loose balls … Edmonton was scoreless on 6 shots in the second quarter … The Rush defense forced 24 turnovers … Not scoring in the second quarter did the Rush in, coach Derek Keenan said. “In that first half, we weren’t good at all,” he said. “We were standing around and it caught up to us. Take that second quarter away and we’re good. I don’t think it was a bad, terrible start. I like how we battled back.” … F Athan Iannucci remains unsigned … The Rush are 5-11 all-time against the Stealth, but are 2-1 against the Stealth in Washington.

Minnesota Swarm (0-1)

Last week: off.
This week: vs. Buffalo on Saturday, 8 p.m. (EST).
TV/radio: KFGI (101.5-FM).

What’s up: The Swarm have had a full 2 weeks to break down their opening loss to Colorado, and coach Mike Lines knew right where to start. “We gave up 20 goals so obviously our back end needed some work,” he said. “It’s nothing really specific, but our communication needs to be better. It’s something we’re working on and we will be better.” … Minnesota is 2-13 all-time against Buffalo with a 2-7 record in Buffalo. “It’s a matchup thing,” Lines said. “But there’s no excuse for that to be happening at this level.”

Philadelphia Wings (1-1)

Last week: defeated Washington on Saturday, 10-9 (OT).
This week: at Buffalo on Friday, 7:30 p.m. (EST).
TV/radio: WBZC (88.9-FM)

What’s up: Rookie F Kevin Crowley was solid again with 5 goals and 1 assist, his 5th goal being the overtime winner. He had his second hat trick of the season by the end of the first quarter, scoring all 3 of Philly’s goals. “He showed that he’ll answer when big things are expected,” coach and GM Johnny Mouradian said. … Veteran F Dan Dawson had 4 assists, giving him 11 for the season, but he has just 1 goal on 11 shots. “He’s playing really well, but he needs to shoot more,” Mouradian said. … F Drew Westervelt contines to shoot well, scoring 3 goals on 8 shots, giving him a pair of hat tricks so far. “He’s been playing really aggressive out the front door,” Mouradian said. … T Brodie Merrill scooped a game-high 14 loose balls but the Wings still had just 82 LBs compared to 103 for the Stealth … F Mike Hominuck was scoreless on 7 shots … F Brendan Mundorf was 2-3 … G Brandon Miller was spectacular with 49 saves on 58 shots, including several key stops in the final minutes of regulation and 2 big ones early in OT, leading a defensive unit that was much improved after letting in 22 goals to Rochester in Week 1. “Rochester did what it wanted to on offense and we didn’t prevent that,” Mouradian said. “Against Washington, they’re so good at swinging the ball and we did a much better job of getting on their sticks and arms and that gave Brandon a chance to get set.” … Power play needs some work as the Wings were 0-for-3, but the penalty killers earned their checks in holding the Stealth to 2 PP goals on 8 chances. … The Wings are 9-12 against the Bandits in Buffalo, 20-22 all-time.

Rochester Knighthawks (1-1)

Last week: lost to Buffalo, 12-9.
This week: at Toronto on Friday, 7 p.m. (EST); at Colorado on Saturday, 9 p.m. (EST).
TV/radio: SportsRadio 950 ESPN; NLL.com

What’s up: Defense was admirable early, holding Bandits to 1 goal on 9 shots in first quarter and 4 goals on 26 shots (15%) in the first half … Unit gave up 5 goals on 11 shots in the fourth quarter. “Buffalo taught us a lesson in making sure we stick to our principles and gameplan,” coach Mike Hasen said. “We got away from it and they made us pay. We tried to do too much as individuals and tried to help out the offense too much. We vacated our zones too early and made the game a lot faster than it needed to be.” … Power play was just 1-for-3 … F Cody Jamieson is playing very well with a 3-2 game in the loss … F Cory Vitarelli was scoreless on 3 shots after scoring 5 goals in Week 1 against Philadelphia … Veteran D Pat McCready led the team with 8 loose balls … Getting ready to face former Knighthawks star John Grant Jr.? “We’ll do anything and everything,” Hasen said. “I’m sure he’s had this circled on his calendar and we’ll just try to limit what he can do. It’s going to be tough, we know that.”

Toronto Rock (0-2)

Last week: off.
This week: vs. Rochester on Friday, 7 p.m. (EST); at Calgary on Saturday, 9 p.m. (EST).
TV/radio: TSN (both games).

What’s up: The Rock say they’ll have their hands full with the Knighthawks at home on Friday night but they’ve had 2 weeks to prepare and try to fix whatever’s contributed to their 0-2 start. “Judging by our last practice, it was time used wisely,” GM Terry Sanderson said. “It was a very spirited practice.” … F Stephan Leblanc has yet to score in both games, but Sanderson isn’t concerned. “I don’t think he’s struggled any more than our other offensive guys. Things just aren’t falling for Steph right now but he’s gonna find his game. Hopefully this weekend.” … Having faced, and lost, to Calgary 3 weeks ago, the setup is familiar to the Rock. “We made the biggest mistake of losing our focus,” Sanderson said. “We were outscored, outshot and outhustled. The guys will remember that and they know that if you don’t bring it for 60, they’re going home in the loss column.” … The Knighthawks are 4-12 all-time in Toronto vs. the Rock but lead the overall series 21-14 … Toronto is 13-8 all-time against Calgary, 5-5 in Calgary. … The Rock activated D Drew Petkoff (knee injury) and released rookie Jesse Gamble to make room on the roster.

Washington Stealth (0-2)

Last week: lost to Philadelphia, 10-9 (OT).
This week: vs. Edmonton on Saturday, 10:30 p.m. (EST).
TV/radio: NLL.com.

What’s up: Team shot just 15% (9-for-58) and that included an 0-for-8 first quarter against Philadelphia … G Tyler Richards tied F Rhys Duch for the team lead in assists with 3 each … Duch (0-for-10) and F Lewis Ratcliff (1-for-16) were a combined 1-for-16 on shots vs. Philadelphia. “I’m concerned about our entire front end,” coach Art Webster said. “Ratcliff, Duchy and Jeff Zywicki … they’re underperforming and need to be better. They’re not in sync right now and they’ve got to change their game plans and can’t just ben an outside team. They’ve got to get to the dirty areas of the net and get their knees bruised a little.” … Power play was 2-for-8, but the downers held Philly scoreless on 3 tries … 4 players, Duch (13), D Mike Grimes (11), D Bob Snider (12) and Ratcliff (10) were in double figures for loose balls … D Matt Beers tied for the team lead with 2 goals … F Cam Sedgwick also had 2 goals … The Stealth are 11-5 all-time against the Rush, 7-2 at home.

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