SCOREBOARD

NLL: Things to know for Week 14

Riptide vs. Knighthawks Riptide vs. Knighthawks - NLL
Published

Seven games comprise the Week 14 schedule for the National Lacrosse League, but it’s no ordinary weekend. In addition to the “Stadium Showdown” outdoor game at San Diego’s beautiful Snapdragon Stadium (Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. PT), the NLL offers another innovative look at a big game on Monday night when ESPN+ and TSN+ host a dedicated alternate “NLL Watch Party” broadcast of the Rock vs. the Wings from Philadelphia in addition to the regular broadcast. And fans won’t want to sleep on the Bandits vs. Thunderbirds standalone NLL Game of the Week on TSN on Friday (6:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. AT, also ESPN+) and maybe a deep playoff preview with two of the NLL’s 8-2 squads in Rochester and Toronto squaring off in Hamilton (Saturday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN+, TSN+).

Here are 10 things to know about the NLL for Week 14:

  • The “Stadium Showdown” has finally arrived, with the Seals hosting Las Vegas in the league’s first outdoor contest on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. PT. It’s also the largest production in NLL history, with 13 cameras including Spider-Cam, four participants and an official mic’ed up and 11,000+ seats up for grabs. NLL's Peter Schwartz took a look at what goes into putting a game of this magnitude together.
  • You want innovations? Here’s another with the league’s first “NLL Watch Party” alternate broadcast on dedicated ESPN+ and TSN+ feeds beginning at 7 p.m. ET Monday. The #NLLWatchParty will feature NLL broadcasters Pat Gregoire and Teddy Jenner with a series of guests including Jack Hannah (Milford, Ohio) of the Desert Dogs and Kevin Crowley (New Westminster, B.C.) of the Seals, fresh off their Stadium Showdown experience, breaking down the live Rock vs. Wings contest, discussing their own careers and their teams’ prospects for the rest of the season as well as the NLL and lacrosse in general.
  • The Knighthawks' 11-10 overtime win over the Riptide on Saturday was the second longest game in NLL history behind a Boston Blazers win over the Orlando Titans (!) in 2010. The three longest games in NLL history by elapsed game time:
  • In NLL Community News:
  • Panther City will wear its newly created Texas Forever Jersey on Saturday vs the Saskatchewan Rush (8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT, ESPN+, TSN+).
  • In addition to the NLL Game of the Week on TSN and full coverage across ESPN+, five games this week will be simulcast locally in the U.S. across four networks: Albany (WYNA My4); Las Vegas (KVMY Ch. 21); Philadelphia (WSPG CW-57, two games) and Panther City (Bally Sports SW).
  • The NLL run to the playoffs is in full earnest, with some teams starting to separate themselves from the rest of the league. In the East, it’s a three-way tie at 8-2 between the defending Conference champion Bandits, surprising Knighthawks and stalwart Rock, with the battle for the fourth automatic East spot showing the Thunderbirds (5-5) a game ahead of the Wings (3-5) and the FireWolves (2-7) next in line. The West sees the Seals (6-2) currently just ahead of the Roughnecks (7-4) and Rush (5-4) for the three Conference Spots. The eighth playoff position goes to the better of the fifth best East (Wings) and fourth best West team (currently Panther City at 6-5 with the defending NLL champion Mammoth still hanging in at 5-5 and Las Vegas just a half step back at 4-5).
  • The NLL continued its celebration of Black History Month with a feature on Wings defenseman Isaiah Davis-Allen, whose Fairfax County, Va., roots make him the only person of color in the NLL who is from the American South.
  • Some milestones players eclipsed last week include:
    • Colorado defenseman Jordan Gilles (Richmond, B.C.) now has 503 loose ball recoveries after grabbing four vs. Panther City
    • Las Vegas forward Jacob Ruest (Cornwall, Ont.) now has 403 loose ball recoveries after nabbing four vs. Calgary
    • New York goaltender Steve Orleman (Kitchener, Ont.) now has 1018 saves after stopping 53 shots vs. Rochester
    • Panther City forward Callum Crawford (Ottawa, Ont.) now has 1003 loose ball recoveries after gobbling up four vs. Colorado
    • Panther City forward Will Malcom (New Westminster, B.C.) now has 101 assists after collecting two vs. Colorado
    • Rochester defenseman Dan Coates (St. Catharines, Ont.) needs eight faceoff wins to reach 500
    • Rochester forward Turner Evans (Peterborough, Ont.) now has 304 loose ball recoveries after recording five vs. New York
    • Rochester defenseman Matt Gilray (Oshawa, Ont.) needs now has 309 loose ball recoveries after collecting a game-high 13 vs. New York
    • Saskatchewan defenseman/transition player Mike Messenger (Surrey, B.C.) now has 601 loose ball recoveries after nabbing nine vs. Vancouver
    • Vancouver forward Keegan Bal (Coquitlam, B.C.) now has 309 points after netting three goals and eight assists vs. Saskatchewan
  • Some milestones players may reach this week include:
    • Buffalo defenseman Steve Priolo (St. Catharines, Ont.) needs five points to reach 200
    • Buffalo goaltender Matt Vinc (St. Catharines, Ont.) needs one game played to pass Brandon Miller to lead all goaltenders in league history with 262
    • Georgia forward Shayne Jackson (Bowmanville, Ont.) needs five goals to reach 300
    • Georgia defenseman/transition player Jeremy Thompson (Syracuse, N.Y.) needs five faceoff wins to pass Jamie Hanford for third place in league history with 2092
    • Halifax forward Ryan Benesch (Elmira, Ont.) needs three goals to become the sixth player in league history to reach 500 (pending Dane Dobbie).
    • Halifax defenseman David Brock (Burlington, Ont.) needs two points to reach 100
    • New York defenseman/transition player Jay Thorimbert (Whitby, Ont.) needs four loose ball recoveries to become the fifth player in league history to reach 1800
    • Philadelphia goaltender Angus Goodleaf (Kahanwake, Que.) needs 16 minutes played to reach 2000
    • Philadelphia forward Ben McIntosh (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) needs eight loose ball recoveries to reach 500.
    • Philadelphia forward Matt Rambo (Glenside, Pa.) needs six points to reach 200
    • Philadelphia defenseman John Ranagan (Yorktown, N.Y.) needs five loose ball recoveries to reach 400
    • Philadelphia forward Joe Resetarits (Hamburg, N.Y.) needs eight points to reach 600
    • San Diego forward Kevin Crowley (New Westminster, B.C.) needs two points to reach 800 and two loose ball recoveries to reach 700
    • San Diego forward Curtis Dickson (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) needs six points to reach 900
    • San Diego forward Dane Dobbie (Elora, Ont.) needs four goals to become the sixth player in league history to reach 500 (pending Ryan Benesch)
    • Saskatchewan defenseman Matt Beers (Coquitlam, B.C.) needs one assist to reach 100
    • Saskatchewan defenseman Ryan Dilks (Edmonton, Alb.) needs four points to reach 100
    • Toronto forward Dan Dawson (Oakville, Ont.) needs one point to become the second player in League history to reach 1500 (John Tavares is the other).
    • Toronto defenseman Mitch de Snoo (Oshawa, Ont.) needs three points to reach 100
    • Toronto defenseman Billy Hostrawser (Bellwood, Ont.) needs nine loose ball recoveries to reach 700
    • Toronto defenseman Brad Kri (Acton, Ont.) needs 10 loose ball recoveries to reach 800

 

Schedule – Week 14 (All Times Eastern)

Friday

Bandits (8-2) @ Thunderbirds (5-5), 6:30pm, ESPN+, NLL Game of the Week on TSN

 

Saturday

Riptide (2-8) @ Wings (3-5), 11:30am, ESPN+, TSN+, WPSG

Desert Dogs (4-5) @ Seals (5-3), 4:30pm, ESPN+, KVMY, Fox5 San Diego, ESPNU*

Swarm (1-7) @ FireWolves (2-7), 7pm, ESPN+, TSN+, WNYA

Knighthawks (8-2) @ Rock (8-2), 7pm, ESPN+, TSN+

Rush (5-4) @ Panther City (6-5), 8pm, ESPN+, TSN+

 

Monday

Rock (8-2**) @ Wings (3-5**), 7pm, ESPN+, TSN+, WPSG†

 

*“Stadium Showdown” outdoor game, also same day delay on ESPNU, 11pm ET

**pending Saturday result

†plus ESPN+, TSN+ standalone “#NLLWatchParty” broadcast