The Toronto Rock Seem Frustrated

January 15, 2016

The Toronto Rock (0-2), a perennial contender for an NLL title, have scored 14 goals in two games this season. One of those losses came at the hands of the Georgia Swarm who had surrendered 16 goals the week before. The other loss? Also a Rochester team coming off of a 16 goal loss. There have been five total goal scorers for the Rock this season; Rob Hellyer, Brett Hickey,…

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NLL Power Rankings: Week Two

January 14, 2016

What an exciting week. The Colorado Mammoth put up another 16 goals, this time Rochester was the victim, but the defense allowed 14.  Defense needs to tighten up a bit or the offense will need to do this each week. New England seems to have the key cog in Shawn Evans after posting a 17-7 victory over Vancouver.  Lets see if it continues. Georgia outplays the Rock as Josh Sanderson is…

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NLL Weekly Grades: High Marks for Wolves

January 13, 2016

Pat Saunders: A+ When Saunders got his three year deal to stay in New England, it was questioned if he could repeat his breakout 2015. When the Wolves’ reacquired Kevin Crowley and added Shawn Evans, it was questioned how often Saunders would get chances to score. Evidently, he could have an even bigger 2016 after putting up nine points in Vancouver on Saturday night. Shawn Evans: A Evans apparently is…

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Geoff Snider Retires From the National Lacrosse League

January 12, 2016

The Calgary Roughnecks today announced the retirement of Geoff Snider from the National Lacrosse League. “Geoff has been the ultimate competitor throughout his entire career,” said Roughnecks general manager Mike Board.  “He always gave 100 per cent on the floor as a Roughneck and on the field representing Team Canada.  Off the floor, Geoff has been an ambassador in the community for the Roughnecks organization and has worked extremely hard to grow…

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Stealth Notebook: Week One Loss to New England

January 11, 2016

For much of the first half of the game, the Vancouver Stealth competed with New England in a high-intensity game with a lot of back and forth between the two defenses. Goalies Eric Penney and Evan Kirk were both solid in the first quarter—Garrett Billings scored a rocket top corner on the power play, Rhys Duch found Joel McCready who slipped a pick and got over top of Evan Kirk…

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Swarm Make History in First Home Victory

January 11, 2016

A 12-7 beatdown on the Toronto Rock in front of 9,087 fans made history as the Swarm played their first ever game at the Infinite Energy Centre in Gwinnett County. Johnny Powless was unstoppable, scoring four highlight reel goals and adding an assist as first star of the game. Randy Staats had a hat trick and four assists. A five goal difference doesn’t usually mean a blowout, but the way…

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Weekend Lacrosse Thoughts: Mammoth of an Offense

January 11, 2016

Swarm Aren’t a Tease Last week I questioned the Georgia Swarm after their 16-15 loss to the Colorado Mammoth. Was that offensive output from such a young roster just a tease? Apparently, not so fast. The Swarm are just 1-1 on the season, but a 12-7 win over the Toronto Rock on Saturday night has left me more than a little impressed. Not only did the Swarm manage to put…

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NLL Three Stars: Saunders Shines in Week 2

January 11, 2016

Third Star: Randy Staats—Georgia Swarm 
 Randy Staats’ rookie campaign is off to a hot start as he totaled seven points (3 G, 4 A) in the Georgia Swarm’s impressive 12-7 win over the Toronto Rock on Saturday night. The 2016 first-round pick has 14 points and sits just one point behind the league leader Adam Jones. The former Syracuse Orange sniper has scored a hat trick in his first…

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New NLL Commish Wants to Expand the League to 16 Teams

January 11, 2016

New NLL Commisioner Nick Sakiewicz addressed the media for the first time on Thursday and announced his goal to have the league expand to 16 teams at some point in the future. The National Lacrosse League is the third-highest attended arena sport in North America, according to Sakiewicz. The challenge then will be bringing in new teams that can draw similar or better crowds while maintaining the fan base in current locations….

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