Cannons Battle Philly in Eastern Conference Showdown
June 23, 2006 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Boston Cannons News Release
Boston, MA (June 23, 2006) - The Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse (MLL) will host the Philadelphia Barrage on Saturday, June24 at 7:00 PM (EST) at Boston University's Nickerson Field. This is the sixth game of the season for both the Cannons and the Barrage. The Cannons will provide local media outlets with a complete post-game summary following the conclusion of Saturday's contest.
Philadelphia is the only undefeated team in the league, coming to Boston with a record of 5-0; 3-0 in the Eastern Conference. The Cannons are right behind them in the East, with an overall record of 4-1; 2-1 in the Eastern Conference.
Saturday's game is the first in a home-and-home series with the Barrage. The Cannons lead the all-time series with the Barrage eleven games to six. The last meeting between these two teams took place on July 23, 2005 at Nickerson Field. Boston won that contest by a score of 11-10.
Boston enters Saturday's competition following a dramatic, come from behind win over the expansion San Francisco Dragons. The Cannons, led by Bud Light MVP Conor Gill, scored 9 goals in the fourth quarter to defeat San Francisco by a final score of 18-15.
Gill had a season-high six points in the game (4 goals, 2 assists), and is now tied for the MLL lead in points with 24. John Christmas had four goals and an assist, Chris Fiore netted a hat-trick and an assist, and David Evans and Billy Glading each added a pair of goals. Rookie Brett Bucktooth earned his first MLL points, scoring a goal early in the game and also getting an assist. Drew Pfarr also had a goal and an assist. Chazz Woodson added an incredible acrobatic goal late in the fourth quarter to pump up the crowd at Nickerson Field.
David Evans is the Cannons all-time leading scorer against Philadelphia with 53 points. He has scored 32 goals against the Barrage, including 3 two-pointers. Conor Gill is next on the list with 42 points.
The Cannons continue to get goals from their midfielders, and face-off man David Jenkins was named MLL Defensive Player of the Week for his contribution against the Dragons. Jenkins went 25-36 at the face-off X and collected 11 groundballs.
Boston's defense buckled down in the second half, and held the Dragons to just 13 shots in that half. In Boston's explosive fourth quarter, San Francisco managed just 4 shots. The Cannons upcoming game versus the Barrage will be match-up of two of the top defenses in the league. Boston's 12.80 goals-against-average is second only to Philadelphia's 11.00 goals-against-average. In the last meeting between the Cannons and the Barrage, Boston's Chris Passavia held Philadelphia's Ryan Boyle to 0 points. Boyle is the Barrage's second all-time scorer against the Cannons, with 15 goals and 15 assists for 30 points.
Against San Francisco, goalie Chris Garrity finished the evening with 16 saves on 31 shots. Garrity has made 94 saves this season and has a 12.39 goals-against-average. In five games versus the Barrage, Garrity is 3-2 with a 13.80 goals-against-average. In the Cannons July 23rd victory over the Barrage in 2005, Garrity made 17 saves and was named Bud Light MVP.
Philadelphia is off to their best start in Franchise history under second-year head coach Tony Resch. Last season, the Barrage were a dismal 4-8. Four the Philadelphia's five wins this season have been by a one-goal margin.
Barrage attacker Mike Springer was named MLL Offensive Player of the Week for his 3 goal, 3 assist performance in Philadelphia's 13-12 victory over Long Island last week. Springer is second in scoring on the Barrage this season, with 11 goals and 5 assists. Attacker Ryan Boyle also has 16 points for the Barrage this season, but he has not played since Philadelphia's May 27th victory over the Los Angeles Riptide.
Also scoring in Philadelphia's win over the Lizards were attacker Will Phillips (1 goal), attacker BJ Prager (1 goal, 1 assist), midfielder Justin Smith (2 goals, 1 assist), midfielder Roy Colsey (2 goals, 1 assist), and midfielder Matt Striebel (4 goals, 1 assist).
Colsey leads the Barrage in scoring this season with 20 points. Colsey is also Philadelphia's leading scorer against the Cannons. He has 28 goals (including 4 two-pointers), and 13 assists for 45 points against Boston. Striebel has 21 goals and 10 assists all-time against Boston.
Philadelphia's Brian Spallina and Kyle Sweeney lead the league's top rated defense. The Barrage have allowed a total of 55 goals in five games this season, for a league leading 11.00 goals-against-average. Former Cannons player Brain Kuczma has 8 groundballs this season, as does fellow Barrage defenseman Joe Ceglia.
Philadelphia's Brian Dougherty is having an excellent year in goal for the Barrage. For the season, Dougherty leads all MLL goalies with a .680 save percentage and an 11.27 goals-against-average. Dougherty had 19 saves in his last game versus Boston.
The Cannons play their second game of the home-and-home series with the Barrage at Villanova Stadium in Philadelphia on Thursday, June 29 at 7:30 PM. The Cannons next home game will be against the Rochester Rattlers on Saturday, July 22 at 7:00 PM.
Cannons Game Six Notes:
Dave Jenkins was named MLL Defensive Player of the Week for his performance versus the San Francisco Dragons...Conor Gill's season-high 6 points (4 goals, 2 assists) earned him Bud Light MVP honors...Rookie Brett Bucktooth scored his first MLL goal in the Cannons win over San Francisco...Ryan Curtis has still yet to draw a penalty in 2006...Philadelphia's 5-0 start is tied with Boston's 5-0 start in 2005 as the best in MLL history...Philadelphia Barrage defenseman Brian Kuczma is a former Cannons player...Philadelphia defenseman Kyle Sweeney and Boston's John Christmas were teammates this past winter on the Philadelphia Wings...With his 4 goals versus San Francisco, John Christmas has scored 4 points or more in each of his last four games.
Major League Lacrosse Stories from June 23, 2006
- Tim Goettelmann Leads Long Island To 9-6 Win Over Defending Champs - Chesapeake Bayhawks
- Offensive Woes Hurt Pride in Loss to Rattlers - New Jersey Pride
- Lizards Defense Dominates Bayhawks in 9-6 Victory - New York Lizards
- Riptide looking for first road win in team history - Los Angeles Riptide
- Barrage Battle In Bean Town - Philadelphia Barrage
- Cannons Battle Philly in Eastern Conference Showdown - Boston Cannons
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