The Toronto Rock and Buffalo Bandits played a classic to open their season series on Friday night at Keybank Center in Buffalo with the Rock prevailing 17-12. A good crowd of 10,370 was on hand for the Bandits’ home opener and the first of three games the rivals will play against each other this season. Their first meeting was a high energy, high scoring affair that saw all the expected…
Embarking on their highly anticipated 2018/19 season, the Toronto Rock find themselves with new expectations and new faces. Coming off a modest 2017/18 season the Rock are looking to assert their dominance in the Eastern Division once again. This year, that may come as a challenge as the club lost some key players in the NLL expansion draft including 40-point contributor Brett Hickey. Hickey was a non-argumentative piece that led…
Everyone loves the Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol. It is only fitting that the Philadelphia Wings started playing again in December as their story parallels that of Dickens’ classic tale, a story that teaches the importance of learning from our past, preparing for our future and appreciating our present. Anyone who followed the former Philadelphia Wings knows who the Ebenezer Scrooge in their history is so there is no…
Perhaps the hottest new teams in the NLL, the San Diego Seals have made a serious splash in the lacrosse world through many facets. So much so, it seems as if lacrosse is here to stay in California this time. Billionaire owner Joseph Tsai has done a great job of attracting the right people to be involved with his club. A former Yale Bulldog himself, he has more than an…
Every team sport has a similar system. To the amateur fan, it’s just the neutral play, where no one quite has the advantage. But people that understand the game acknowledge that this is one of the most crucial areas of lacrosse. I’m talking about the transition game. But why is transitional play so crucial in box lacrosse? What makes transition players so critical to a team’s long-term success? What even makes…
After a four year hiatus, the Philadelphia Wings took the floor once again at Wells Fargo Center to put on a show for 11,023 rowdy fans. Unfortunately, after 60 hard-fought minutes, the visiting Buffalo Bandits ruined the party by edging the Wings 17-15. Prior to the opening faceoff five banners were raised to the rafters. The numbers of Tom “Hollywood” Marachek (42), Jake Bergey (66) and Dallas Eliuk (35) took their…
What does a franchise do to top winning its third championship in four years? That’s the question for the Saskatchewan Rush going into this season. General Manager/Head Coach Derek Keenan has continued to make moves designed to keep the Rush at the top of the standings for this year and beyond. Offseason recap Keenan has always been a defence-first guy and the offseason moves made by the Rush continued to…
The Georgia Swarm opened up their season at home against the visiting New England Black Wolves on Saturday night. Georgia would use some big offensive runs to help them secure a 16-12 win to get the season started. Georgia got the party started at 5:15 as Shayne Jackson gave them a 1-0 lead. On their very next possession Chad Tutton gave them a 2-0 lead over the Black Wolves. Tyler…
Coming in is as the heavy underdog and down by five in the fourth quarter, the Vancouver Warriors put their hardhats on and went to work on NLL opening night. When the dust settled, it was veteran captain Matt Beers scoring four minutes into overtime to complete the improbable comeback and push the Warriors over the Roughnecks by a score of 14-13. “I was so gassed. I had played three…
Teams in the National Lacrosse League have spent the offseason getting ready for the upcoming season, and come Saturday, December 15th, fans will get chance to see how much that hard work pays off. No team has had to work harder than the Buffalo Bandits. Coming off a disappointing 8-10 record last season, the Bandits needed to improve their roster. For them, it meant getting faster and stronger in between…