IL Indoor

Behind the Scenes, Grassroots, International, The Life

German box lacrosse league joins the burgeoning European movement

Just a couple of days ago we told you about the brand spanking new Finnish Box Lacrosse League. Now, there’s more news out of Europe. Canadian ex-pat Jamie Plunkett is involved in the genesis of another league, this time in his adopted home country of Germany, where he’s been instrumental in the development of the  Deutschland Adler Lacrosse Club. The Adler web site has announced the creation of the Deutsche Indoor Lacrosse Liga. The new league will run during the summer months of July and August, with a couple of league game days and then a championship tournament. The Adler release mentions four teams that have already expressed interest in playing and the league welcomes more. And don’t panic if you get to the site and see German; just scroll halfway down the page for the English version of the announcement.

Behind the Scenes, Buffalo Bandits, MSL, National Lacrosse League, Peterborough Lakers, Road to the Presidents Cup, Senior B, The Life

Kyle Clancy returns to lacrosse from neck injury, playing with Norwood James Gang

Kyle Clancy (second from left) with his Peterborough Lakers rookie of the year award in 2010.

Three years ago, Kyle Clancy scored 21 points in 6 games in his rookie year with the Buffalo Bandits. That summer he was the Peterborough Lakers rookie of the year and third leading scorer and he won a Mann Cup with the team.

Two years ago, Clancy stepped in when John Tavares was unable to start a game in the National Lacrosse League playoffs and scored 4 goals and an assist. He followed that up with a solid and reasonably productive summer with the Lakers, notching 13 goals and 23 assists in 16 games.

Last year, he was out of lacrosse with a chipped vertebrae in his neck after rolling his vehicle in bad weather. So getting back on a lacrosse floor is a big step for Clancy, and he’s enjoying his return to the game. For now, that is happening with the Norwood James Gang of the Ontario Senior B league. He has scored 5 goals and 6 assists for 11 points, helping the James Gang to a perfect 3-0 start to their season. READ MORE »

CLA, IL Indoor, Inside Lacrosse, Off the Rug, Road to the Mann Cup, Senior A, The Ballers, The Life, Victoria Shamrocks, WLA

Shamrocks add more local fire power with addition of Rhys Duch

The Victoria Shamrocks are very pleased to announce the return of Rhys Duch for the 2013 Western Lacrosse Association season. The 26 year-old Victoria native is coming off a career year in the National Lacrosse League in which he earned All-Pro First Team honours after scoring in every game to lead the NLL with 45 goals, finishing third in leagues scoring with 96 points and leading his Washington Stealth team to the championship final. In his previous four seasons with the Shamrocks between 2008 and 2011, Duch appeared in 76 regular season and playoff games in which he scored 152 goals and added 171 assists for 323 points. He is a three-time WLA all-star including two First Team honours in 2010 and 2011. Last summer he played for the Six Nations Chiefs in Ontario. READ MORE »

IL Indoor, Inside Lacrosse, National Lacrosse League, Rochester Knighthawks, The Ballers, The Buzz, The Life, Washington Stealth

It’s the Champion’s Cup edition of the Off the Crossebar Podcast

We’re a few hours away from crowning a 2013 Champion’s Cup winner and it couldn’t be any closer of a matchup between the Rochester Knighthawks and the Washington Stealth. It’s a rare full circle meeting as these two teams squared off in the season opener (a 13-12 win for the Stealth) and will now cap one of the best National Lacrosse League seasons in recent memory.

This week on the Off the Crossebar Podcast , we talked to the two head coaches who will be dueling in the mental chess match in hopes of doing all the right things in leading their team to the holy grail of professional lacrosse. Mike Hasen is looking for his second league title in as many years while Chris Hall is looking to add his third championship as the Stealth make their third trip in four years. Both men are incredible lacrosse minds and are very focused on the task at hand but both are quick to tip their hats to the other team on their successes. READ MORE »

Behind the Scenes, Grassroots, IL Indoor, Inside Lacrosse, National Lacrosse League, Off the Rug, Philadelphia Wings, The Life, U.S. Indoor Lacrosse

Last but not least, Johnny Mouradian stops by for the final installment of the GM Talks on this week’s Off the Crossebar Podcast

As coach and general manager, Johnny Mouradian likes the direction the Wings are headed. (Photo: Larry Palumbo)

Nine general managers in 10 weeks isn’t that big a deal but to have them all agree to actually come on this show and talk openly and candidly about their roles as team puppeteer is a remarkable feat. OK so maybe it’s not remarkable but it’s been a great journey around the National Lacrosse League as we wrap things up this week with the final episode of the GM Talks. With a combined five NLL/MILL titles on his resume, Johnny Mouradian is the winningest GM in pro indoor lacrosse and he’s anxious to build on that list with the Philadelphia Wings. The Wings had a pretty decent season if you ask the man more commonly known as “The Gypsy,” but in any sport not winning it all has to be looked at as a bit of a shortcoming. READ MORE »

Back in the Day, Behind the Scenes, IL Indoor, National Lacrosse League, The Life

The Longest Game

Last Saturday night, the battle for Alberta and the Western Division crown went down at Rexall Place in Edmonton. With just over 6 minutes to go, Alex Turner ripped an outside shot past Mike Poulin to give the Rush a 2 goal lead. Geoff Snider promptly won the faceoff—as he did on all but 4 draws the entire night—and scored one of his own to narrow the gap to 1. At 1:39, Daryl Veltman one-timed a pass from Shawn Evans past Aaron Bold to send the game into overtime.

Most overtime games are settled within the first few possessions….with anxiety running, high seconds seem like minutes. But with both goalies stepping up, Edmonton and Calgary failed to cash in on a multitude of opportunities. My count had both Edmonton and Calgary with 10 shots apiece that included 3 pipes and 5 or 6 at point blank range before Shawn Evans slipped a shot between the legs of Bold to guarantee the Riggers home field advantage throughout at least the first 2 rounds of the playoffs. The 10:05 of extra time seemed like an eternity…in large part because of the scoring opportunities. The game is in the record books as the fifth longest game in NLL History at 70 minutes 5 seconds. Let’s take a quick look at the others. READ MORE »

Behind the Scenes, CLA, IL Indoor, Inside Lacrosse, National Lacrosse League, Off the Rug, Ontario Junior A, Rochester Knighthawks, The Life

Off the Crossebar Podcast: GM Talks continue as Curt Styres talks about life at Six Nations, culture and Tony Stewart?

Knighthawks owner Curt Styres is more than an NLL champion, he's a champion for the game. (Photo: Larry Palumbo)

If you’ve ever met Curt Styres, you’d know he’s a very proud man that loves his family, his job and his lacrosse. But he’s got his hands in so many pots that it’s often hard to get a still moment with him. Even during our interview he was having to take a moment or two to answer questions from those in his office who needed his assistance with some work matters. You see, Styres isn’t just the owner and general manager of the Rochester Knighthawks, he’s got part ownership in a raceway, gas stations, arenas, convenience stores, restaurants, gyms, spas, construction companies, mining companies, music studios and the list goes on. He has so many employees world-wide that he’s still unsure of the exact number. READ MORE »

Buffalo Bandits, IL Indoor, Inside Lacrosse, Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks, MSL, National Lacrosse League, Off the Rug, The Life

Week 7 of the GM Talks on the Off the Crossebar Podcast; this week Bandits GM Steve Dietrich and his worst game, Hall of Fame career and an NFL Back-up QB.

Steve Dietrich (left) with Troy Cordingley at Chugger's Hall of Fame induction. (Photo: NLL.com)

One of the toughest GM jobs in the National Lacrosse League could very well be the one bestowed upon Steve Dietrich. After Darris Kilgour was relieved of his duties last off-season, the former Bandit goalie was welcomed back to Banditland and was immediately thrust into the spotlight. How do you improve an aging roster that has been struggling to find chemistry, symmetry and consistency ever since winning the 2008 NLL title game on their home floor? It’s all about a hunger for redemption for Dietrich and that comes from building through the draft and finding the right pieces to the puzzle. READ MORE »

CLA, IL Indoor, Inside Lacrosse, MSL, National Lacrosse League, Oakville Rock, Off the Rug, Road to the Mann Cup, Senior A, The Life, Toronto Rock

Off the Crossebar Podcast: GM Talks hit the East Division and Rock GM Terry Sanderson

Terry Sanderson has built winning NLL teams before and he's done it again in Toronto with the Rock. (Photo: Toronto Rock)

The other night I was sitting with the Pee-Wee team I’m coaching and asked them who their favorite player was and shockingly many of them didn’t have one. Not one of them said John Grant, Mark Matthews, Rhys Duch, Kyle Rubisch, Matt Vinc or any current Victoria Shamrock player. Now maybe it’s today’s video game culture that has these kids not paying as much attention to the players who are the best in the world but it completely blew me away that they didn’t have a favorite player.

I grew up idolizing Paul and Gary Gait, Art Webster, Bob Cool, Kevin Alexander, and Jack Bionda; those were the guys that I wanted to be like and as I got older and paid more attention to the game I started to get an idea of people I wanted to play for.  I wanted Marty O’Neil to draft me in Philadelphia, I wanted to step on to the floor with Jr and as I became more knowledgeable I knew that playing for Terry Sanderson would be a once in a lifetime opportunity. That chance never manifested itself but over my career I was able to battle against teams coached and managed by the man commonly knows as just ‘T.’ READ MORE »

IL Indoor, Inside Lacrosse, Minnesota Swarm, National Lacrosse League, Off the Rug, The Life

Off the Crossebar Podcast: GM talks head to Minnesota as the Swarm’s Arlotta buzzes in

A few years ago the Minnesota Swarm were toiling in mediocrity under the umbrella Minnesota Sports and Entertainment. It’s not that the Swarm were a bad team, in their first 3 years they made the playoffs twice, they just needed a new direction and ownership group. Enter John Arlotta. The long time Healthcare CEO that has been in charge of numerous million and billion dollar companies, got the lacrosse bug while living in Baltimore. So in 2008, he became owner and President of the Swarm and from day one, the culture changed. READ MORE »