Three teams are still undefeated in MLL so far this season while two teams are yet to get into the win column. What is working for some teams and not for others? We rank the best teams to the worst.
1. Chesapeake Bayhawks
The Bayhawks are off to the start that is expected from a defending champion. They have the second best goals against in the league after a terrific start from their goaltender Kip Turner, and their wins over New York and Ohio have been in dominant fashion. This comes with John Grant Jr playing in just one game and Casey Powell returning in the near future.
2. Denver Outlaws
Since the Outlaws have come into existence, they have the best regular season record in the league. They are a great regular season team again with a 3-0 start with decisive wins over Charlotte, Ohio and Boston. Drew Snider and Chris Bocklet have led the team as the Outlaws lead the league with 47 goals scored.
3. Hamilton Nationals
Hamilton is the most grateful for NLL season ending, as they will get Cody Jamieson and Stephen Keogh back, along with Rhys Duch and Kyle Rubisch should be back too. Hamilton defeated Boston on the road and then topped the Lizards to start the season 2-0, just two less than their win total last season.
4. Charlotte Hounds
Charlotte’s roster is a lot different than last season, and that has been met with mixed results. They have home losses against Denver and Rochester but also won in Rochester. Ryan Young scored seven goals last week and is becoming a reliable player for them, and they get Matt Sawyer in the lineup this week.
5. Rochester Rattlers
This is leading up to be a weird season for Rochester. They played a “home” game in Florida, lost to Charlotte at home in Rochester and then defeated Charlotte on the road. They are 1-2, and led by the same cast as expected; Jordan Levielle, Ned Crotty, Jordan MacIntosh and now Rob Rotanz.
6. New York Lizards
Mark Matthews has only played in one game, but overall the Lizards have to be a disappointment so far. They are 1-2 and their only win coming against the 0-3 Boston Cannons with bad losses to Chesapeake and Hamilton. Tommy Palasek leads the team with six points and it goes down hill from there, with five from Matt Gibson in one game and four from Matthews in one game.
7. Ohio Machine
No one really expected Ohio to go anywhere this season, but reality is they are 0-2. They don’t have a single two point goal and have just 13 total goals on the season. Peter Baum should be coming in any day now, luckily for them, but they also need to decide who their man in net is.
8. Boston Cannons
Boston now has all of their MLL players back with Mitch Belisle returning last week. However, they remain 0-3 and their goaltender Jordan Burke is injured. It doesn’t get any easier against Chesapeake this week.
