In the first game of the 2013 season for Major League Lacrosse, the Denver Outlaws traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina to take on the home team Hounds. The game was certainly exciting offensively, as the teams combined for a total of 37 points, with the final score being 21-16 Outlaws over Hounds. Matt Danowski led all players with 7 points (5g, 2a), but was not able to carry the Hounds to a victory this time. Chris Bocklet (5g) and Jeremy Sieverts (3g, 1 2-pointer, 1a) led the Outlaws with 5 points each.
Both teams were missing players due to NLL commitments as well as other things, but perhaps the biggest piece missing for the Hounds was at the face-off X. Geoff Snider is playing in the NLL playoffs currently and is not available for Charlotte just yet. The Hounds definitely struggled at the face-off X last season, and in his one appearance Snider seemed to almost completely alleviate that issue. Charlotte struggled on groundballs which led to fewer offensive possessions. Newcomers Ryan Young and Peet Poillon both contributed for the team, combining for three goals and two assists. Second year player Eric Lusby struggled in his third MLL game, as he was unable to find the back of the net, but did throw in an assist. Josh Amidon (2g, 1a) and fellow Syracuse alum Jovan Miller (1g, 1a) also contributed to the Hounds. The Hounds defense seemed to struggle without point-man Ryan Flanagan; which led to a bad night in goal for Mark Manos. Manos stopped 42% of the shots he faced, but had to face a lot of open and crease shots, which are hard to stop in this league.
For the Outlaws, face-off specialist Anthony Kelly controlled the tempo and won 19 of the 29 face-offs he took against the Hounds’ Tim Fallon. Kelly was able to get the ball to his offense, and from there they were able to score 21 goals. In their first game against their former team, the Hounds, Jeremy Boltus (1g, 2a) and Justin Turri (2g, 2a) both were huge helps for the Denver squad. Second year middie Will Mangan added a hat-trick, as did fellow middie Terry Kimener. The Denver defense held strong after looking confused and lost for most of the first quarter. Jesse Schwartzman had a bad night in goal, stopping just 40% of his shots, which is very unusual for the typically very sound goalie. But the defense was able to force turnovers and cause missed shots which led to transitions and extra possessions.
Next for the Hounds, they travel to take on the Rochester Rattlers in the first of a back-to-back weekend series for the teams. Rochester held tight with the defending champion Chesapeake Bayhawks, but ended up losing the game 17-14. For the Denver Outlaws, their next game will take place in Ohio against the Machine, who did not play this weekend.
