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Spotlighting the Battle for Top Spot in the NLL in Week 14

Author Alyssa Vukosic Estimated read time 3 min read

The NLL post-season looms ahead. As we exit Week 14, and look into what to expect for Week 15, the play-off picture for most teams still seems blurry. Right now, the only teams that seem like absolute shoo-ins for the postseason are the Buffalo Bandits and the Saskatchewan Rush, ranked 1 and 2 respectively, and both with 9 wins to their name. The standings after that are tightly contested with three teams at 7 wins, two teams at 6 wins, and four teams with 5 wins. All teams have played between 11 and 12 games going into week 15, with the exceptions of the Bandits, with only 10 games under their belt, and the Knighthawks who have played 13 games so far.

Week 14 Results:

 Georgia Swarm @ Ottawa Black Bears (15-9)

Albany Firewolves @ Rochester Knighthawks (7-14)

Buffalo Bandits @ Saskatchewan Rush (9-7)

Calgary Roughnecks @ Colorado Mammoth (8-11)

Halifax Thunderbirds @ Las Vegas Desert Dogs (9-5)

Sask v Buff

This game was widely accepted as the most anticipated game of the week. The top two teams in the league faced off for first place in a heated battle. The game was lower scoring than a typical game, showing just how close this match up is, and how important the defense and goalies are to their respective teams. On the offensive end for Saskatchewan, veteran Robert Church was out, and his presence was certainly missed. Buffalo’s Dhane Smith becomes 10th all-time for career points (1166), passing Gary Gait in standings, he ended the game with 5 points, all from assists. Josh Byrne had his hand in six of the team’s nine goals with 2 goals and 4 assists. Goalie Matt Vinc also had an impressive 42 save game.

The Rush were led by Zach Manns with 4 goals, and Brock Haley had 3 assists. Two aspects that kept this game close: the faceoff and the penalties. Connor Farrell has been finding lots of success at the faceoff dot for the Bandits this season. The Rush was able to win 11 out of 20 faces offs, keeping Farrell under 0.500, which opponents have struggled to do this season. Buffalo also sat in the penalty box for 10 minutes, all on minor penalties, giving Saskatchewan 5 power play opportunities. The downfall for the Rush: the poor offensive finishing, especially on the power play. As I just mentioned, the Rush got 5 man-up opportunities and they only capitalized on one of them. Saskatchewan also outshot Buffalo 49-46 but just couldn’t seem to find the back of the net enough to pull ahead.

Other Notable headlines:

  • Lyle Thompson and Cody Jamison scored their 350th career goal in their respective games this weekend
  • Dyson Williams was named the league’s Rookie of the Week for his contributions to the offense, having his hand in four out of the teams seven goals on the night with 3 goals and 1 assist
  • Hawks go on a 6-0 scoring run in 4th quarter to double up on Albany
  • Rose made 45 saves in his debut for the Calgary Roughnecks (80.4 SV%)
  • Halifax Thunderbirds continue their winning streak, with now 5 wins in a row

Standings (following Week 14 contests):

  1. Buffalo Bandits (9-1) (42 GD)
  2. Sask Rush (9-3) (26 GD)
  3. Halifax Thunderbirds (7-4) (14 GD)
  4. Georgia Swarm (7-4) (2 GD)
  5. Colorado Mammoth (7-5) (7 GD)
  6. Calgary Roughnecks (6-6) (0 GD)
  7. Rochester Knighthawks (6-7) (-5 GD)
  8. San Diego Seals (5-6) (-4 GD)
  9. Philly Wings (5-6) (-4 GD)
  10. Vancouver Warriors (5-6) (4 GD)
  11. Ottawa Black Bears(5-6) (-9 GD)
  12. Toronto Rock (3-8) (-15 GD)
  13. Las Vegans Dessert Dogs (3-9) (-42 GD)
  14. Albany Firewolves (3-9) (-16 GD)

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