Review of Week 16 in the NLL

The biggest week of the year in the NLL was week 16 which had a matchup between the two hottest teams in the Eastern Conference and also saw records being broken. Here are the reviews from the games:

Friday

Philadelphia vs. Portland
The Wings started their crazy weekend by flying to Portland to take on the Lumberjax. With Athan Iannucci needing only 8 goals to break Gait's single season goal scoring record, he put the exclamation point on it by scoring 6 in the Wings defeat of the Lumberjax 13-10. Scoring has been a thing for Iannucci this year in that with those 6 goals he had scored 60 goals on the season. That basically was the story of the game with Brandon Miller in net for the Wings stopping 45 on 55 shots while Matt Disher took the loss stopping 51 on 63 shots. The special teams was not a factor with both teams going a combined 1-7.

Top Performer: Do I really need to rewrite that second sentence?

Saturday

Philadelphia vs. Minnesota
After making the trip to Portland, the Wings traveled to Minnesota to take on the second place Swarm in the Xcel Center. This game had everything that a fan could want, close finishes, records breaking, and an overall well played game. Iannucci broke the scoring record by scoring 3 goals on the night, he only needed 2 to break it. The Swarm went on a 9-0 run in first and second quarters to take a 10-3 lead. The Wings came back on a 7-1 run in the third to bring the game back to being competitive. With the Wings leading 14-13, the Swarm tied the game up in the final second on a goal by Dan Marohl. In overtime, the Swarm scored the winner on a shot by Sean Pollock. Brandon Miller ended up taking the loss after replacing starting goaltender Rob Blasdell while Nick Patterson played the whole game and ended up getting the win.

Top Performer: There are so many to choose from here with the crucial shots on both sides but the ultimate choice is going to Andy Secore who scored 3 goals and had another 3 assists to be the top point getter on the Swarm.

Chicago vs. Toronto
The struggling Rock just cannot seem to get any bounces going their way. After firing their offensive coach this past week, the offense seemed to click better but the absence of league leading goaltender Bob Watson ended up costing the Rock the game, losing 13-12 in overtime. Mike Poulin played in the game, playing well but not well enough to help the Rock win the game. He saved 36 on 49 shots while Matt Roik for the Shamrox saved 50 on 62 shots. The Rock totally dominated on offense, outshooting their opponent 62-49 but just could not seem to crack Matt Roik for the final goal. Matt Giles scored on the second shot of overtime for the Shamrox to give them their fourth straight win. The Shamrox are a game and a half out of the final playoff spot which was fueled by this four game winning streak.

Top Performer: Matt Roik gets this honor by saving 50 on 62 shots and giving his team the chance to win it in overtime.

Calgary vs. Edmonton
The Roughnecks got a much needed return this week of their starting goaltender, Steve Dietrich. Dietrich playing in his first game since suffering a concussion against the Stealth on January 25th. He did not need to do much, stopping 28 on 35 shots while the Roughnecks blasted their foes from Alberta 18-7. Led by Kaleb Toth, the Roughnecks just pounded starting goaltender Curtis Palidwor who allowed 13 goals on 25 shots after finally being replaced by Matt King. Toth scored 4 goals on 5 shots and had another helper for a total of 5 points.

Colorado vs. New York
The Titans continued their playoff push by beating the Mammoth at MSG 14-10. Matt Vinc took the win by saving 35 on 45 shots while the Titans chased Gee Nash after going on a five-goal run in the second quarter. Led by Mike McClellan, the Titans rattled off the first five in the second quarter to jump out to a 7-3 lead and never gave the lead back. McClellan ended up with four goals total on the night while the Mammoth were led by Chris Gill who scored 4 goals himself.

Sunday

Edmonton vs. San Jose
After losing to the Roughnecks in Calgary, the Rush had to make the trip down to San Jose to subsequently get beaten by the Stealth 14-6. This loss places the Rush at the bottom of the Western Conference while the win for the Stealth guaranteed them a playoff spot. The Stealth spread the offense around in this game with 10 different players scoring at least a goal. Curtis Palidwor started this game as well, taking another loss while it was Anthony Cosmo in net for the Stealth.


Standings for the NLL
Eastern Conference
1. Minnesota (9-4)
2. Philadelphia (9-5, .5 GB)
3. Buffalo (8-6, 1.5 GB)
4. New York (7-6, 2 GB)
5. Rochester (7-7, 2.5 GB)
6. Toronto (7-7, 2.5 GB)
7. Chicago (5-7, 3.5 GB)

Western Conference
1. San Jose (8-6) x
2. Colorado (7-6, .5 GB) x
3. Calgary (5-9, 3 GB)
4. Portland (5-9, 3 GB)
5. Edmonton (4-9 3.5 GB)

x- already clinched playoff spot