The New York Lizards showed no mercy to the newly-established Florida Launch as the Lizards dominated all the way to a 18-11 victory. Leading the way for the Lizard was Rob Pannell and Tommy Palasek with five goals each.
The Lizards were sporting some new pink alternative uniforms that will be autographed and auctioned off and all proceedings will go the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Certainly a great way to raise money for a good cause.
The Lizards offense was spread out and that strategy worked well enough to notch them the win. The Launch’s goalie was pulled in the first period after suffering an ankle injury, and while the Lizards weren’t quick to take advantage of the opportunity at first, they were able to get rolling at the end of the second period and never stopped. Pannell, along with his five goals, was credited with two assists to round out an impressive seven-point game. Also putting the ball in the net five times was Palasek. Matt Gibson got a hat-trick, Ned Crotty netted two goals, and JoJo Marasco and Kevin Unterstein each put a tally in their goal column to round out the explosive Lizards offense.
Greg Gurenlian is a MLL all-star face-off guy, and in this game, he proved he was well-deserving of the honor. Just like against the Chesapeake Bayhawks, Gurenlian won 27 of 31 face-offs. No doubt this performance will reward him the FOAthlete of the Week for the fifth time this season. Also playing a key role in the Lizards’ victory was Drew Adams. Adams stopped 16 of the 27 shots the Launch took against him.
With this win, the Lizards’ improve to 8-0, looking to remain undefeated as the second team to achieve perfection; the first was the Denver Outlaws in 2013, who would lose in the semi-finals against the Charlotte Hounds. Adams, Gurenlian, Joe Fletcher, Kyle Hartzell, Marasco, Rabil, and Pannell will be representing the Lizards next Saturday, June 13th, in the MLL All-Star game in Houston, TX before they return to face the Charlotte Hounds on June 20th and go for the 100th victory as a franchise.
