The Boston Cannons are normally a team that is in the playoff picture year in and year out. In 2013 the Cannons missed the playoffs after stumbling through the first six games of the season and then tripped up in the final weeks.
The Cannons finished their season with a record of 5-9 and in sixth place. They went were one of the worst teams in the MLL at the outset of the season, going 5-1 in their first six games. They had no offensive power during this run, and their big name players were not producing in Steve Duffy’s offense. Due to the lack of offense the Cannons defense struggled due to the number of possessions they were forced to play. Also due to the lopsided possession time in the early season, Cannon’s goalie, Jordan Burke had hugely inflated numbers. Although his numbers were greatly out of proportions, Burke did not play to the level needed in the MLL this season.
When the Cannons removed head coach Steve Duffy, for John Tucker, things looked to be on the upturn. The team went on a four game wins streak to claw their way back into the playoff hunt. Unfortunately Boston suffered four straight loses to finish the year. They had their destiny in their own hands up until the second to last week of the season when they played the Ohio Machine, and lost 16-12. During this streak the Cannons had reverted back to the play from earlier in the season, of unproductive offense and tired defense and ineffective face- offs.
Although Paul Rabil had 54pts (32g, 3 2ptg, 19a), he was inconsistent through most of the season. Also players like Ryan Boyle and Stephen Berger needed to be bigger parts of the offense through the losing stretch at the end of the season.
The Cannons will need to improve on the offensive side of the ball next season, and will also need to improve on whomever they decide to put in between the pipes. Boston has upside but at the moment it’s hard to see them through the haze of this late season slide.
