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Minnesota Swarm Back on the Road against Buffalo

March 20, 2015 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Minnesota Swarm News Release


SAINT PAUL, Minn. - The Minnesota Swarm (3-7) will head on the road to face the Buffalo Bandits (6-6) Saturday night at First Niagara Center for a 6:30 p.m. CT faceoff. Fans can watch the game on UniversalSports.com (U.S.) and TSNGo (Canada).

The Swarm is returning to play after a back-to-back weekend where the team came up empty-handed at home against New England and on the road against Colorado. Minnesota maintained a never quit attitude in both games despite being down early as it was able to climb its way back into each game.

"It's definitely frustrating on the losing aspect of it but at the same time the season is relatively long so we're not hanging our heads or anything by any means," Swarm forward Corbyn Tao said.

At home last Saturday, the Swarm lost a back-and-forth, physical game to the Black Wolves by a score of 10-9; forward Dean Hill (8g, 8a) recorded his first hat trick of the season in the loss. The next evening, the Swarm fell 12-8 to the Mammoth at Pepsi Center. Defenseman Jason Noble (2a) was able to play against his twin brother, Mammoth forward Jeremy Noble (2g, 5a), who played in his very first NLL game after a recent trade to Colorado.

Despite dropping its last five games, Minnesota is still in the hunt for a playoff spot in the East Division. The Swarm currently sits two games back of the Bandits for third place, and will also host Buffalo at The Hive on April 11. Minnesota also faces New England (3-5) in back-to-back weeks starting on the road March 29 and at home on April 3. With three critical games ahead, coaches and players alike are dialed in for this Saturday's game.

"We look forward to the challenge and we're going to treat this as a playoff game for us so we have to definitely bring our 'A' game against Buffalo," Swarm assistant coach Aime Caines said.

Buffalo defeated the Swarm earlier this year at home, 15-12, back on Jan. 30. Minnesota outscored the Bandits 9-4 during a spirited second half comeback, but an early 11-3 deficit proved to be too much.

Forward Shayne Jackson leads the Swarm in scoring this season with 43 points (17g, 26a), and rookie F Miles Thompson is close behind with 39 points (16g, 23a). Transition player Jordan MacIntosh (13g, 17a) sits second in the league with 105 loose balls and has 30 points (13g, 17a).

Forwards Ryan Benesch (33g, 32a), Dhane Smith (26g, 39a) and Mark Steenhuis (20g, 36a) have been main contributors in the Bandits offense this season. Buffalo split a home-and-home series against the East Division-leading Toronto Rock this past weekend, which included an 11-10 overtime loss in Toronto on Saturday.

The Swarm returns to Ho-Chunk Nation Field at Xcel Energy Center on Friday, April 3 for a rematch against the New England Black Wolves during Faith and Family Night. Faceoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-888-MN-SWARM or by visiting www.mnswarm.com.



National Lacrosse League Stories from March 20, 2015


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