The Minnesota Swarm are the youngest team in the NLL and have four first round draft picks playing every game. One of these players is third overall pick Kiel Matisz who is having a fantastic year with the Swarm.
“I’m glad to be a part of such a great league, and even more so a great team in the Minnesota Swarm.” said Matisz. “I have enjoyed my experience in Minnesota we have such a supportive fan base and it has been awesome to play in front of these loud fans at the HIVE. The front office, coaching staff and my teammates also deserves a lot of credit to my development this year as they continue to provide me with the tools I need to become successful. I am still hoping to continue to the Swarm’s season into May and make strides towards a Champions Cup.”
Last week the Swarm fell to the Philadelphia Wings, but Matisz says he thinks the Swarm made improvements.
“The loss to Philly was definitely a set-back. Our team had put together a couple of big wins over the last couple weeks and if we had beat Philly we would have been sitting in a much more comfortable spot to make the playoffs. Now, we are in control of our own destiny we have to win in order to make it in. Even though, we had a set-back against Philly our team is definitely feeling like we’ve made improvements over the last few weeks, but we are still hungry to make improvements and get better.”
This week the Swarm face the Colorado Mammoth in a game that pits two teams in similar situations against each other. Matisz gets that, and says they just need to play Minnesota lacrosse.
“It’s no secret that both teams are in the same boat, with identical records and play each other twice over the last two weeks. That being said I think it is important to get on the scoreboard quickly, they have one of the hottest goaltenders in the NLL right now and I think it is important to make smart decisions and smart shots on him early, in order to limit his confidence. More importantly, I think the key is to play Minnesota Swarm lacrosse. At times, this year it has been brilliant to watch, but not so much at other times. As the season is coming to and end it is important that these next two weeks we play with confidence and consistency.”
The Swarm have a very slim chance at clinching this week, but a lot of things have to go right. Matisz said he’s not even worried about that, and just worried about winning the next game.
“Honestly, I didn’t know we could clinch this week. I try not to pay too much attention to the playoff picture as there are so many teams fighting for spots. As far as I’m concerned, I just try to concentrate on my role with the Minnesota Swarm and what I can do to make our team better. It’s one thing to make the playoffs, but another to continue to play through the playoffs to that final game and for me that process takes the whole season and is not affected by just this week in particular.”
