NLL Power Rankings: Week 9
TD Ierlan, Toronto Rock (Photo: Ryan McCullough)
Every week during the 2022-23 National Lacrosse League season, The Lax Mag will publish updated NLL Power Rankings reflecting the previous week’s performances, as well as incorporating a team’s overall regular season rep, status, and success rate.
Toronto Rock 5-2 (2)
The Roughnecks made the ending interesting, but Stephen Keogh’s early-OT finisher pushed the Rock to their fourth straight win this past Saturday at the Saddledome. Even though their offensive press saw a pause in scoring against Calgary’s quick counters, their production past Tom Schreiber (2G, 2A) - namely Keogh (3G), Corey Small (4G, 3A) and Dan Craig (1G, 6A) - was definitely a difference maker, again. When you’ve got that many weapons, it’s hard to keep ‘em quiet for long.
Buffalo Bandits 6-2 (3)
A bruised Bandits lineup (Chase Fraser, Chris Cloutier and even Josh Byrne for their final two periods this past Saturday) bounced back after losing to the Knighthawks with a two-fer sweep last week against the Wings & Riptide, both away from boisterous Banditland. The injuries have allowed their depth to develop even further, but scary to think of good this team will be once they’re finally fully fit.
San Diego Seals 5-1 (4)
Their big names up front finished often, their defense kept Colorado’s capable offense in check, Chris Origlieri got another start, and another win. They’re on the verge of sitting 6-1, the same spot the Seals were in after seven a season ago. It was after going 9-2 that their regular season kind of soured last year (went 1-6 the rest of the way), something San Diego will clearly want to avoid leading into this year’s playoffs. As we noted many times during the 2022 season, teams that falter late, not matter how strong their overall record, almost never win the Cup.
Rochester Knighthawks 6-1 (1)
Dropping the Knighthawks from first to fourth after just their first loss is a lot, but the teams above them experienced significant success during Week 9. They not only dropped an L to the Thunderbirds last Friday, Halifax handed them a bit of a beating with that one-sided 17-7 scoreline. We’ve seen the Knighthawks excel in virtually every situation & scenario so far this season. How will Rochester respond to defeat? They’ll be in Banditland this Saturday for the season’s most anticipated rematch so far.
Below, see this year’s biggest goal differentials between two teams in a single game:
13 GD
Panther City 20 at Vancouver 7
12 GD
Colorado 6 at Saskatchewan 18
11 GD
Vancouver 8 at Toronto 19
10 GD
Philadelphia 8 at Halifax 18
Rochester 7 at Halifax 17
9 GD
Calgary 14 at Vancouver 5
Halifax 20 at New York 11
Buffalo 18 at Georgia 9
Halifax 8 at Toronto 17
Toronto 14 at Philadelphia 5
Saskatchewan Rush 3-2 (7)
Whether it’s their plenty of proven vets or newer back-end names, the Rush defense has yet again looked like one of the most formidable units in the league. Their offense is firing too, especially last week against the expansion Desert Dogs where Mark Matthews, Robert Church and Ryan Kennan all had 6+ points, and rookie Austin Madronic buried his first pro hatty. Outside of maybe one game, Alexis Buque has been extremely reliable for the Rush too. Sounds like a formula that won them some relatively recent Cups, right?
Halifax Thunderbirds 4-3 (8)
Randy Staats’ offensive production has really slowed up over the last few games:
Jan. 13 vs. Albany L: 0G, 2A
Jan. 14 vs. Toronto L: Did not play (load management)
Jan. 27 vs. Rochester W: 0G, 3A
Last week, it didn’t really matter though, because the Thunderbirds showed off how seriously stacked their offensive depth can be, putting up 18 against a previously unbeaten and recently stingy Knighthawks team. They got goals from eleven different players in all sorts of situations, including rookie Max Wilson’s penalty-shot finish. Speaking of first-year scorers, Wake:Riat BowHunter had a hat-trick in the W, doubling his G total for the season.
More on 2023’s rookies in our Clutch Kings update later this week.
Colorado Mammoth 3-2 (5)
It would be easy to hang this one on Dillon Ward’s unannounced absence (confirmed on NLL’s transaction page a day later), but 9 goals isn’t gonna cut it against a high-scoring San Diego squad this season (13-9L). A 44-save performance like Tyler Carlson gave the Mammoth is often good enough for a win. Minus their two goals in transition and two more on the power-play, the Mammoth walked away with just five even-strength finishes from their forwards in Saturday’s loss to the Seals.
Calgary Roughnecks 3-3 (6)
After watching the Roughnecks force the Rock into an extra innings, even with an eventual loss, it felt like we needed to climb Calgary up the Power Rankings, but sure, other teams exist and had their own impressive performances. Christian Del Bianco and the Necks’ D held the Rock to just three goals over the third & fourth quarter, Tyler Pace & Jesse King were clutch up top, and Zach Currier, who only won 4 face-offs against TD Ierlan, still managed to scoop 14 loose balls (a game high for either team), plus put away some key points. Had their power-play unit not gone 0-5, that result mighta been a bit different.
Panther City Lacrosse Club 4-3 (9)
You may have noticed their mention in Rochester’s rundown above, but if you didn’t, Panther City’s 20-7 spanking of the Warriors in Week 9 was this year’s most lopsided score so far. A big win no doubt, but the purple Panthers need a victory over a legit Cup contender to see where they really stand this year: 4-0 against teams under .500 and 0-3 against those above that same winning percentage. They won’t have to wait long for that opportunity. Panther City travels to San Diego to face the West-leading Seals on Saturday night.
Albany FireWolves 2-3 (10)
The FireWolves had a weekend off to rest after a somewhat stinging loss to the previously winless Riptide a week earlier. Albany goes to Philly on Saturday to see a Wings squad that looks a helluva lot different than the last time these two teams met. The FireWolves swept the Wings in their regular-season meetings last year, 2-0. Although they played in Vancouver a season ago, Mitch Jones, who Philadelphia picked up this week in a blockbuster deal with the Warriors, was injured when Albany came to town. Saturday will also be the first time the FireWolves see their top scorer from 2022, Joe Resetarits signing with Philadelphia as a free agent over the offseason after having an MVP-level campaign with Albany last year.
New York Riptide 1-5 (11)
They were rolling right with the Bandits until halftime, but couldn’t find the same spark in their second-half scoring, especially after Buffalo’s secondary shooters and offensive press suffocated them in the third quarter (7-2 in that period, 16-10 over four full frames). Things don’t get much easier as the Riptide get the Rock in Hamilton on Saturday night, another stacked lineup that, like the Bandits, has wicked wheels in transition. It’s a facet of Toronto’s game they’ll need to tame if a win is to be had in the Hammer. Since moving to the FirstOntario Centre last year, the Rock are 9-3 at home during regular-season play.
Philadelphia Wings 2-4 (12)
They’ve added one of the league’s top lefties after securing the services of Mitch Jones in a very significant swap with the Warriors earlier this week. While the loss of the two drafts picks won’t be felt for a bit, losing Steph Charbonneau, who really blossomed as a pro playing for Paul Day in Philadelphia, most definitely dents their defensive depth. Over the past two years, however, it’s a lack of consistent offensive production from their big-name forwards that has prevented the Wings from being mentioned in the same sentence as teams like Buffalo or Toronto. Does the addition of Jones get them there? Their upcoming game against Albany, who still sports one of the stronger defensive units in the league, will be a good first test to see where they stand.
Georgia Swarm 0-4 (13)
How the hell have the Swarm only played four games this year? For a team looking to find renewed chemistry after seeing so many vets vanish over the offseason, four games over two months doesn’t allow for much of anything to flourish. It’s also a bitch to come up with clever new quips for the Power Rankings when every other week is a bye for the East’s current basement-dwelling club. Georgia goes to Denver on Friday, which is never an easy night no matter who their starting stopper is.
Las Vegas Desert Dogs 1-5 (14)
Bad news: They lost, again. Good news: They’ll get the Mammoth in Vegas on Saturday night, 24 hours after Colorado hosts Georgia. Bad news: Jackson Suboch was moved to their IR today. Good news: Emerson Clark is back on their active roster. Bad news: The Lax Mag’s Instagram account generates far better impressions when they (Bash Brothers 2.0) both play. Good news: We just hit & passed 32K followers on IG.
Vancouver Warriors 1-6 (15)
While a roster & front office review is usually needed heading into a season (like this one), there’s been so much movement on and off the floor in Vancouver so far this season, we could use a past-two-months update:
In
Troy Cordingley (interim GM), Steph Charbonneau (trade), Aaron Bold (free agent), Joel McCready (Senior Director, Lacrosse Operations)
Out
Dan Richardson (GM), Ken Thomas (Assistant GM), Steve Fryer (released), Mitch Jones (traded), Logan Schuss (season-ending injury), Justin Salt (released), Ethan Woods (released)
Like, that’s obviously a lot over a short period of time, but based on yesterday’s trade, the Warriors have clearly put an even greater emphasis on their future, acquiring an upcoming first & future second-round pick in the Jones deal. Cordingley-coached teams never pack it in, and if anyone in Vancouver does this year, they likely won’t be there for much longer.