Nobody expected it to take long, and it didn’t. Just four-and-a-half minutes into the first quarter, Jeff Teat made his mark on the National Lacrosse League. Teat was checked to the floor, held onto the ball as he got up and got around a defender before putting a jump shot into the net. “I got a great up-seal, went underneath, almost fell, but you just have to keep going,” Teat…
NLL: Fields, Nanticoke make big debuts for Bandits in win over Roughnecks
On a brisk Saturday evening in Buffalo, excitement was at an all-time high. Lacrosse was back! For the first time since March 2020, the Buffalo Bandits were taking the field. As if it couldn’t get any sweeter, this would be the first matchup between the Bandits and the Calgary Roughnecks since the 2019 NLL Championship. Bandits fans are all too familiar with how that series ended, with Calgary beating Buffalo…
NLL: Rambo’s OT goal spells victory for Wings in home opener
First and foremost, Kiel Matisz will be fine, according to Paul Day. The Philadelphia Wings head coach and general manager updated the media on Matisz’s status during a post-game press conference. Matisz, diving for the net, took a hard hit that left him curled up in the crease. He did not move for a few minutes before two trainers physically removed from the game and down the tunnel. The Wings captain…
NLL: Thunderbirds win thrilling OT game against Rush
Rhys Duch wasn’t even supposed to play, but his hat trick led the Halifax Thunderbirds to a 12-11 overtime victory against the Saskatchewan Rush in Halifax on Saturday night. The 13-year veteran said he was supposed to be scratched for the first time in his career until captain Cody Jamieson got hurt in warm-up. Duch was told 10 minutes before game time that he was playing. “We all gotta be…
2021-22 PREVIEW: Saskatchewan Rush
When COVID-19 abruptly ended the 2020 season, the Saskatchewan Rush were in first place in the West Division, just as they had been in every other season since 2014. Let that sink in for a moment: The Saskatoon Rush led their division during the regular season for five consecutive years and also won the division while in Edmonton in 2014 and 2015. Along the way, they have gone to the…
2021-22 PREVIEW: Toronto Rock
When the NLL season kicks off this weekend, the Toronto Rock will return to the floor with a new home, and some new faces. The biggest change, of course, is a return to the city of their birth. Sort of. The Ontario Raiders joined the NLL in 1998 and played one season at then Copps Coliseum before moving down the QEW in 1999 to become the Toronto Rock, playing at…
2021-22 PREVIEW: Buffalo Bandits
Well, a new season is upon us, and Buffalo Bandits fans have a lot to be excited about. First and foremost, it will be the first full season since the shortened 2019-2020 campaign. The last game the Bandits played was March 8th 2020, which was an 11-9 loss to Halifax. If you compare the roster from that game to present day, a lot is the same. However, there were many…
2021-22 PREVIEW: Calgary Roughnecks
With the National Lacrosse League season set to get underway this weekend, NLL teams released their 21-man rosters on Monday. Head coach Curt Malawsky and assistant coaches Bob McMahon and Brian Beisel had only a month of training camp to sort through two years’ worth of draft picks, trades and free agents. Competition was fierce as there were a number of open roster spots to be filled on both sides…
2021-22 PREVIEW: Philadelphia Wings
The Philadelphia Wings are set to take flight in Philadelphia this Saturday night as they open their 2021-22 season against the Panther City Lacrosse Club. In some ways, it seems like the Philadelphia Wings never left. In other ways, a lot has changed since the Wings last played a professional lacrosse game in Philadelphia. Certainly the world has changed. For Philly fans, a lot of the names remain the same.There are several…
2021-22 PREVIEW: Halifax Thunderbirds
The Halifax Thunderbirds look to pick up where they left off last season as one of the best teams in the NLL. When the 2019-20 season was abruptly suspended on March 12th, 2020 and cancelled a month later, the Thunderbirds sat on top of the North Division and third in the league with eight wins and four losses. Only the New England Black Wolves (8-3) – now Albany Firewolves –…