In the first game since the All Star Break, the New York Lizards won their sixth game of the season 20-11 over the Florida Launch. With the win the Lizards improved their record to 6-4 and put themselves at third in the standings.
The first quarter saw the Lizards start fast as they took a 6-1 lead after the first quarter. Rob Pannell, JoJo Marasco and Tommy Palasek all had a hand in helping the Lizards to the big lead as they were a part of every goal. The lone Launch goal went to Kevin Cunningham who was assisted by Kieran McArdle.
The second quarter was much closer than the first as the Lizards outscored the Launch 4-3. Kevin Crowley and Casey Powell both had a goal and an assist in the quarter while Cunningham scored his second goal of the night. Meanwhile, the Lizards got goals from Albert Maione, Rob Pannell, Michael Kimmel and Ned Crotty.
At the half, the Lizards had a commanding 10-4 lead. The faceoff battle was heavily tilted towards the Lizards as Team USA’s Greg Gurenlian went 14-of-20 at the X and had 11 ground balls on the night before being replaced by Jerry Ragonese. Meanwhile, Chris Mattes went 14-of-34 on the night for the Launch.
The third quarter was a stalemate as both teams scored five goals in the quarter. New York opened the quarter with a 5-1 run as Matthew Gibson and Tommy Palasek scored two goals apiece and Ned Crotty notched his second goal of the night. The Launch ended the third quarter on a four-goal run with Garrett Thul, Casey Powell, Kieran McArdle and Stephen Keogh all tickling the twine.
The final frame saw New York really pull away as they outscored the Launch 5-2 in the fourth quarter thanks to goals from Pannell, Gibson, Marasco, Palasek and Kimmel.
The Lizards high-powered offense was on display all night and saw some huge individual performances. Rob Pannell continued his hot play with an eight-point performance which saw him score four goals and hand out four assists. In his second game of the season since being acquired from the Bayhawks, Michael Kimmel had two goals and three assists. Meanwhile, Tommy Palasek had five goals and JoJo Marasco is starting to heat up as he had three goals and an assist.
For the Launch, Casey Powell led the way with three goals and two assists while Stephen Keogh scored three goals and handed out an assist as well. Kieran McArdle had his first “bad” game of the season as he only had one goal and an assist after recording three or more points in every game so far since making his MLL debut.
In goal, Drew Adams had nine saves in the win before being replaced by Sean Brady. Meanwhile, Niko Amato made his MLL debut for the Launch with Brett Queener getting ready for the FIL Championships in Denver, Colorado. Amato had a very rough outing as he made just six saves while allowing 20 goals.
It should be noted that the Launch were without All-Pro defenseman Tucker Durkin and goalie Brett Queener. They were also without Jordan Hall and rookie defenseman Joe Meuer as well.
The Lizards will look to continue their winning streak against the Boston Cannons on July 19 after the FIL Championships in Denver while the Launch will look to get back on the right track as they face the Denver Outlaws after the third break in the season.
