Still trying to catch your breath from 7 games last weekend?
Here’s your chance, with just 4 games for Week 14 of the National Lacrosse League. But don’t mistake lack of quantity for a lack of quality, especially when we have Colorado at New England and Calgary at Saskatchewan.
Two of the league’s newer rivals square off in New England and when you’re done watching that game, swing on over to Saskatoon to catch one of the league’s most heated rivalries when the Roughnecks visit the Rush. And even if that’s not enough for you, there are 2 other games to choose from tonight.
So whatever your choice, here’s your Team Reports for Week 14 to get you ready for any of the 4 games you decide to be a part of.
Saturday
Colorado Mammoth (9-3) at New England (7-4), 7 p.m.
Colorado
The Mammoth clinched a playoff spot last weekend and can lock up a home playoff game with a win against New England or with losses by Calgary and Vancouver … The Mammoth won in OT last weekend and are a league-best 5-0 in games decided by 1 goal … F John Grant scored 4 goals, including his second game-winner of the season, to give him more than 3 goals in a game for the first time since Jan. 23. With 24 this season, Grant has scored at least 1 goal in every game … A win on Saturday will give Colorado double digits in wins for the first time since 2012, when the Mammoth were 11-5. The team record for wins in a regular season is 13 (2004 season) … After being held to 0 goals on March 19, F Adam Jones responded with 3 in last week’s win over Calgary. The left-hander has scored 3 or more goals in 7 of 11 games this season … F Callum Crawford had 8 points (3-5) against Calgary last week and with 77 points this season, he’s well on his way to 115 points and shattering his career best of 96 (2010 season) … The Mammoth are averaging 10.58 PIM per game, lowest in the NLL … At 6-0, the Mammoth are the only unbeaten team at home this season, but New England is 3-3 on the road, tied with several other teams for most road wins … The Mammoth have scored 10 short-handed goals, tied for second-most in the league, and 7 of those shorties have come at home … The Mammoth are 5-1 in games they’ve trailed after the first quarter.
New England
A win will give the Black Wolves their most wins in a season since the 2008 Philadelphia Wings won 10 games … New England’s power play is ranked next-to-last by percentage (44.4%) even though the 35 PP goals is tied for second-most in the league … The Black Wolves have allowed just 4 short-handed goals, second-fewest in the league … New England is 4-2 when leading after the first quarter and 6-1 when leading at the half … The Black Wolves have won 0 games this season when trailing after first, second and third quarters … F Kevin Crowley has scored at least 1 goal in 8 of the last 9 games and his on pace to match his career high of 36, set in his rookie season of 2012. Crowley also is at 41 assists through 11 games, just 1 off his career high of 42 and overall, he’s on pace to break 100 points for the first time in his career … F Shawn Evans had a 16-point weekend (5-11) in the sweep of Rochester and with 82 points so far, he’s on schedule to surpass the 130 points he registered last season in Calgary … F Jordan Hall is fitting right in with the Wolves’ offense, scoring 29 points (11-18) in 6 games since he was traded from Rochester, where he scored 8 points (4-4) in 4 games before the trade … G Evan Kirk is No. 3 in minutes played (541:52) but has the second-most saves (396) in the NLL and his save percentage (.789) ranks third-best … New England is 1-2 against West Division teams … The Black Wolves have only outshot opponents twice this season, but they’re 2-0 in those games.
Buffalo Bandits (8-4) at Georgia (4-8), 7:05 p.m.
Buffalo
The Bandits have won 4 straight … F Dhane Smith had 12 points in last week’s win over Vancouver, his third double-digit game of the season. He also scored 6 goals, giving him 4 or more goals in 7 straight games and in 9 of the last 10 … With 103 points, Smith is averaging an astounding 8.6 points per game and is on pace to finish with 154 this season. He’s shooting 22% this season … The Bandits are just 3-3 on the road this season … The Bandits have the league’s best penalty kill by percentage (61.7%) and the 23 goals allowed are tied with Colorado for fewest in the league … Buffalo leads the league with 14.08 goals per game but the 12.33 goals allowed per game is third-worst … F Mark Steenhuis scored 3 goals last weekend, his third hat trick in the last 5 games … G Anthony Cosmo’s save percentage (.790) is second-best in the league.
Georgia
The Swarm have lost 4 straight and 5 of their last 6 games … F Johnny Powless has hit a bit of a wall, going 3 straight games without a goal and taking just 10 shots combined over those 3 game. He’s got just 2 assists over that 3-game span … Rookie F Randy Staats, the team leader in scoring, has just 1 goal in his last 2 games on 19 shots. Still, Staats is tied for the rookie scoring lead with Calgary’s Wes Berg at 52 points … Rookie F Jesse King also has gone a bit cold over the last 3 games with just 1 goal on 13 shots … T Jordan MacIntosh has just 19 points through 12 games and his on pace to finish with just 29, fewest for his 5-year career … The 165 goals-allowed is second-most in the NLL … Georgia has scored the game’s first goal a league-low 4 times and is 1-3 in those games … At 41.7%, the Swarm power play is worst in the league and is tied with New England for fewest power-play goals (25) in the NLL … The penalty kill also is worst in the NLL by percentage (44.1%) and the Swarm have allowed 33 man-down goals, third-most in the NLL … The 13.75 goals-against is second-worst in the league … The Swarm have led after the first quarter in just 2 games this season and are 1-1 in those games. They’ve trailed after the first quarter in 7 games, second only to Rochester’s 10 games, and they’re 2-5 in those games.
Calgary Roughnecks (6-8) at Saskatchewan (9-3), 9:30 p.m.
Calgary
The Roughnecks are 0-3 against the Rush this season … F Curtis Dickson leads the league with 5 short-handed goals … Dickson has scored 23 goals in his last 5 games and has 48 for the season, which ties his career-best of last season. At 83 points, he’s just 10 shy of his career-best 93 points (2015) and he’s on pace to finish with 106 … After a stretch of just 3 goals over 6 games in February and early March, F Jeff Shattler has found his groove and has scored 7 goals in his last 3 games … Calgary’s power play, at 52.2%, is third-best in the league by percentage and the 36 power-play goals scored is second only to Toronto’s 39 … The Riggers have been in 69 man-down situations, tied with Rochester for second-most in the league and they’ve allowed 32 power-play goals. Overall, the Riggers rank fourth in the league on the penalty kill … The Roughnecks have scored the game’s first goal a league-high 9 times but they’re just 4-5 in those games … Calgary’s loss to Colorado last week snapped a 3-game win streak and the team’s last 3 losses have all come by 1 goal.
Saskatchewan
The Rush clinched a playoff berth last weekend but can clinch a home playoff game with a win against Calgary … G Aaron Bold is in a familiar position, No. 1 among starting goalies with a 10.55 goals-against average … The Rush have scored a league-high 13 short-handed goals and Calgary has allowed a league-high 11 … at 10.92 goals-against per game, the Rush lead the league in that category … The Rush also are scoring 13.5 goals a game, second-best in the league … The Rush rank next-to-last on the power play at just 41.9%, even though they’ve had a league-high 74 chances. They’ve scored just 31 goals in those chances … The penalty kill is in much better shape, ranking No. 2 in the league at 54.2% with just 27 goals allowed on 59 chances … Sasketchewan is 5-1 in games it has led after the first quarter, but Calgary is 3-1 in games it has trailed after 1 quarter … The Rush have won 5 straight and 6 of their last 7 with the 1 loss coming by 1goal (Feb. 26 to Buffalo) … The Rush scored 24 goals in the 2 wins last weekend over Toronto, matching the 24-goal output of the March 19 win over Vancouver … F Mark Matthews has scored in every game this season and has 2 or more goals in 6 of his last 7 … After scoring 9 goals in his first 8 games this season, F Curtis Knight has 8 in his last 4 … F Zack Greer has scored 2 or more goals in 10 of the 11 games he’s played this season and he’s on pace to finish with 47, which would be a career-high.
Toronto (3-9) at Vancouver (3-9), 10 p.m.
Toronto
A loss will give Toronto 10 losses in a season for the first time since 2009 and would be just the third losing season in the 18-year history of the franchise … G Nick Rose has the league’s best save percentage (.792) and the second-best goals-against average (10.61) among primary goalies … The Rock are 1-4 in games they’ve trailed after the first quarter … The Toronto power play remains No. 1 in the NLL by percentage (54.9%) with a league-high 39 goals on 71 chances (second-most in NLL) … Toronto is No. 1 (21.92) and Vancouver is No. 2 (19.58) when it comes to leading the league in most PIMs … F Rob Hellyer leads the Rock with 75 points, 5 ahead of his pace in his first 12 games of last season. He’s scored a goal in every game this season and has 3 goals in his last 2 games after a streak of 6 straight games with 3 goals in each … F Colin Doyle has a streak of 6 straight games with at least 1 goal, but he’s had 3 or more assists in 5 of those games and is on pace to finish his season with just more than 70 points … F Josh Sanderson has just 10 points in his last 4 games after scoring 19 in his first 3 this season.
Vancouver
The Stealth have lost 5 straight games, the third straight season they’ve had skids that long … The Stealth have played in a league-high 5 games decided by more than 6 goals, and they’re 1-4 in those games … The Stealth have had the lead after 3 quarters in just 2 of their 12 games this season and they’ve trailed after 3 quarters in 8 of the 12 … F Rhys Duch has back-to-back 6-goal games but the Stealth are 0-2 in those games … Vancouver’s power play is ranked second in the league at 54.5% with just 55 chances, second-fewest in the league … The penalty kill is No. 3 overall at 53.7% and it’s had plenty of chances. The Stealth have had a league-high 13 majors and 4 game misconducts called against them … Fs Logan Schuss and Garrett Billings have missed the last 2 games with injuries, but Schuss was activated on Thursday … Vancouver’s 13.92 goals-against is worst in the league, and its 11 goals-for per game is second-lowest, better only than Toronto’s league-worst 10.42 per game.
