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…
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…
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…
Today the Philadelphia Wings make their return after a four year absence. The last time the sounds of “Sucks”, “It’s All Your Fault”, “W-I-N-G-S. WINGS” echoed in the Wells Fargo Center was April 26, 2014 in a 13-12 loss to the Colorado Mammoth. That season they were 6-12 (2-7) at home. This new brand of Wings Lacrosse will bring players like Kiel Matisz, Brett Hickey, Vaughn Harris, Jordan Hall, Josh…
The Rochester Knighthawks were pretty pleased with their 2018 season, coming out of a scarily tight Eastern Division in second place before advancing to the NLL Finals where they fell in three games to the Rush. Despite the good finish, it was a season-long fight with every other team in the East, a fight which has now gotten bigger with the addition of the Philadelphia Wings. The ‘Hawks are entering…
On paper, it’s hard not to like the 2018/2019 edition of the Calgary Roughnecks. General Manager Mike Board and Head Coach Curt Malawsky have done a solid job putting together and developing an exciting, competitive lacrosse team. Since laying the groundwork in 2015 with draft picks Wes Berg, Christian Del Bianco and Tyson Bell, the Roughnecks have continued to build their roster with young, athletic talent. If the last half…