The New England Black Wolves pre season could have gone better. The first year team didn’t win a game, despite a close contest with Buffalo that ended with their 10-9 loss. As a new team, they are expected to have their struggles, and the young squad is certainly open to improvements.
New England has 12 new players from last season when they moved from Philadelphia. They are also one of the youngest teams in he league, with rookies Mark Cockerton and Quinn Powless making the team and almost no doubt Matt Crough will have a few appearances on the active roster.
Ryan Hotaling, Jesse Fehr, and Brian Megill did not play in an NLL game last season. The last time Hotaling was a regular was with the 2011 Boston Blazers.
Giving up 18 goals in their final game against Toronto, the Black Woles defense looks like it has some holes. Mike McNamara and Brett Manney are the eldest statements on the back door. Mike Manley is also looking for a breakout season, and they might need it in their American-primary defense.
On offense, New England has an attack unit that might falter at times. Kevin Crowley is now the man running the entire unit, but he has to shoot to be effective. In pre season he tended to focus more on passing.
Brett Bucktooth is a vetreran who comes in after a few solid seasons in Vancouver, and Kyle Buchanan saw a breakout season with Philadelphia last year. Still, the depth falters after those three, with Pat Saunders and Kevin Buchanan the only other viable offensive attackers other than potentially the rookies.
The goaltending is interesting with Evan Kirk starting and former Mammoth goalie Tye Belanger as the backup. Kirk looked weak in the last game against Toronto, while Belanger had one of his better games. It’s expected that it is Kirk’s job to lose, though Belanger should see plenty of playing time.
This season will be New England’s first, so that will be interesting in itself. How well they do as a new team? Remains to be seen.
