Stealth Defense Achilles Heel in Calgary Loss

February 24, 2015

The Vancouver Stealth dropped a tough decision in Calgary on Saturday night as they fell back into some of the traps that plagued them early in the season. At times, the Stealth had no answer for many of the heavyweights in the ‘Necks offense. Curtis Dickson scored a whopping seven goals and Dane Dobbie added another seven points (three goals, four assists) to give Calgary their first win of the…

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Simmons Column: No Benefits to Snow-Crosse

February 23, 2015

Photo Credit: Ian Neadle Playing lacrosse in the snow is not easy. It is harder to pass, clear, collect ground balls and see the ball as a goalie. Snow leads to a sloppy game and creates parody between unequal teams; that is what we saw in the Loyola-Holy Cross game. Three games had game times changed or were postponed on Saturday: UMBC-Monmouth, Penn State-Villanova, and Georgetown-Towson. I can’t tell you…

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Roughnecks Goalie Woes Behind Struggles?

February 17, 2015

The Calgary Roughnecks winless one third of the way through the 2015 NLL season. When a team gets off to such a poor start there is usually plenty of blame to go around. But one of the main targets of scrutiny for the Roughnecks right now is the goaltending tandem of Mike Poulin and Frankie Scigliano. The Poulin Wall has been one of the keys to success for the Roughnecks…

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Simmons: Cuse Tops Cornell and Media Poll

February 16, 2015

I’ll start off with the most recent game, Cornell vs. Syracuse. After the ‘Cuse took down the Big Red 14-6, we are left with some significant questions about Cornell. Keep in mind a few things. This was Cornell’s first game of the season. Secondly, Cornell just opened practice on the first of this month, and due to the snow totals and the frigid cold in Central New York the Big…

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NLL Over- and Underachievers of 2015

February 12, 2015

As the NLL season approaches the one third point, it’s time to have a look at who is off to a great start and who is off to a not-so-good start. Underachievers 1. The Calgary Roughnecks—Who would have imagined that the Roughnecks, who came within minutes of winning the Champion’s Cup last year, would be in dead last after five games, with an 0-5 record. Granted, three of their losses have…

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Stealth Might Play Faster Pace With Ratcliff Retired

February 10, 2015

The retirement of Lewis Ratcliff last week capped a great 14-year NLL career that included 472 goals in 212 career games. Ratcliff was going on his sixth year as part of the Stealth organization and his play with the team including time spent in both Washington and Vancouver. The 33-year-old lefty is one of the more prolific scorers the NLL has seen over the last decade (he scored 50 in…

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Small Changing Stealth Offensive Approach

February 9, 2015

The recent addition of “the Kitten” Corey Small may not completely correlate with the offensive explosion the Stealth have experienced upon his arrival. The trade for Small has however signalled a change in offensive philosophy after Lewis Ratcliff retired earlier this week. With a home-and-home series with the floundering 0-5 Calgary Roughnecks on the horizon and a chance to really stake a claim in the Western Division’s playoff picture, Small…

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Denver: What it Takes to Climb to #1

February 8, 2015

The DU Pioneers are ranked #1 in practically every preseason poll. When I had the privilege of interviewing Head Coach Bill Tierney, he was able to give me more insight into Denver’s growth and how it goes beyond the team. Denver has (P)ioneered their way to three NCAA Final Four appearances in the last four years. The team is averaging well over .740 winning percentage and has a Denver-career record…

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One on One with NLL Commissioner George Daniel

February 6, 2015

The National Lacrosse League has had a very busy year. Their oldest team relocated, they set up new broadcast deals, and they returned to the New England market. We discussed these things and more with the league’s commissioner, George Daniel, in this latest exclusive interview. 1. What are your thoughts on how New England as a market has responded to the Black Wolves so far? We are very pleased to…

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Scigliano Gets Go-Ahead from Calgary Roughnecks

February 5, 2015

When the Calgary Roughnecks went into to Toronto 0-3 to start the season last Saturday night head coach Curt Malawsky knew he had to make some lineup changes which included re-inserting captain Andrew McBride into the lineup and you could see the difference on defense with his effort and tenacity. But, the biggest change some might say was letting backup goalie Frankie Scigliano get the start against a red hot…

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