Tonight the Boston Cannons look to open their season 2-0 as they travel to Rochester to take on the Rattlers. Rochester lost last weekend in New York and this is their home opener. Last year the Rattlers beat the Cannons twice as they finished one game above Boston in the standings.
Everything went right for Boston last week as Kevin Buchanan scored seven goals, Will Manny a hat trick and Jordan Burke made 15 saves in the victory. Brodie Merrill and Jack Reid also stepped up in their first games with the Cannons in 2014. Despite their loss last week, the Rattlers also had some good showings, with six points from Justin Turri and 18 saves from John Galloway.
The Rattlers have a new-look roster this season with the losses of Ned Crotty, Steve DeNapoli and Matt Striebel while they added Sam Bradman, Justin Turri, Mark Matthews, and Michael Kiekebelt. They were able to score 13 goals on New York but gave up 18.
Buchanan with his big performance leads the league in points and goals, but there is no doubt other players will need to play well this week, as Rochester will have a focus on containing him. Paul Rabil had two goals last game along with Stephen Berger, so they are able to spread the offense around.
Dan Hardy scored four times so he will be a player to watch for the Cannons. Mark Matthews is out as he continues his NLL season with Edmonton, so until he is back, their offense will be considerably weaker. Meanwhile, Boston has all of their NLL players back with Kyle Sweeney and Merrill along with Buchanan.
Boston’s defense is stronger than it was at any point last season and against a weaker Rochester offense, the Cannons might be able to shut them down as they take home a victory. However, Rochester should not be underestimated with a tough and gritty roster full of players trying to break out.
