Final Regular Season Game in Rochester Saturday
August 11, 2006 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Boston Cannons News Release
Boston, MA (August 11, 2006) - The Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse (MLL) will travel to New York this weekend to face the Rochester Rattlers at PAETEC Park on Saturday, August 5th at 7:30 PM. This is the twelfth and final regular season game for both the Cannons and the Rattlers. The Cannons will provide local media outlets with a complete post-game summary following the conclusion of Saturday's contest.
The Cannons head into Rochester with a record of 8-3 (6-3 in the Eastern Conference) this season. The Rattlers have a record of 4-7 (3-6 in the Eastern Conference) this season. This is the twelfth meeting between Boston and Rochester, and the Cannons lead the all-time series seven games to four having defeated the Rattlers once already this season in Week Nine by a score of 13-12 at Nickerson Field.
The Cannons are coming off their best offensive game of the season, having defeated the Baltimore Bayhawks by a score of 23-16 in their final game at Nickerson Field this season. Conor Gill led all players win the game with seven points (3 goals, 1 two-point goal, 3 assists), and Matt Poskay earned MLL Cascade Rookie of the Week Honors by scoring four goals and an assist. Chris Garrity was named Bud Light Game MVP.
Boston's Conor Gill is tied for the league lead in scoring with 57 points. In the Cannons last game versus Rochester, Gill has a hat-trick and a pair of assists. He is Boston's all-time leading scorer against Rochester, having scored 49 points versus the Rattlers.
Jonathan Christmas is second on the Cannons in scoring and had four points versus the Bayhawks last week. It was also another great week for the Boston rookies. Not only did Poskay earn Rookie of the Week honors, DJ Andrzejewski had a pair of goals and Brett Bucktooth had a goal. Poskay had a pair of goals in his first game against the Rattlers earlier this season.
Chris Fiore remains the leading scorer among the Boston midfielders this season with 29 points. He had a hat-trick, including a two-pointer and added an assist in Boston's win over the Bayhawks. Fiore has 16 points against the Rattlers. David Jenkins is 178-338 at the face-off X this season and leads the Cannons with 74 groundballs. Against the Rattlers in Week Nine, Jenkins went 13-26 and had 6 groundballs. Drew Pfarr and Billy Glading each have 10 points, and have gathered 37 and 34 groundballs respectively.
Chris Passavia leads all Cannons defenders with 5 points and 38 groundballs. The Cannons defense has allowed an average of 13.09 goals-per-game this year and is currently ranked fifth in the MLL.
Chris Garrity is 4-0 versus the Rattlers, although he did not play against them in Week Nine. Jake Coon started in goal for the Cannons versus Rochester, which was the first time that he had faced his former team. In the Cannons victory, Coon made 15 saves on 26 shots.
The Rattlers were without the services of several players due to the Warrior World Lacrosse Games when these two teams last met. However, The Rochester Rattlers have lost four games in a row, having just been defeated by the Philadelphia Barrage by a score of 18-13.
The Rattlers are led this season by attacker John Grant Jr., with 42 points. He is followed by fellow attacker Seth Goldberg with 35 points. Rochester is eighth in the league in scoring, averaging 12.18 goals per game. Greg Gurenlian is 95-199 on face-offs for the Rattlers and went 13-26 versus David Jenkins when these two teams last met. Kevin Cassese is 16-32 and Stephen Hoar is 21-63 at the face-off X this season.
Veteran defenseman Brodie Merrill leads the team with 85 groundballs. He also leads all Rochester defenseman in scoring with 11 points. The Rochester defense has allowed 13.36 goals per game.
Rochester goalie Mike Levin has appeared in ten games and is 4-4 for the Rattlers this season. He has a 12.97 goals-against-average and a .599 save percentage. In Week Nine versus the Cannons, he made 20 saves on 31 shots in the loss. Kevin O'Brien has made 3 appearances and is 0-1 with a 16.17 goals-against-average and a .463 save percentage.
Having qualified for the post-season, the Boston Cannons will travel to Los Angeles to play in the 2006 New Balance Championship Weekend, August 25th and 27th at the Home Depot Center.
Cannons Game Twelve Notes:
Conor Gill is currently tied for the league lead in points and in assists...Matt Poskay was named MLL Cascade Rookie of the Week for the second time this year after scoring 4 goals and an assist versus Baltimore...Goalie Chris Garrity was named Bud Light MVP , making 25 saves on 39 shots versus Baltimore...Boston's John Glatzel, Jake Coon, and Pat Myers have all previously played for the Rattlers....Rochester's Kevin O'Brien previously played for the Cannons...Boston honored midfielder Mike Battista during their game on Saturday...Battista retired earlier this season after suffering a concussion...The Boston Cannons announced their 2006 Team Awards on Saturday...Conor Gill was named Team MVP and Team Offensive Player of the Year, Ryan Curtis was named Team Defensive Player of the Year, David Jenkins was named 11th Man Award winner, and Matt Poskay was named Team Rookie of the Year...Congratulations to David Evans and his wife Alison, who gave birth to the couple's first son, Preston Lewis Evans last Saturday.
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Major League Lacrosse Stories from August 11, 2006
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- Final Regular Season Game in Rochester Saturday - Boston Cannons
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