Boston 11 @ Denver 25
Last week’s action kicked off with Denver’s Fourth of July game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium. The Outlaws wasted no time as they established a 6-3 lead at the end of the first quarter. Denver increased the lead to 11-4 in the second as Boston’s offense sputtered and only tallied one goal. The onslaught continued after the half as the Outlaws extended the lead 18-7 in the third. Despite scoring four goals in the third and fourth quarter, Boston failed to narrow Denver’s lead.
Jack Kelly and Dillon Ward combined for 14 saves and the win as Boston’s Tyler Fiorito and Nicholas Marrocco did their best to stem the tide of Denver’s offense by combining for 13 saves, but still took the loss. Rookie phenom Chris Cloutier led Denver with nine points (6G/3A). Cloutier earned rookie of the week honors for his performance while his teammate Matt Kavanagh won offensive player of the week honors. Continuing to pay off for the Cannons after the trade, Mark Cockerton led Boston with six goals. Max Adler won the battle at the X by going 28-39.
Up Next: Denver hosts the league-leading Dallas Rattlers while Boston travels to New York with every intention of upsetting the Lizards at home.
Charlotte 9 @ Dallas 14
Dallas showed why the Rattlers are the top of the league as they handled the Hounds and continued to push upstart Charlotte in the wrong direction. Dallas got out to an early 3-1 lead at the end of the first. Charlotte kept it close as they only trailed 7-3 at halftime. The Rattlers continued to lead the snake bitten Hounds 10-7 going into the fourth quarter. The Hounds lost their bite in the fourth as Dallas pulled away and rode their lead to a win as they qualified for the playoffs.
John Galloway made 10 saves in the win as Charlie Cipriano racked up 14 saves and took the loss. Ben Reeves led Dallas with four points (1G/3A). Joel White won defensive player of the week honors with seven groundballs and two caused turnovers. Ryan Brown led the Hounds with three goals. Drew Simoneau continued his dominance at the X by going to 15-26. The Rattlers qualified for the playoffs while the Hounds, still in fourth place, now face a New York team only half a game behind them.
Up Next: Dallas travels to a very successful Denver team while Charlotte faces a very hot Chesapeake squad determined to regain their championship form.
Ohio 13 @ Florida 11
Ohio ended their losing streak at the expense of the Florida Launch. The Machine took an early 5-3 lead in the first but Florida tied the score 7-7 at halftime. Ohio retook the lead 10-9 at the end of the third. Florida managed only two goals in the fourth as Ohio took the win. One of the highlights of the game had to be the battle between Justin Guterding and Tucker Durkin as they went toe-to-toe.
Scott Rodgers made 16 saves and Kyle Bernlohr chipped in two in the Ohio victory while Austin Kaut turned in another outstanding 18 saves as he took the loss. Frank Brown led Ohio with five points (3G/2A). Dylan Molloy led Florida with five points (4G/1A). Kenny Massa and Ben Williams battled to an even 13-26 each at the X.
Up Next: Ohio hosts Atlanta while Florida gets the week off to prepare for a rematch with the Machine.
New York 13 @ Chesapeake 16
Chesapeake looks every bit the team that won five championships a they achieved a 7-5 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Bayhawks increased their lead to 11-8 at halftime. Scoring slowed in the third quarter with only three goals as Chesapeake continued to lead 13-9 going into the fourth. New York attempted a comeback in the final quarter, but failed to narrow the lead Chesapeake built.
Niko Amato made 12 saves in the win while Drew Adams made an uncharacteristically low eight. Colin Heacock led Chesapeake with four points (3G/1A). Rob Pannell (3G/2A) and Will Manny (4G/1A) led New York with five points each. Tom Kelly went 20-31 on faceoffs as he dominated the X for the Lizards.
Up Next: Chesapeake looks to knock off a visiting Charlotte team to increase the distance between them and the upstart Hounds while New York hosts Boston.
This past week sets up some interesting scenarios as first place Dallas squares off with third place Denver. Dallas has already secured their playoff spot so the pressure is on Denver to win and keep Charlotte and New York at bay. Speaking of, Chesapeake has the opportunity to put the pressure on Charlotte and keep the Hounds in the loss column while New York hosts a 3-8 Boston team that may be playing neck and neck with Ohio for the first pick in next year’s draft. Charlotte possess a talented roster that will not go gently into the night while Boston’s rivalry with New York has led to interesting games and outcomes in the past. Florida and Atlanta are trending the wrong direction and need to run the table for any chance at getting into the playoffs. This weekend shall make or break some team’s playoff ambitions.
