Minnesota held their first full camp session on Saturday, and it was a rather eventful day for them. They saw some injuries and are one of just two teams to play in a game. Who stood out, who needs to do better, and who is hurt?
Game Results
Minnesota fell to the Colorado Mammoth 11-6 in an exhibition. Their goaltending was good but offense struggled as physicality prevailed. While exhibitions are pretty meaningless, the Swarm got a chance to get their rookies into NLL action against top tier players. From MNSwarm.com:
“I wanted to make sure the rookies really got a good look, and they got a full game out of it for the most part,” Joe Sullivan said. “I know they have something to prove, and I know they are going to make mistakes and they need a little time to redeem themselves and shine. We saw that in a few of them.”
Stars of the Show
Jordan MacIntosh scored a goal, but he is going to be out for a while (more on that later). Evan Kirk played just one quarter in goal, but he allowed just one goal to the Mammoth in that quarter.
Andrew Suitor played in just the second half, but played a very physical game and stood up to Mammoth defender Rory Smith. Cody Jacobs also scored a goal.
Injury Concerns
MacIntosh suffered a concussion during this game, but the severity is currently unknown. If MacIntosh is out to start the season, presumably righty transition rookie Chris Cudmore would take his place.
Step Up Time
Free agent signees Dustin Dunn and Aaron Grayson struggled throughout the game. But what we really need to watch for is what players will be fighting for spots in the real game next week in Rochester.
Rookies Alex Crepisnek and Bryan Campbell along with Joe Wasson back on the team this year will be pushing defenders. Guys like Matt Kelly and Greg Downing need to have strong camps, especially with Downing missing a lot of time last season.
Brock Sorensen will be pushing David Earl. Earl scored just six points last season while Sorensen was a top pick, so Earl will need to step up to make the roster.
Corbyn Tao scored 39 and Jay Card 34 last year, and there could be a good battle between those two throughout the rest of camp.
Storylines
Rookies trying to make the team are very interesting. Both Mike Teeter and Matt Gibson have an uphill battle ahead of them but they have a shot, especially seeing the Swarm love rookies.
Can Zach Higgins earn a spot? They have Kirk and Tyler Carlson, but if Higgins looks good, we have to remember Carlson struggled mightily in MSL this summer.
What’s Next?
Minnesota will travel to Rochester to play a pre season game on Saturday. They should have some cuts before then, but we should see a lot of players battle for the final few spots. This would include Higgins, Teeter, Gibson, Card and Tao.
