With 7 teams still within playoff contention going into the final week of the NLL regular season, week 21 saw lots of action and many teams fighting for their life.
Friday night had a league – season high of three games. The Halifax Thunderbirds travelled to Toronto to face the Rock. Their 16-9 win secured a home playoff game for the first time in Thunderbird history. They sealed the game off with a 8-1 scoring run. Dawson Theede led the way with 10 points on the night. In the tightest contest on Friday, the San Diego beat the Albany Firewolves 11-10 to secure their spot in the playoffs. The Seals had 6 different players notching at least a goal. Albany was led by Alex Simmons and Ethan Walker each with a hat trick and Tye Kurtz with 5 assists. The Calgary Roughnecks also fought to continue their season, defeating the already eliminated Las Vegas Desert Dogs 12-9. Calgary quickly jumped up 4-1 in the first quarter and was able to hold off the Desert Dogs for the rest of the game, never allowing the Dogs to come within less than 3 for the rest of the contest. The Roughnecks won 18 out of 24 faceoff and converted on 4 of 5 power play opportunities.
Saturday night was even busier, as there were 5 games on the night, and two teams on their second game of a doubleheader weekend. The Toronto Rock squeaked out an 11-10 win over the Rochester Knighthawks. Although the Hawks, had already clinched a playoff berth, they were fighting for a possible home playoff game, in which they needed to win AND needed Vancouver to lose (neither of which happened on the weekend). In a career best, Toronto’s goalie, Troy Holowchuk recorded 55 saves on the night. For Rochester, Matt Gilray scooped up an unbelievable 19 loose balls. Penalty minutes ended up being the killer for the Hawks, as the team racked up 18 minutes in the box, and gave up a penalty shot, which was converted by Rock captain, Challen Rogers. Georgia Swarm clinched themselves a playoff berth by defeating the top team in the league, the Buffalo Bandits, 14-11. Although the Bandits won 19 of the 29 faceoffs, they only produced 45 shots on goal (as compared to Swarm’s 63 SOG) and were held scoreless in the 4th quarter. Josh Byrne had an electric night, finding himself 8 points on 7 assists and a goal for Buffalo. Georgia’s Andrew Kew had 4 goals and 4 assists to lead the team to victory. The Vancouver Warriors guaranteed themselves a home playoff game with their definitive 11-5 win against the Philadelphia Wings. The first quarter saw lots of action for both team’s attack, with the Warriors leadings 5-3 going into the second quarter. The Warriors put up another 5 goals in the second quarter, giving them a 10-3 lead going into the second half. The rest of the game saw 3 goals in total between the two teams, with the Wings scoring just one goal in the third and fourth quarters, and the Warriors being held scoreless in the third and finally finding just one in the fourth. Mitch De Snoo found himself 17 loose balls on the night, however that is really the only impressive stat from either team, given the low scoring. With over 15,000 people in attendance, the Calgary Roughnecks were able to find themselves a playoff spot, besting the Colorado Mammoth 11-5 at home. Many of the stats for the two teams were tightly contested, tied for shots on goal and faceoffs won, and a close number of penalty minutes at 16 and 14 for the Mammoth and Roughnecks, respectively. Both attacks were mostly quiet, scoring a max of 2 goals… except for one. The big difference-maker was the second quarter with the Roughnecks netting 7. The excitement quieted back down with just 4 goals scored in all of the second half. The Saskatchewan Rush killed the Ottawa Black Bears in a 16-7 contest. Unfortunately for Jeff Teat and the Black Bears, his team will not be making the playoffs. If on almost any other team in the league, Teat could make a huge case for league MVP, however due to their losing record, he is not even in the conversation. Ottawa jumped out very quickly with Jeff Teat finding a hat trick in just 4 minutes and 36 seconds. Saskatchewan’s Robert Church had himself a night with a sock trick (6 goals) on 9 points. Following the first quarter, the Black Bears were held to just one goal each quarter for the rest of the game, and the Rush netted 12 goals in the second half alone.
Playoff Picture
Friday, April 25th
(1) Buffalo Bandits will host (8) San Diego Seals at 7:30 pm ET
Saturday, April 26th
(3) Halifax Thunderbirds will host (6) Calgary Roughnecks at 7 pm ET
(2) Saskatchewan Rush will host (7) Georgia Swarm at 9:30 pm ET
(4) Vancouver Warriors will host (5) Rochester Knighthawks at 10 pm ET
