Only five teams are in action this week with three games, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of interesting stories to look at this week in the NLL.
Number Five- Chris White Returns
The Toronto Rock made a few defensive moves this week as Chris White will be activated off of the injured reserve to play in his first NLL game of 2014. The Rock demoted Dustin Dunn and Mike Lum-Walker to make room for White. Toronto plays the Minnesota Swarm tomorrow night.
Number Four- Swarm Need A Win
Minnesota has two cracks at a win this week; at Toronto and at Philadelphia. The Swarm are 1-6 for the worst record in the league, while Toronto is undefeated at home. In good news for Minnesota, Tyler Haas is expected to be back this weekend. However, both games will be tough. Philadelphia is also desperate to get back on track Sunday, and with it as a 4pm game and the travel, Minnesota has their work cut out for them.
Number Three- Goaltending Key in 2014
This year the three best goaltenders with goals against average are Matt Vinc (Rochester), Anthony Cosmo (Buffalo) and Aaron Bold (Edmonton). Only Vinc is in action for this week, but those three goalies play on the top three teams in the league right now. Goaltending, like always, will be key this week.
Number Two- Numbers Watch
Mike Accursi needs one point this week to move into third all time in Knighthawks scoring. Jordan MacIntosh needs 24 loose balls to become the Swarm’s all time leader. Callum Crawford needs one assist to get to his 300th. Andrew Suitor needs one forced turnover to be the first Swarm player to ever reach 50.
Number One- Kirk and Miller
This week on the NLL conference call it was stated that Evan Kirk would be the man in net as the starter, but several times now since Brandon Miller’s return he’s been placed back in the crease. Kirk is having a solid season but it’ll be interesting to watch once again how short the leash is for Kirk, and if Miller is an impact in week nine.
