NLL: Ten things to know for Week 13

The National Lacrosse League ramps up with eight games and every team in action in Week 13. In addition to the NLL on ESPN featured contest between Georgia (which also visits Panther City on Sunday) and San Diego on Friday night (11 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. PT, ESPNU, TSN+), the tight standings could see a little jostling following matchups like the NLL Saturday Showcase of league co-leader Albany at defending champion Buffalo (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+, TSN+, My4 and CW23) and several battles between teams separated by a game or fewer in the standings, including Philadelphia at Calgary (Saturday, 9 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. MT, ESPN+, TSN+, NBC Sports Philadelphia, Philly 57).

Here are 10 things to know about the NLL entering Week 13:

• Black Bears Make Ottawa Home Range: On Wednesday, the NLL, in partnership with GF Sports and Entertainment and Senators Sports & Entertainment, announced the launch of Ottawa-Gatineau’s newest professional sports franchise, the Ottawa Black Bears. The Black Bears will begin play at the start of the 2024-25 NLL season, with all home games to be played at Canadian Tire Centre, the home of the National Hockey League’s Ottawa Senators.
• Montreal Mania: The sports world took notice on Friday, particularly in Canada, when Toronto and New York battled in the first regular season NLL game in the province of Quebec since 2002, with nearly 7,000 raucous fans witnessing a Rock comeback in a 16-10 win in Laval. The first NLL UnBOXed Series matchup portends good things to come for the program as well as the continued growth of the sport there.
• Whither Withers? The Faceoff Circle: Faceoffs don’t often get the love they deserve, but ask teams that have a superstar in the circle like Halifax’s Jake Withers what a difference it makes gobbling up possession after possession. Withers went a step further on Friday, setting a league record by going 30 for 30 on faceoffs, eclipsing a 12-year-old mark held by Geoff Snider, who went 28/28.
• Oh, Brother: Family ties run deep in the NLL, and that was on full display when Brandon, Justin and Dylan Robinson joined forces for the Bandits. Nine years separate the eldest Brandon and youngest Dylan, so as local Buffalo station WIVB noted, opportunities to play together had to wait until now.
• Rock Rising: NLL.com’s Week 13 Power Rankings see a huge shift, with the Toronto Rock, winners of the hyped NLL UnBOXed Series game in Laval, Quebec, over the red hot New York Riptide, jumping all the way to the No. 1 spot, leaping over idle San Diego, which stays at No. 2 and can make a statement when it takes on Georgia on Friday (11 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. PT, ESPNU, TSN+, Peachtree Network). Halifax remains in third after splitting two games last weekend, including a win over No. 4 Buffalo, which falls from the top spot. Albany moved up one spot to fifth with a win over Colorado.
• Tube Time: While fans can always watch every game on ESPN and TSN platforms, this week features one of the season’s most robust local broadcast slates, with nine outlets showing games in eight markets, including appearances on four terrestrial channels: My4 in Albany, CW23 in Buffalo, Philly 57 and CTV2 in Halifax.
• Community Minded: NLL teams and players may have their minds on the push towards the final third of the season, but they’re even more engaged than ever in community programs. To wit:
  • The Calgary Roughnecks on Tuesday launched the Roughnecks Lacrosse Literacy program in partnership with the Alberta Lacrosse Association (ALA). The province-wide school lacrosse program aims at increasing the participation in and awareness of lacrosse, offering certified instructors, education aspects especially the Indigenous roots of the game, fundamental skills and more.
  • Reid Bowering, Owen Grant and Matt Beers of the Vancouver Warriors recently met kids at Kanaka Creek Elementary in Maple Ridge, B.C., teaching about the indigenous roots of the sport as well as looking deeper into the meaning of the Warriors’ logo and its core values.
  • Last week, Taggart Clark and Jackson Ganton of the Philadelphia Wings were part of Kick Axe Philly, raising money for their charities.
• Promo World: A few of the events going on at NLL games weekend are:
  • The Buffalo Bandits are honoring the roots of the beautiful medicine game, starting with an already active auction on game-worn jerseys for Native American Heritage Night.
  • The Toronto Rock will also celebrate Indigenous Heritage Night on Saturday vs. Vancouver
  • The San Diego Seals and Saskatchewan Rush will hold their respective Marvel Super Hero Nights, a promotion that has delighted fans young at old at NLL arenas across the league.
  • Saturday is Casino Knight in Rochester, with the first 1,000 fans receiving custom playing cards presented by Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino.
  • Calgary will be loud courtesy of 4,000 thundersticks and will be rocking with halftime guest Drillbits.
  • Sunday is Youth Lax Day for Panther City Lacrosse Club fans, as the franchise continues to build the sport in North Texas.
• NLL Players reaching milestones last week included:
  • Calgary forward Tyler Pace (Coquitlam, B.C.) now has 101 goals after scoring three vs. Halifax
  • New York forward Larson Sundown (Basom, N.Y.) now has 101 points after recording three goals and an assist vs. Toronto
• Player achievements within reach this week are:
  • Buffalo forward Chris Cloutier (Kitchener, Ont.) needs four goals to reach 100
  • Calgary forward Haiden Dickson (Delta, B.C.) needs one point to reach 100
  • Colorado defenseman Paul Dawson (Oakville, Ont.) needs five points to reach 100
  • Colorado forward Tyson Gibson (Maple, Ont.) needs seven assists to reach 100
  • Colorado forward Eli McLaughlin (Surrey, B.C.) needs four assists to reach 300
  • Colorado forward Connor Robinson (New Westminster, B.C.) needs seveng oals to reach 100; and five assists to reach 100
  • Halifax forward Clarke Petterson (Toronto) needs three goals to reach 100
  • Halifax forward Austin Shanks (Courtice, Ont.) needs five points to reach 300
  • Las Vegas forward Jack Hannah (Milford, Ohio) needs one point to reach 100
  • New York forward Connor Kearnan (Courtice, Ont.) needs six goals to reach 100
  • Panther City forward Phil Caputo (Brampton, Ont.) needs six goals to reach 100
  • Panther City forward Jonathan Donville (Oakville, Ont.) needs seven assists to reach 100
  • Philadelphia forward Ben McIntosh (Port Coquilam, B.C.) needs five goals to reach 300
  • Philadelphia forward Joe Resetarits (Hamburg, N.Y.) needs nine goals to reach 300; and two points to reach 700
  • Rochester forward Ryan Smith (Burlington, Ont.) needs six goals to reach 100; and nine assists to reach 100
  • San Diego forward Curtis Dickson (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) needs six goals (depending on teammate Dane Dobbie, see below) to pass Colin Doyle for sixth all-time with 528
  • San Diego forward Dane Dobbie (Elora, Ont.) needs one goal to pass Colin Doyle for sixth place on the all-time goals list with 528 (Ryan Benesch of Halifax now has 539)
  • San Diego defenseman/transition player Jesse Gamble (Rockwood, Ont.) needs five points to reach 100
  • San Diego forward Tre Leclaire (Surrey, B.C.) needs five points to reach 100
  • San Diego forward Austin Staats (Six Nations, Ont.) needs five points to reach 300
  • Toronto forward Chris Boushy (Oakville, Ont.) needs four goals to reach 100
  • Toronto forward Dan Craig (Shelburne, Ont) needs two points to reach 300
  • Toronto forward Dan Lintner (Courtice, Ont.) needs two assists to reach 100
  • Toronto forward Mark Matthews (Oshawa, Ont.) needs seven points to become the 15th player all-time (depending on Curtis Dickson of San Diego) to reach 1000
  • Toronto goaltender Nick Rose (Orangeville Ont.) needs 43 saves to pass Mike Poulin for sixth all-time with 6255
  • Toronto forward Tom Schreiber (East Meadow, N.Y.) needs five goals to reach 200; and four points to reach 500
  • Vancouver forward Adam Charalambides (Georgetown, Ont.) needs six assists to reach 100
  • Vancouver forward Ryan Martel (Aldergrove, B.C.) needs six points to reach 100

Schedule – Week 13 (All Times Eastern)

Friday

• New York Riptide (5-5) at Colorado Mammoth (3-7), 9 p.m., ESPN+, TSN+, Altitude Sports (Lindahl, Shewchuk, Gallant)
• Georgia Swarm (6-4) at San Diego Seals (6-3), NLL on ESPN, 11 p.m., ESPNU, TSN+ (Kanell, Ossello, Michaels)

Saturday

• Las Vegas Desert Dogs (3-6) at Rochester Knighthawks (3-5), 7 p.m., ESPN+, TSN+, Silver State SEN (Rybczynski, McDaniels, Mossbrooks)
• Vancouver Warriors (2-7) at Toronto Rock (7-2), 7 p.m., ESPN+, TSN+ (Abbott, Shanahan, Docking)
• Albany FireWolves (7-2) at Buffalo Bandits (5-4), 7:30 p.m., NLL Saturday Showcase, ESPN+, TSN+, My4, CW23 (Gurtler, Bermel, Buchanan)
• Halifax Thunderbirds (6-4) at Saskatchewan Rush (3-4), 8 p.m., ESPN+, TSN+, CTV2 (Janzen, Fraser, Ahmad)
• Philadelphia Wings (3-5) at Calgary Roughnecks (4-5), 9 p.m., ESPN+, TSN+, NBC Sports Philadelphia, Philly 57 (Farhall, Ballantine, McDonald)

Sunday

• Georgia Swarm (6-4*) at Panther City Lacrosse Club (4-4), 4 p.m., ESPN+, TSN+, Peachtree Sports Network, Bally Sports Southwest (Thulin, Jernigan, Hale)

*pending Friday’s result