The last time the Long Island Lizards lost a game was almost a month back on May 12. The game was a 19-11 bruising at the hands of the Denver Outlaws.
The Lizards (4-2), now on a four-game winning streak and a new sense of team and confidence, will get another chance at the Outlaws (5-2) this weekend, this time in Long Island.
The stakes will be high in this game. Currently Denver and Long Island sit in third and fourth in the league standings respectively. But the top two teams, the Chesapeake Bayhawks and Boston Cannons, go head-to-head this weekend so the winner of this game could stand to really rise up the standings.
Denver has one of the most potent offenses in the league and every week someone new steps up and dominates the box score. Last week star player Brendan Mundorf scored six goals and added two assists, earning player of the week honors. Previously, it was rookies Chris Bocklet and Mark Matthews have put up huge numbers and won rookie of the week honors.
Bocklet will not dress this weekend, but Peet Poillon returned last weekend after missing some time due to injury and he has 18 points in just four games so far this season.
Long Island’s strength is its defense and it will be interesting to see how its defense defends and contains the Denver attack.
But the Lizards offense is starting to gel and the group is playing some good team ball, spreading the offense around.
Brian Langtry is sixth in the league in points with 23. Max Seibald has 11 goals and 17 points, Ryan Young has come on in the past few weeks with overall totals of nine goals and four assists and Grant Catalino also has nine goals.
Then there’re the rookies.
Matt Gibson has been the surprise of the year, leading the Lizards with nine assists, and Tommy Palasek has scored in each of his three games this season (seven total) including a team-high four last week that earned him Rookie of the Week honors.
This will be a big test for the Lizards. They have established a winning-steak that includes a win against the defending champion Boston Cannons, but three of their wins have come against expansion teams Charlotte Hounds and Ohio Machine.
Will the Lizards be able to continue their hot play against an established contender?
