At the end of last season, head coach Tim Soudan and the Rochester Rattlers found themselves on the outside looking in of a playoff spot, thanks to a loss to the Charlotte Hounds in the last game of the season. The Rattlers finished the season 7-7 and just one loss behind the Long Island Lizards for the final playoff spot. Rochester finished second to last in the league in goals scored with 157 and fifth in the league in goals allowed with 171. In an effort to bring some scoring talent to the attack corps, Rochester traded away second-year middie Kevin Drew, along with some draft picks for Hounds attackman Billy Bitter. However, Bitter has since decided to not sign with Rochester and focus on other priorities. The Rattlers will start the 2013 season on April 27 at home against the defending champion Chesapeake Bayhawks.
The Rattlers’ offense was led by veteran middie Matt Striebel last year, who scored 14 goals (eight 2-pointers) and dished out 10 assists for a total of 32 points. Despite missing two games, attackman Ned Crotty finished just one point behind Striebel, with 31 on 15 goals and 16 helpers. Three other players scored over twenty points for Rochester; Jordan MacIntosh (27pts, 23g, 4a), Steven Boyle (27pts, 18g, 9a) and Kevin Leveille (22pts, 19g, 3a). The loss of Bitter will hurt the offense, as he was going to be a huge part of the corps that needed a little extra boost. However, fortunately for the Rattlers, they have multiple guys they picked up in the Collegiate Draft that will help out once their respective teams are finished. Guys like Johns Hopkins’ Zach Palmer and John Ranagan will be big offensive helpers, as well as Mount St. Mary’s Brett Schmidt (not to be confused with Hounds defenseman Brett Schmidt).
Rochester returns a stacked defense- and they look to show their talent better this year. All-star defenseman Joel White returns to lead the Rattlers again. Last year White tallied a team high 59 groundballs, as well as 11 points on 4 goals and 7 assists. Steve DeNapoli finished second in groundballs on the team with 43 and also added 11 goals (including one 2-pointer) and dished four assists. Fellow former-Duke teammates Mike Manley and Tom Montelli were also big forces on defense, scooping up 35 and 27 groundballs respectively. In goal for the Rattlers, All-star John Galloway returns and hopes to continue where he left off- on a hot streak. Galloway had a great season, and really came on strong in the last few games. Galloway finished fifth of 12 actives goalies in goals against per game, allowing just 12.71. He also finished fifth in saves and save percentage, with 172 saves and a 52.4% save rate.
After hosting Chesapeake in the opening week, the Rattlers will face the Hounds in back-to-back weeks; one at home and one away. On June 22, Rochester will play the Hamilton Nationals in a special game taking place in Boca Raton, Florida, the site of last year’s All-Star game. The league is looking for places to expand for the 2014 season, and Florida is one of those sites being looked at. In a statement about the game, Commissioner David Gross had this to say; “We had a very successful All Star Game at Geo Group Stadium in 2012…We wanted to return to Boca Raton with a regular season game to showcase some of the best MLL has to offer as we contemplate future expansion.” The Rattlers will have it tough in the final weeks, as they play three consecutive road games to close out the season. Coach Soudan, former Rookie of the Year Ned Crotty, and the rest of the Rochester Rattlers organization can’t wait to get back on the field and make a push for the 2013 Championship Weekend in Philadelphia, PA.
