We’ve just completed Week 10 of the NLL season and the playoff picture is starting to take shape in the East Division while the West is still wide open. The player awards picture is still pretty open as well with a number of people making strong bids in the first half for special recognition.
Let’s have a look at how the goaltenders are doing at the midpoint of the season.
Aaron Bold, Edmonton Rush—In spite of the 4-4 record, Aaron Bold has been having a stellar season. Bold’s 9.65 goals against average is the second-best in the NLL to this point in the season and marks the second straight year where he has posted a GAA under 10 (he had an 8.73 GAA in 2014). He’s also fourth in save percentage at .776. All this while sitting on the bench for just four minutes all season. The Rush will continue to be very tough to beat if Bold stays this hot the rest of the way.
Brandon Miller, Toronto Rock—Miller has logged the most minutes between the pipes for the Rock this year and has posted a 5-1 record along the way. His 10.38 GAA is third-best in the league and his .784 save percentage is second-best, behind teammate Nick Rose. Since joining the Rock mid-way through last season, Miller has been on fire, posting some of the best numbers of his 14-year NLL career, making him a big part of Toronto’s recent success. The knock against Miller this year would be that he has split the goaltending duties pretty evenly so far, logging 398:55 minutes in 10 games.
Nick Rose, Toronto Rock—Rose has been the best goalie in the NLL in his share of the time on the floor this year. He is 4-0 with a league-best 9.32 GAA and .811 save percentage in 206:01 minutes of playing time. Playing about a third of the Rock’s minutes to this point means Rose is a bit of a long shot unless head coach John Lovell decides to reward him with the lion’s share of the minutes the rest of the way, but the fact is he’s having a terrific year. If there were a team award for best goaltending tandem, the Rock would win it hands-down.
