The Minnesota Swarm celebrate their home opener tonight a night after a heart breaking loss to the Toronto Rock. They welcome in the Washington Stealth who have surprised many with their 3-1 start.
The Swarm, who are now 0-2, are looking to finally get one in the win column after dropping their first two games by only one goal. Led by Ryan Benesch, the young squad has had its growing pains when it comes to giving up early leads. However they have gotten good outings offensively from two of their top selections, Shayne Jackson and Kiel Matisz. Although Matisz didn’t score in their first game in Buffalo, he had a hat trick as well as two assists last night in Toronto.
Washington has won every game that starting goalie Tyler Richards has played in, only losing to Edmonton last week when he was out due to injury. However the Stealth are coming off of a game last night against the Rush, so they could get the worst of the travel pains between the two teams.
The story so far this season for Washington has been Cliff Smith, who has had a breakout year so far with 21 points. He is third in the league in points and fifth in the league in assists. Bob Snider has also had a good start, not surprisingly leading the league in face-offs and loose balls.
The game kicks off at 8:00 pm eastern from the Xcel Energy Center in Minnesota. It can be watched live through the Lacrosse Network on Youtube. Remember to check back on InLacroseWeTrust for the reactions from tonight’s showdown.
