Archive for the ‘NLL 3 Stars’ Category


NLL 3 Stars, National Lacrosse League

NLL 3 Stars: Division Semi-finals

April 30th, 2013 by Stephen Stamp

Shayne Jackson (left) wasn't getting carried by anyone in the Swarm's first-round playoff win. (Photo: Graig Abel)
Shayne Jackson (left) wasn't getting carried by anyone in the Swarm's first-round playoff win. (Photo: Graig Abel)

The Minnesota Swarm sure know how to make it tough on a guy that has to pick the stars of the week. They had five players (Shayne Jackson, Jordan MacIntosh, Kiel Matisz, Josh Gillam and Ryan Benesch) post either 3 or 4 goals in their huge win over Toronto Sunday and goalie Tyler Carlson had one of the best games of his career. Throw in a solid defensive and transition effort that kept the heat on the Rock throughout the blowout and you could easily populate an entire IL Indoor National Lacrosse League 3 Stars column with just Minnesota players. But we won’t do that. We’ll make the hard choices among the many outstanding performances on NLL division semi-final weekend to recognize the most finely polished of the gems that were produced in the four games played Satuday and Sunday. And there were plenty to choose from among the other seven teams playing on the weekend. Make the jump for the results. READ MORE »

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IL Indoor, NLL 3 Stars, National Lacrosse League

NLL 3 Stars: Week 16

April 24th, 2013 by Stephen Stamp

Adam Jones stood out for the Mammoth and earned a berth somewhere among the 3 Stars. (Photo: Jack Dempsey)
Adam Jones stood out for the Mammoth and earned a berth somewhere among the 3 Stars. (Photo: Jack Dempsey)

Week 16 in the National Lacrosse League was all about who’d be in the playoffs and where the games would be played. We knew the Rock were first overall, but not much else was established. When the dust settled, but Bandits were out, the Knighthawks, Roughnecks and Stealth had home games and the Swarm were heading east for the playoffs. Amidst all that excitement, we once again saw some big scoring games: four players with 8 or more points including a couple with 5 goals. Shawn Evans wrapped up one of the best seasons in league history, Rhys Duch led the NLL in goals and Kyle Rubisch broke his own forced turnover record. See how all of that impacts this week’s IL Indoor NLL 3 Stars after the jump. READ MORE »

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NLL 3 Stars, National Lacrosse League

NLL 3 Stars: Week 15

April 16th, 2013 by Stephen Stamp

Dan Dawson had his finest weekend in teal. (Photo: Larry Palumbo)
Dan Dawson had his finest weekend in teal. (Photo: Larry Palumbo)

What a weekend for offence. Fifteen times a player scored 6 or more points in a game. That’s right, 15! So if your favourite player had a big night and you don’t find him in this week’s IL Indoor National Lacrosse League 3 Stars, there’s your reason why. Mark Matthews, with a goal and 4 assists? Not this week, buddy. Anyone for the Philadelphia Wings not playing net? Maybe next week. Josh Sanderson, with a hat trick? Not even close, I’m afraid. Heck, seven players scored 7 or more points. Week 15 of the NLL season really was an scoring bonanza. So the 3 Stars field, which by its very nature tends to be skewed towards front door players (stats speak loudly and they’re way more accessible for the offensive guys), is even more so this week. If you’re a regular reader, though, you know that we like to give some love to the guys stopping the other team from scoring, too. Make the jump to see which players sit atop the pyramid of terrific scoring days and whether anyone on the other side of the floor was able to make the cut. READ MORE »

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NLL 3 Stars, National Lacrosse League

National Lacrosse League 3 Stars: Week 14

April 8th, 2013 by Stephen Stamp

Callum Crawford notched another 18 points this weekend to earn First Star honours. (Photo: Minnesota Swarm)
Callum Crawford notched another 18 points this weekend to earn First Star honours. (Photo: Minnesota Swarm)

The IL Indoor 3 Stars likes to try to leave a little mystery for after the jump, just hinting at who might earn the highest accolades among the week’s luminaries. But this week we’re just going to come out and say it: Callum Crawford is on an unbelievable roll. It’s not exactly a revelation that he can score. The guy’s put up as many as 96 points in a season (2010) and this is his fourth straight year of 70+. But it’s hard to imagine a hotter streak than he’s on right now. Five straight games of either 8 or 10 points have vaulted him to fifth in the league overall. But make the jump anyway, for more about Crawford’s streak plus the rest of the 3 Stars and Honourable Mentions. READ MORE »

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Calgary Roughnecks, Colorado Mammoth, IL Indoor, Minnesota Swarm, NLL 3 Stars, National Lacrosse League, Philadelphia Wings, Rochester Knighthawks, Toronto Rock, Washington Stealth

NLL 3 Stars: Week 13

April 2nd, 2013 by Stephen Stamp

Matt Vinc stood out with his performance against Toronto this week. (Photo: Ward LaForme, Jr.)
Matt Vinc stood out with his performance against Toronto this week. (Photo: Ward LaForme, Jr.)

The importance of each game is magnified as we head down the stretch towards the playoffs. With five teams tied in the win column for the final four playoff spots, it’s anybody’s guess who’ll be on the outside looking in when the postseason gets underway. That makes the spotlight all the brighter on the players who have the big performances and that often means veterans step up and play the big roles. That’s largely the case for this week’s IL Indoor 3 Stars, but you’ll find some youngsters dotting the Honourable Mentions. Make the jump to see who lands where for their performances in Week 13’s five games. READ MORE »

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NLL 3 Stars: Week 12

March 25th, 2013 by Stephen Stamp

How do you pick which Rush to include when choosing stars? It ain't easy. (Photo: Edmonton Rush)
How do you pick which Rush to include when choosing stars? It ain't easy. (Photo: Edmonton Rush)

Star players are great. We love them here at IL Indoor’s National Lacrosse League 3 Stars, naturally. But sometimes we feel a little badly about the players we have to leave out. For instance, this week, you’ve gotta love what the Edmonton Rush did: two wins against East Division teams to clinch a playoff spot and make them appear to be, at the moment, the best team in the NLL. They’re getting excellent performances from the goaltender on out. Obviously, they have to dominate the 3 Stars, right? But which Rush players would you include? I can think of at least eight that could be considered. So how do you pick who to include. Well, make the jump and you’ll see one Rush among the elite three and some more garnering honourable mentions, but no matter how many we include I’ll bet you find someone else you think we should have. READ MORE »

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NLL 3 Stars, National Lacrosse League

National Lacrosse League 3 Stars: Week 11

March 18th, 2013 by Stephen Stamp

There was little beating Tyler Carlson and his shillelagh on St. Patricks Day eve in the Hive.
There was little beating Tyler Carlson and his shillelagh on St. Patricks Day eve in the Hive.

Four goals is a good performance in the National Lacrosse League any way you slice it. Often 3-Star good, in fact. But something’s gotta give when five players score 4 goals in one weekend. So you won’t see all five of Week 11’s 4-goal men crowned with laurels in IL Indoor’s Week 11 NLL 3 Stars. With a couple of hot goalies, an 8-point game and a pair of 7-pointers also thrown into the mix, the question becomes exactly how many among Callum Crawford, Josh Sanderson, Kevin Crowley, Zack Greer and Jordan McBride will make their way into the upper echelon and how many will have to settle for an honourable mention. Find out that and more after the jump. READ MORE »

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IL Indoor, NLL 3 Stars, National Lacrosse League

NLL 3 Stars: Week 10

March 12th, 2013 by Stephen Stamp

Tye Belanger made his first NLL start a memorable one. (Photo: Colorado Mammoth)
Tye Belanger made his first NLL start a memorable one. (Photo: Colorado Mammoth)

Last year, the suspense atop the National Lacrosse League scoring race for most of the season was simply whether John Grant, Jr. would be able to break John Tavares‘ single-season scoring record. He did it, of course, though not without a second-half push from Garrett Billings and his record-breaking assists total. In 2013, though, we’ve got real races and they’re a lot of fun to watch. Billings is pushing Shawn Evans for the points title with Rhys Duch lurking just a monster night away from being right in the thick of things. The overall lead is pretty tame to the game of hot-potato that is the goal-scoring race, though. The lead has been tossed around in the course of an evening and five players sit within four goals at the top. When you break it down by goals per game, Grant and Mark Matthews lead the way, but Duch, Dobbie and Curtis Dickson are all contenders. [Editor's update: Dobbie has only played 9 of Calgary's 11 games, so he actually leads in goals per game. We apologize for the error.] What’s all this got to do with this week’s IL Indoor NLL 3 Stars? You’ll see after the jump. READ MORE »

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National Lacrosse League 3 Stars

March 5th, 2013 by Stephen Stamp

Where does Shawn Williams (left) find himself in this week's 3 Stars? (Photo: Larry Palumbo, Coyote Magic)
Where does Shawn Williams (left) find himself in this week's 3 Stars? (Photo: Larry Palumbo, Coyote Magic)

There’s a neat little connection between the performances of two of this week’s IL Indoor National Lacrosse League 3 Stars’ candidates. Shawn Williams spent a season in Edmonton and set the team record with a 9-point game. Saturday night, that record fell to Ryan Ward, who posted a pair of goals and 8 assists in the Rush’s 18-13 win over the Calgary Roughnecks. Williams in turn played a huge role in Buffalo’s 15-13 win over Toronto and their subsequent 11-10 overtime loss to Philadelphia. So who gets top billing this week? There’s plenty of competition for the high-scoring pair as three other players had 4-goal games. You’ll have to make the jump to see how the stars fall. READ MORE »

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IL Indoor, NLL 3 Stars, National Lacrosse League

NLL 3 Stars: Week 8

February 27th, 2013 by Stephen Stamp

Drew Westervelt was one of many Wings contributing to a pair of weekend wins. (Photo: Larry Palumbo)
Drew Westervelt was one of many Wings contributing to a pair of weekend wins. (Photo: Larry Palumbo)

In the six weeks of this National Lacrosse League season where it was possible for a team to win two games, six teams have managed the feat. The situation’s not quite as perfectly symmetrical as that sounds, because both Toronto and Calgary did so in Week 4. Still, it shows that even in this season of unpredictability, teams can get on a roll for at least the short term. In week 8 it was the Philadelphia Wings and, as has been the case when they’ve been successful this year, their improved balance on offence deserves much of the credit. Kevin Crowley, Kevin Ross, Drew Westervelt, Kevin Buchanan and Paul Rabil all played big roles in the wins. Make the jump to see how the Wings fared among Week 8’s IL Indoor NLL 3 Stars. READ MORE »

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