Sunday saw a rematch of the 2014 MLL championship game when the Denver Outlaws visited the Rochester Rattlers. What a difference a year makes though. The Rattlers handed the Outlaws their second defeat of the season by a score of 15-12. Attackman Jordan Wolf tallied a hat trick for the Rattlers, and five other players had at least two goals for Rochester. Mike Bocklet and Greg Melaugh led the Outlaws scoring charge with 4 and 3 goals, respectively.
Rochester continued to get the band back together against Denver. The score sheet suggests that this game was a shootout, but the Rattlers were in control for most of the game. In general, Rochester’s offense was too fast for Denver’s defense. The Outlaws opted for a quick strike offensive approach, which, on a day when Anthony Kelly went 14-for-31 at the X might not have been the best approach. Rochester appeared to dominate possession time and, in turn, the scoreboard.
Trailing 8-5 going into the half, Denver battled back with three straight goals in the third to tie the game. Denver’s scoring dried up in the second, with only Greg Melaugh potting one for Denver in that frame.
Rochester matched Denver’s run with three of their own that spanned the end of the third and start of the fourth quarter. Including a strike from Dave Lawson with just nine seconds left in the third. Lawson shook, rattled, and rolled through most of the Denver defense, and shot what looked like a physics-defying goal. Both teams revived the scoring pace of the first quarter in the final frame, more or less trading goals.
Notes:
- Points to the Rattlers for jamming “Pick Up The Pieces” after Mike Bocklet scored his first goal.
- Rochester’s faceoff tandem of John Ortolani (10-15) and Mike Poppleton (7-16) had a great day for their unit against one of the best in the game, Anthony Kelly.
- What was up with Mark Cockerton’s uniform? Didn’t the Rattlers know he was playing? They didn’t have an extra 20 minutes to sew the name on the back before the game? For such a major cog in the offense that just seemed a bit weird.
- Justin Turri scored his first two goals of the season for Rochester; a good sign for the Rattlers.
- The commentators were making light of the size difference between John Ranagan who was guarding Pat Harbeson. If you’ve seen the film Twins, you’ll have an idea for how this matchup looked.
- Mike Bocklet and Greg Melaugh continue to make their case for remaining on the active roster. Bocklet scored three of his four in the fourth quarter to lead Denver’s comeback attempt. For the Eldest Bocklet, it’s not just about the goals he scores as he’s clearly a spark for this Outlaws team. His fourth goal was just inside the 2 point arc, too.
- Denver should get back a number of NLL players after the Mammoth were knocked out of the playoffs on Saturday night.
- Jordan Wolf’s third goal was a thing of beauty; a jump shot with a Denver defender’s stick all up in his arms and he still connected.
- Don’t let the score fool you, Jesse Schwartzman played a great game. He just wasn’t getting the help he needed from his defense.
- 23 of Denver’s 30 shots were on goal, with 12 going in. That’s some ridiculous offensive shooting efficiency.
