Major League Lacrosse is now two weeks in and we have a pretty good idea about which teams look good. Below we rank the best teams so far.
1. Denver Outlaws
The Outlaws sit at the top of the league at 2-0 and they lead the league with 33 goals on the season. They have two road wins on the season against Charlotte and Ohio, and they face a slumping Boston on the road again this week. Chris Bocklet and Jeremy Sieverts are leading them in points while Brendan Mundorf has come back fully healthy after his ankle injury. Denver could be dangerous yet again.
2. Chesapeake Bayhawks
Chesapeake is the defending champions, so expectations were high going into 2013. They have won both of their games, starting with Rochester and then New York. The most impressive thing so far is how goaltender Kip Turner could hold a strong scoring Lizards team to just three goals. This week they host 0-1 Ohio.
3. New York Lizards
The Lizards are 1-1 with one really good win and one really bad loss. They pretty much dismantled the Cannons in their first game but could barely score against Chesapeake. Which New York team will show up this week in Hamilton?
4. Hamilton Nationals
The Nationals one game might have been a case of Boston playing terrible, but Nationals fans have to be encouraged by their first game of the season. Kevin Crowley posted seven points while Brett Queener played like the starter they want him to be. Plus, getting road wins is always good.
5. Charlotte Hounds
The Hounds opened their season with a home loss to the Outlaws but then went on the road to destroy a Rochester team that is struggling. This week, they return home but face that same 0-2 Rattlers squad. Matt Danowski is back in the lineup, making them more dangerous than they were in their first win.
6. Ohio Machine
Ohio opened with a home loss to the 2-0 Outlaws, so the Machine are one of three teams to not win a game yet. The big question is who is the goaltender? Scott Rodgers didn’t play but instead they went with Stefan Schroder. This week they have to play against the defending champions on the road.
7. Rochester Rattlers
The Rattlers are probably the most affected by players playing in the NLL, other than Hamilton. They have had two really bad losses and now have to go back on the road for their first “official” road contest.
8. Boston Cannons
What’s wrong with the Cannons? They play host to the 2-0 Outlaws lacking confidence and without their goaltender Jordan Burke. And Matt Poskay has just two points on the season. Something has to give.
