With a big win over the Hamilton Nationals last night, the Denver Outlaws are now tied with the Chesapeake Bayhawks for first place in the league. The Outlaws had their foot on the gas the entire game and never let up. Jordan McBride led all players with an outstanding eight points (6 g,2 a) en route to a big 21-12 win. Despite winning and being tied for first, the Outlaws were still unable to clinch a playoff spot because the Long Island Lizards, Rochester Rattlers and Boston Cannons all won their games.
Anthony Kelly won 19 of 35 face-offs for the Outlaws and added two assists for them as well. Kelly had a pretty even matchup against the Nationals’ Matt Dolente who won the other 16 face-offs.
Jordan McBride came up huge for the Outlaws with six goals and two assists. Rookie Mark Matthews continued his dominance and added five points on three goals and two assists. Matthews has been one of the more exciting rookies to watch this season, as he’s been on Sports Center’s Top 10 plays at least once already and could easily make more. Brendan Mundorf and Jeremy Sieverts each added five and four points respectively for the league’s top scoring offense.
All-star goalie Jessie Schwartzman played all 60 minutes last night and saved 12 of 24 shots on goal. Schwartzman seemed to have trouble following the ball at times, but still only allowed 12 goals; a third of which came from Kevin Crowley (4 g, 3 a).
The Nationals only had two players with more than two points during the game which translated to a lack of offense. They struggled to get a rhythm going and just couldn’t seem to find a groove. Kevin Crowley was the big scorer for Hamilton, with seven points on the game. Joe Walters added five for Hamilton with a hat-trick and two assists.
Scott Rodgers played the whole game for Hamilton, but struggled against the Outlaws’ shooters. Rodgers stopped just 8 of 27 shots on the night partly because his defense struggled to guard the shifty Outlaws.
With a 3-9 record, the Nationals have been denied a play-off spot and now are looking forward to the upcoming draft. For the Outlaws, they still need to win at least one of their last two games. It looked as though they might have a guaranteed spot until all three other potential play-off teams won yesterday. With just two games left in the regular season, it’s still anyone’s guess as to who we will see playing at Championship Weekend.
