In the MLL match-up with the strongest playoff implications on Saturday the Denver Outlaws will travel to Rochester to take on the Rattlers.
The Outlaws (9-3) are tied for first in the league and with a win would clinch a playoff berth.
The Rattlers (7-5) are tied with the Boston Cannons for fourth in the MLL standings and they can’t clinch the final playoff spot with a win, but a loss very well could eliminate them. Should the Rattlers win, they would either keep pace with or distance themselves from the Cannons. Should the Outlaws win, Rochester’s playoff hopes would vanish should both the Cannons and Long Island Lizards win their respective games.
With so much on the line, expect a lot of intensity.
The last time these two teams met was June 16th and the Outlaws won 16-12. The Rattlers were on the road, though, and are a league-best 5-1 at home. The Rattlers were also forced to play most of that game without points leader Ned Crotty, who left the game with a knee injury in the third quarter. It was the only game all season he hasn’t registered a point. That’s not to say the Rattlers would have definitely won the game with Crotty, but his skill and veteran know-how would have been a big boost in crunch time.
The Outlaws were led by leading scorer Brendan Mundorf in that game when he scored six goals and tallied two assists. He hasn’t continued his strong, MVP-type season. He is second in the league in points (50) thanks to his 26 goals and 24 assists.
Both teams have seen a big boost from their face-off units as of late.
The Outlaws have also added face-off man Anthony Kelly, who has vastly improved the team’s inconsistent play at the X going 56-97 in three games as an Outlaw.
Tim Fallon has taken the bulk of the face-offs for Rochester recently. He’s winning 45.4-percent of his face-offs this season in total, but is winning 60-percent of his face-offs in the past two games. Those two games have also seen the rise of rookie Bobby Datillo who is 14-20 from the X over the past two games.
Both teams have won five of their past six games and are getting hot at the right time.
The Rattlers have gotten big contributions from Matt Striebel (six goals—including three 2-pointers—and seven assists in past five games), Brad Ross (nine goals in seven games since getting traded to the Rattlers), Rob Rotanz (three goals in the team’s win over Ohio on 7/28/12) and John Galloway (has allowed fewer than 10 goals in three of the team’s past six games).
Part of the Outlaws success has been thanks to the quickly-adjusted rookies they have. Mark Matthews and Chris Bocklet have combined for 27 goals and nine assists. Added to Mundorf, Jeremy Sieverts, Jordan McBride and Peet Poillon and this team is an offensive juggernaut, leading the league in goals (186) by 13.
Both teams are led by an offensive star, are on hot winning streaks, have good goalie play, have surrounded their stars with good complimentary pieces and are doing well at the face-off X.
One team has to lose.
It should be an exciting contest to see who comes out on top in this one.
