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NLL: 10 things to know for playoff quarterfinals

2023 NLL Playoffs 2023 NLL Playoffs - NLL
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An exciting final weekend of regular season play that affected all four matchups have set up intriguing battles as the National Lacrosse League opens its postseason with single-elimination Quarterfinal games on Friday and Saturday.

Two of the contests are rematches from last year’s playoffs, and two represent close geographic rivalries in a true coast-to-coast lineup in which teams from five North American time zones are in play.

Here is the single-elimination NLL Quarterfinals game and broadcast schedule with commentators:

  • Friday, May 5
    • Halifax (E3) vs. Toronto (E2) at 7:30pm ET, TSN, TSN+, ESPN+ (Jon Abbott, Pat Gregoire and Ashley Docking)
    • Colorado (W4) vs. San Diego (W1) at 10pm ET, ESPN+, TSN+ (Cooper Perkins, Nick Ossello and Raine Michaels)
  • Saturday, May 6
    • Rochester (E4) vs. Buffalo (E1) at 7pm ET, ESPNU, ESPN+, TSN+ (Brendan Glasheen, Mitch Belisle and Ashley Docking)
    • Panther City (W3) vs. Calgary (W2) at 9:30pm ET, TSN, TSN+, ESPNU, ESPN+ (Teddy Jenner, Brad Challoner and Shantelle Chand)

 

Overall league attendance during the regular season surged to 1,039,418, just the third time in NLL history to eclipse the one million-fan mark in the regular season and the first time since 2008. The current cumulative attendance trails only the 1,138,225 in 2007 and 1,083,345 in 2008, with the playoffs still to come and some of the teams with the largest attendance throughout the year still competing. Some key team highlights this year for attendance include:   

  • The Calgary Roughnecks hold the NLL’s single-game attendance mark this season with 17,444 on hand March 17, an 11-6 win over the Saskatchewan Rush at the ScotiaBank Saddledome.
  • The Buffalo Bandits welcomed the next four largest crowds this season, including back-to-back crowds of more than 16,000 in two weeks: 16,051 on April 15 against the New York Riptide, and 16,861 on April 22 versus their rival, Toronto Rock.
  • The Toronto Rock had its largest crowd ever since relocating to Hamilton, Ontario, and its highest attendance in more than a decade: 13,127 on April 1 in an 18-7 win over the Buffalo Bandits.
  • The Halifax Thunderbirds set a franchise high of 10,008 fans for their 15-6 win over the New York Riptide on April 21.

 

Here are (more than) 10 things to know about the Quarterfinal round pairings:

 

  • Halifax (10-9) at Toronto (13-5)
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    • This is a rematch of last season’s Quarterfinal, won by Toronto on Challen Rogers’s (Coquitlam, B.C.) OT game winner
    • This is a matchup of the teams with the most total NLL Championships of teams in this year’s postseason: Halifax (when located in Rochester) has won five (1997, 2007, 2012, 2013, 2014) and Toronto has taken six (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2011)
    • The franchises have met in the Finals three times, with Toronto winning in 1999, 2000 and 2003
    • This season the last meeting was on March 18, when Halifax won, 14-12, at home. Eric Fannell (St. Catharines, Ont.) had two goals and four assists and Ryan Benesch (Elmira, Ont.) added two goals and two assists to lead balanced scoring for the Thunderbirds, while Dan Craig (Shelburne, Ont.) netted four goals and two assists to pace the Rock.
    • Toronto won on its home floor on January 14, a 17-8 verdict that featured five goals from the team’s leading goal scorer, Tom Schreiber (East Meadow, N.Y.)
    • Four former NLL Rookies of the Year oppose one another as Halifax’s Jake Withers (Peterborough, Ont.) won the award in 2018, Randy Staats (Six Nations, Ont.) in 2016, and Ryan Benesch in 2007 (with Toronto) and the Rock’s Schreiber took it in 2017.
  • Colorado (9-9) at San Diego (14-4)
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    • This is a rematch of last season’s West Conference Finals, which the Mammoth won in a decisive Game 3. The road team won all three games in the series.
    • Defending champion Colorado is trying to become the first to repeat their title since the Edmonton/Saskatchewan Rush did so in 2015 and 2016. There have been seven repeat champions, including a “three-peat” by Rochester from 2012-2014
    • These teams have met three times this season, with the Seals taking two of the three, including an 11-8 win at Pechanga Arena this past Saturday. Austin Staats (Six Nations, Ont.) had four goals and two assists in the triumph
    • In their April 14 matchup, San Diego had a season-high seven power play goals despite the Mammoth victory
    • The prolific Seals have three players who tallied 100 or more points this season: Wesley Berg (Coquitlam, B.C.) (109), Dane Dobbie (Elora, Ont.) (101) and Curtis Dickson (Port Coquitlam, Ont.) (100); Staats is next with 75
    • Watch for a “tale of two halves” as Colorado is -34 net goals in the first while San Diego is +43; conversely, the Mammoth are +16 in the second and the Seals are just +4
    • Two former NLL Rookies of the Year oppose one another as Colorado’s Tyson Gibson (Maple, Ont.) won the award in 2020 (with the New York Riptide) and Staats claimed it in 2019
  • Rochester (10-8) vs. Buffalo (14-4)
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    • This is the classic “I-90” rivalry between the two teams closest together geographically in the league, with 76 miles separating Rochester’s Blue Cross Arena and Buffalo’s KeyBank Center, the site of Saturday’s contest
    • This is the first playoff appearance for the expansion Rochester franchise, which joined the league for the 2019-20 season
    • The former Rochester franchise (since moved to Halifax) won the 1997 NLL Championship over Buffalo, with now Bandits General Manager, Steve Dietrich, earning Finals MVP honors with 54 saves for the victors
    • The Bandits are trying to reach the Finals for the third straight season and win their first title since 2008
    • The teams split two games this year, each winning on its own home floor. The Bandits won the last contest, 13-10, on February 4 behind four goals and five assists from Dhane Smith (Kitchener, Ont.)
    • Two of the league’s top goalkeepers will be in net in this one, with Buffalo’s Matt Vinc (St. Catharines, Ont.) (742 saves) and Rochester’s Rylan Hartley (Toronto, Ont.) (713) ranking first and third, respectively, in that category
    • Buffalo is a perfect 4-0 in overtime in 2022-23 while Rochester is 1-2 when going past regulation
    • It will be a homecoming of sorts for Connor Fields (East Amherst, N.Y.), who played last season for the Bandits before being selected by the expansion Las Vegas Desert Dogs, then traded to Rochester
  • Panther City (10-8) vs. Calgary (13-5)
  •  
    • Call this the “Battle of the Cowtowns” as both cities and regions lay claim to the title
    • This marks the first appearance of PCLC in the playoffs after joining the league as an expansion club just two years ago
    • PCLC and Calgary met twice during the regular season, with the Roughnecks winning both including a thrilling, 13-12 triumph in Fort Worth just two weeks ago (April 21). Jesse King (Victoria, B.C.) had three goals and three assists and Josh Currier (Peterborough, Ont.) notched six assists for the visitors in the win
    • It’s another big goaltender battle, as Calgary’s Christian Del Bianco (Coquitlam, B.C.) (9.28 goals against average) and PCLC’s Nick Damude (Fonthill, Ont.) (10.31) are #2 and #3 in the league behind Toronto’s Nick Rose (Orangeville, Ont.) (9.03), both permitting exactly 167 goals
    • There is some good history in this matchup, as Tyler Burton (London, Ont.) was on Calgary’s 2019 championship team and Panther City coach Tracey Kelusky played there from 2003-2010, winning titles in 2004 and 2009 with the Roughnecks
  • This week’s winners advance to their respective best-of-three Conference Finals, with Games 1 and 2 scheduled for May 12-15, and any necessary Game 3 played between May 19-22. Conference champions will face off in the best-of-three NLL Finals starting the final weekend of May
  • In other NLL news, the league’s Every Child Matters initiative has garnered another major notice as Hashtag Sports has shortlisted it for Excellence in Multicultural Storytelling at its upcoming fifth annual awards presentation, set for June 14 in New York. The league was recently honored for the program at the prestigious Cynopsis Sports Media Awards last month.
  • Some milestones players eclipsed in the final week of the regular season include:
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    • Albany goaltender Doug Jamieson (Ohsweken, Ont.) now has 100 games dressed
    • Buffalo forward Josh Byrne (New Westminster, B.C.) now has 204 assists after delivering five vs. Albany
    • Buffalo defenseman Ethan O’Connor (Milton, Ont.) now has 605 loose ball recoveries after grabbing eight vs. Albany
    • Buffalo forward Dhane Smith (Kitchener, Ont.) broke his own all-time single-season record with 96, two more than last year of 94 set last season
    • Colorado defenseman Robert Hope (Peterborough, Ont.) now has 1007 loose ball recoveries after gobbling up 11 vs. San Diego
    • Colorado forward Zed Williams (Silver Creek, N.Y.) now has 102 goals after scoring three vs. San Diego
    • Las Vegas defenseman/transition player Brandon Clelland (Georgetown, Ont.) now has 812 faceoff wins after winning 16 of 26 vs. Saskatchewan
    • New York forward Tyler Digby (New Westminster, B.C.) now has 400 loose ball recoveries
    • Philadelphia forward Mitch Jones (Delta, B.C.) now has 302 assists after handing out five vs. Rochester
    • Philadelphia forward Joe Resetarits (Hamburg, N.Y.) needs now has 602 loose ball recoveries after scooping up three vs. Rochester
    • Vancouver forward Shawn Evans (Peterborough, Ont.) passed Josh Sanderson for fifth on the all-time list with 1358 points when he had a goal and three assists vs. New York; and became the 12th player in league history to pass the 1500 loose ball recoveries mark when he nabbed nine vs. New York
  • Some playoff milestones players may reach this week include:
  •  
    • Buffalo forward Dhane Smith (Kitchener, Ont.) needs five points to become the 10th player all-time to reach 110 in his playoff career
    • Buffalo goaltender Matt Vinc (St. Catharines, Ont.) will dress in his 40th playoff game this weekend, becoming the first player to reach this milestone.
    • Calgary head coach Curt Malawsky will move into sole possession of second place all-time as he will be coaching his 24th career playoff game, breaking a tie with Troy Cordingley and Darris Kilgour.  If he wins this weekend, he will tie Troy Cordingley for fourth all-time with his 14th career playoff win.
    • Colorado goaltender Tyler Carlson (Brampton, Ont.) will dress in his 30th career playoff game, becoming the ninth player all time to reach this milestone
    • Colorado goaltender Dillon Ward (Orangeville, Ont.) needs 62 minutes played to become the seventh goaltender all-time to play 1000 minutes in his playoff career
    • Halifax forward Ryan Benesch (Kitchener, Ont.) needs three goals to reach 40 in his playoff career, one assist to reach 50 in his playoff career, and four points to become the 17th player all-time to reach 90 in his playoff career
    • Panther City defenseman/transition player Tyler Burton (London, Ont.) needs five faceoff wins to become the sixth player all-time to reach 150 in his playoff career (depending on Tim Edwards who needs 14).
    • San Diego forward Curtis Dickson (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) needs five goals to pass Gary Gait for third all-time with 68 career playoff goals and six points to become the seventh player all-time to reach 120 in his playoff career.
    • San Diego forward Dane Dobbie (Elora, Ont.) needs, one game to tie Colin Doyle for third all-time by playing in his 34th career playoff game, nine goals to pass John Tavares for first all-time with 85 career playoff goals, eight assists to reach 90 in his playoff career.
    • Toronto forward Dan Dawson (Oakville, Ont.) needs, one playoff goal to pass Mike Accursi for seventh all-time with 59, three playoff goals to pass John Grant for sixth all-time with 61, four playoff goals to pass Colin Doyle for fifth all-time with 62, and two points to become the third player all-time to reach 160 in his playoff career.