Record-setting, seven-game Saturday squashed due to snow scare
Photo: Spencer Kagan
During a National Lacrosse League season that has had games impacted due to provincial-protocol requirements, significant COVID spread, and even an inability to collect concession sales, the league has now been forced to reschedule a game due to a call for incredibly bad incoming winter weather.
The New York Riptide confirmed earlier today that their upcoming Week 9 Saturday home date against the #1 ranked Buffalo Bandits would be moved to this Sunday to avoid the anticipated winter storm headed for the area over the next 24 hours.
The state of New York has been included in a winter storm warning that is expected to powerfully pummel the east coach with a combination of significant snowfall, severely strong winds and blizzard-like conditions. The warning issued by the National Weather Service is slated to start at 7pm ET tonight, only ending 24 hours later at 7pm ET on Saturday.
The rescheduled Sunday game between the Riptide & Bandits will start at 1pm ET.
Prior to today’s news, the NLL was scheduled to host seven games on the same day for the first time in the league’s history, which goes all the way back to the 1987 Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League season. The Eagle Pro would be renamed the Major Indoor Lacrosse League just a year later, and eventually reconstituted under the NLL name in 1997.
The last weekend of the 2021/22 NLL regular season, currently listed as Week 22, does have all 14 teams and seven games scheduled for Saturday, April 20th.
The Riptide’s full announcement reads:
“`The New York Riptide have announced that the game scheduled for this Saturday, January 29, at 7:30pm against the Buffalo Bandits will be rescheduled for Sunday, January 30 at 1:00 p.m. at Nassau Coliseum due to the incoming inclement weather in the Northeast. Doors for this event will open at Noon. Tickets listed for Saturday will be honored for the rescheduled time on Sunday.”
Last week, the Riptide won their first game of the season against the Philadelphia Wings, 13-12, in dramatic fashion.