It’s already the fifth week of the 2014 National Lacrosse League season, and stories are popping up in every direction. We picked five stories for this week for you to keep an eye on during the action. Number Five—Two Fast Moving Objects The Rochester Knighthawks are 3-0 and have dominated at all aspects of the game. However, they face their long time rival Buffalo Bandits who have won three straight…
As we start Week 5 of the NLL season, certain players are starting to make their mark early for the season ending awards. Your normal candidates will be mentioned for MVP and in this case Offensive Player of the Year. John Grant Jr., Mark Matthews, Shawn Evans, Garrett Billings. But here are a few names that are making an early run and can be serious candidates Adam Jones—Colorado Mammoth. Although…
With both teams riding a three game win streak, the Buffalo Bandits (3-1) will host the undefeated back-to-back NLL champion Rochester Knighthawks (3-0) at the First Niagara Center Saturday night at 7:30 pm for the first of four “Thruway Rivalry” matchups. What makes this game that much more special is the fact that the team that emerges victorious will take sole possession of first place in the Eastern Division. One…
Rookie defenseman John Ranagan played his college lacrosse at John Hopkins University and was invited to Wings rookie/free agent camp in November. He made it through the camp and beat out some veterans to make the reduced 20 man active roster. Ranagan was one of three rookie defensemen to make the team (Brian Megill & Mike Poppleton) and he is making his impact known. Ranagan stands at 6’3″ and weighs…
The Colorado Mammoth are set to take on the Calgary Roughnecks in Calgary at the Scotiabank Saddledome tonight. This will be the second meeting of the two teams within 15 days. Both games have been played in Calgary and the Mammoth are looking for their second win of the season and are hoping to come out victorious against the Rougnecks who currently sit in second place in the NLL West…
The Philadelphia Wings, of the National Lacrosse League (NLL), have agreed to terms with forward Roger Vyse on a one-year agreement for the 2014 season. To make room for Vyse on the active 20-man roster, the Wings placed forward Kevin Ross on the 21-day injured reserve with an undisclosed injury. Ross has appeared in four games this season contributing 11 points (five goals, six assists) and collecting 23 loose balls….
The Minnesota Swarm and Edmonton Rush announced that they have swapped Minnesota’s 2014 fourth round draft pick for Rush left-handed forward Dane Stevens. According to the Swarm website the trade is still pending league approval. Stevens has yet to play a game for the Rush due to a combination of family and work commitments and even though Head Coach Derek Keenan was excited to see him as part of his offence this season, the…
Alex Urquhart The Minnesota Swarm have gotten off to a very, very, slow start this season. The team is 1-3 on the season and averaged only 7.5 goals per game through the first four games. Although the Swarm are not scoring goals they are, for the most part, sticking with most teams. They have only given up 41 goals this year, and 15 of them were in Sunday’s matinee match…
Rather than looking at follower demographics and statistics, I will analyze the successes/failures of the league through a cultural and historical perspective. NLL Commissioner George Daniel stated the league will attempt new market expansion in the near future, once current teams are strongly established; according to an interview found on Buzzfeed. The current teams are strong and competitive, hosting an array of athletes. Lacrosse is different from other sports in…
Today the Vancouver Stealth signed forward Justin Pychal back to their roster after they cut Josh Hawkins. Hawkins made his NLL debut for the Stealth on Saturday against the Colorado Mammoth, where he played in the place of injured defenseman Kyle Sorensen. Pychal was a rookie for the Stealth last season. Vancouver might also have to look for more defense help as Jeff Moleski suffered an injury as well on…