MLL Game Picks: Week Two

Posted By on May 2, 2014

It’s week two of the Major League Lacrosse season and our staff has picks for this week’s games; consensus picks include Boston (all votes), Florida (four of six), New York (four of six) and Ohio and Denver tied with three picks each.

Name Cannons vs Rattlers Hounds vs Launch Lizards vs Bayhawks Machine vs Outlaws
Marisa Ingemi Cannons Launch Bayhawks Machine
Ian Neadle Cannons Hounds Lizards Outlaws
Brendan Staudt Cannons Launch Lizards Machine
Kyle Fletcher Cannons Hounds Lizards Outlaws
Di Miller Cannons Launch Bayhawks Outlaws
Andrew Goldberg Cannons Launch Lizards Machine
Why These Picks?
Ian Neadle:  1) Cannons—Let’s keep it real, Boston has become another lacrosse hub for great talent and big names. The Cannons play with more intensity than the Rattlers and will outplay them for sure.
2) Lizards—The offense dominates as much as advertised. Rob Pannell is already on fire. It should be a close game as both teams have the talent, ability and momentum early on in 2014.3) Hounds—The Hounds are playing like superstars while the Launch are still struggling to find their identity in their new home. Psychological momentum in favor on Hounds.4) Outlaws—Don’t let one Ohio performance trick you. The Machine seem to be a much better team in 2014 but the Outlaws are always consistent and will hold down Ohio.

Di Miller: With one week in the books, the MLL is set for round two.  On Friday May 2, the Boston Cannons head to Rochester to take on the Rattlers.  Both teams played quality lacrosse in the first week tallying wins, with each team scoring 15 goals.  Leaders for Boston were Kevin Buchanan with seven goals, and the current league leader.  Justin Turri and Daniel Hardy led the offense for the Rattlers.  Although the game is in Rochester, I see the Cannons with the victory.

On Saturday May 3, two games are on the schedule.

The New York Lizards versus the 2013 MLL Champion Chesapeake Bayhawks.  Last week the Lizards played a great game against the Rattlers, with Rob Pannell scoring six goals.  Brendan Mundorf, ex-Denver Outlaw, now a member of the Bayhawks, had six points in their game against the Cannons, but the offense wasn’t clicking and they only scored nine goals.  If Chesapeake can get their offense going, the reigning champions should come away with the victory.  I’m going with Chesapeake to win.

The second game on May 3, the Charlotte Hounds will travel to Florida to play the Launch.  Although the Launch came out on the losing end against the Outlaws, Adam Fullerton was strong in net after Brett Queener left the game at half-time with an injury.  The Hounds had three players each scoring two goals last weekend against the Machine-Matt White; Ryan Young; and Joe Cummings.  The Hounds needs to watch out for Casey Powell and Josh Amidon who were the team leaders in scoring against the Outlaws.  Both teams want their first win of the season, and Florida wants their first victory as the newest team to the MLL.  The Launch clicked in the second half against the Outlaws and I see them coming away with the victory.

The final game of the weekend takes place on Sunday May 4, when the Denver Outlaws host the Ohio Machine.  Both teams were victorious in their season openers, but the Outlaws have Chris Bocklet, the 2013 Top Scorer; Jesse Schwartzman, the 2013 Warrior Goalie of the Year; Less Zink, 2013 Defensive Player of the Year; and Drew Snider, 2013 Most Improved Player of the Year.  The Machine have Kyle Harrison, who was named MVP in last week’s contest against the Hounds; Marcus Holman; and Peter Baum.  Who will win this contest?  The Outlaws attack line is one of the strongest in the league, and with Jesse Schwartzman in net, Denver is definitely the better of the two teams.  I see Denver walking away with the victory.

Brendan Staudt: Ohio will take down the Outlaws because they have a new spark in them. The addition of Baum and Harrison at the midfield gave them some extra fire power that they didn’t have last year. It’ll be interesting as well to see if Stanwick and Schuss join the Machine this weekend.

Florida got the stuffing beat out of them in the first half of their game against Denver, however I think they have proven themselves when they only let up three goals in the second half of the game. Their defense finally got settled in and their offense will need some tweeks but looked decent with Powell at the helm.

New York and Chesapeake will be a battle. Chesapeake was somehow torn apart by Boston in their 15-8 loss and New York has a ton of fire power that the Bayhawks may not be able to handle. However, the Lizards defense still has a lot of work to do if they expect to stay in the game. If Ned Crotty joins the Lizards this weekend, that will not be good for Chesapeake.

Andrew Goldberg: Ohio over Denver- I don’t like how Denver finished their game against Florida. After leading 11-1 at the half, Denver was shut out in the third quarter and was outscored 9-3 in the second half. Ohio is playing with some new energy with all the additions and they beat a Hounds team that a lot of people have as the second best team. Also I’m buying stock on Scott Rodgers! 

Florida over Hounds- Most of this goes towards the goalie situation in Charlotte. Basset played well after taking over for Gabel but is Ghitelman coming back this week? Plus, the offense didn’t look good, especially Matt Danowski who only had one point. On the flip side, I like Florida’s momentum heading into the game and Casey Powell is reminding everyone why he is one of the best to ever playthe game.
Boston over Rattlers- Was Brodie Merrill the only difference for this team? Seemed like it for a defense that was bad last season. Burke had a great first game and Paul Rabil was his usual self. Will Manny and Kevin Buchanon also stepped up and i expect to see the same. I expect Merrill to shut down Justin Turri, the only offensive threat on the team and the Cannons to win a close one.
Lizards over Bayhawks- This game will light up the scoreboard. THe Lizards have a great goalie in Drew Adams but they couldn’t keep a Rattlers offense that isn’t too talented at bay. That concerns me especially with a deeper roster on the opposition’s side in the Bayhawks. On the other hand, the Bayhawks offense didn’t look good against the Cannons without Drew Westervelt and Joe Walters. Mundorf, had six points but no one else did much to contribute. Also what happened to Kip Turner? Is he hurt? If he is out, the Lizards will win this one running away.