The Boston Cannons have had the very definition of an up and down season as they have exchanged wins and losses in each of the past four weeks. As they head into the halfway point of the season, the Cannons are currently tied for the final playoff spot with the Charlotte Hounds, New York Lizards and Ohio Machine. What is a good way for the Cannons to secure the final playoff spot? A win this weekend over the Ohio Machine would be a good first step.
As they prepare for their eighth game of the season, here are some news and notes surrounding the Cannons.
Game Preview
-Ironically, the team that visits this weekend, the Machine, is the last win for the Cannons. It was also the only win that Boston had on their three game road trip which also included games at Chesapeake and New York.
-In their last meeting, the Cannons won 17-16 over the Machine in an up and down affair that saw plenty of high flying action. Will Manny was the man of the match as he scored four goals and handed out three assists on his way to a seven point night. Stephen Berger was not to be overshawdowed as he scored four goals and handed out two assists as well.
-Paul Rabil and Kevin Buchanan each rank in the Top 5 in points scored this season. Rabil is tied for second with Denver Outlaw attackman Eric Law at 31 points and Buchanan is tied with six other players for the fifth spot, including teammate Will Manny as all of them have 23 points on the season.
Man Up and Man Down
-The Cannons face the team’s best man-up unit as the Machine currently convert on 52.6 percent of their opportunities. Meanwhile, the Cannons boast the league’s third best unit as they have scored on 41.6 percent of their opportunities.
-On the flip side, this game boasts the league’s fifth and sixth worst penalty kill units. The Machine have killed off 68.18 percent of their opposition’s man-up opportunities while the Cannons have killed off 66.67 percent.
Goalie Battle
This game will pit the league’s third and fourth best goalies in terms of goals against average as Brian Phipps narrowly edges Jordan Burke in that department with a 10.65 GAA while Burke has a 10.77 GAA. In terms of save percentage, Burke has a 54.3 save percentage compared to Phipps who has saved 53.6 percent of the shots that he has seen.
All Star Game Notes
-After their game this weekend against the Machine, the league will take its second break of the season as the MLL All Star Game occurs. The game will feature seven players from the Boston Cannons on both the MLL All Star team as well as Team USA.
-Paul Rabil, Chris Eck, Mitch Beslisle and Kevin Buchanan will play for Team USA while Jordan Burke, Kyle Sweeney and Brodie Merrill will suit up for the MLL All Stars.
Record Watch
-Entering this weekend’s game against the Cannons, Jordan Burke is one win shy of tying Chris Garrity as the all-time wins leader in Cannons history. Burke is also 41 saves from becoming the team’s all-time saves leader as well.
-Three Cannons players have a shot at reaching the 200 Club in different statistical categories. Paul Rabil is 23 goals away from the mark, Ryan Boyle is six points away and Kyle Sweeney is seven ground balls away. Additionally, Rabil is 12 games away from breaking the record for most games played in franchise history.
