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Minnesota Swarm Faces Critical Showdown against Buffalo this Weekend

April 10, 2015 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Minnesota Swarm News Release


ST. PAUL, Minn. - With its final four games of the 2015 regular season scheduled at The Hive, the Minnesota Swarm (5-9) has its eyes set on finishing the season on a strong note. The Swarm is also looking to stay alive in the playoff race, and needs a win Saturday night against the Buffalo Bandits (7-7) to avoid elimination. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m. CT on Ho-Chunk Nation Field at Xcel Energy Center and fans can watch a live stream of the game on UniversalSports.com (U.S.) and TSNGo (Canada).

Saturday evening is a doubleheader at The Hive as the Minnesota RollerGirls will take the floor afterward. Fans can attend both events on a single ticket by calling 1-888-MN-SWARM or visiting www.mnswarm.com/seeingdouble .

Minnesota came out with a split last weekend in its back-to-back against the New England Black Wolves (4-9) and Rochester Knighthawks (9-4). The Swarm clinched the regular season series against New England (3-to-1) on Friday night at The Hive with a big 12-8 win. New acquisitions F Johnny Powless (1g, 2a) and T Joel White (1g, 1a) both put points on the board in their first game wearing a Swarm jersey. The following night on the road wasn't pretty for Minnesota as the team was handed its ninth loss of the season by the Knighthawks.

Despite losing on Saturday, Minnesota remains just two games back of the Bandits in the East Division standings as the Black Wolves defeated Buffalo 12-11 at First Niagara Center that same evening.

"New England did us a favor and beat Buffalo last weekend to give us a chance here and now we have to step up," said assistant coach Aime Caines. "The good thing for us is it's at home and we usually play good at home."

While Minnesota's offense struggled against Rochester, the defense continues to post solid numbers as of late. In their last three contests, opponents are only averaging nine goals per game against the Swarm.

"The biggest thing defensively for our team is we're starting to communicate a lot more, we're starting to get comfortable with each other," said transition player Jason Noble. "Welcoming newcomer like Joel White in, he's seemed to pick up our defense fine. I think over the last year, I've noticed just our communication from last season to this season has gotten a lot better."

Minnesota dropped both contests to the Bandits this season at First Niagara Center, but defeated the Bandits twice last season at Xcel Energy Center. Buffalo's last victory in Minnesota came back in 2011, and has dropped four-straight since.

During his first weekend with the Swarm, White collected 17 loose balls, and ranks third in the league with 134. White trails teammate T Jordan MacIntosh (18g, 22a) who sits in second in the NLL with 147. Powless made his mark on the offensive end, posting a goal and two assists in his Swarm debut last Friday. "He's got great hands so he's fit in really nice with our offense and the way our offense creates," said Caines in regards to Powless.

Minnesota is 2-3 this season during home games, and plays four-straight Saturday contests at 7 p.m. to close out the season.

"A lot of us are excited, both offense and defense, that we're playing at home now and get to play in front of the home crowd," Noble said. "We love playing there."



National Lacrosse League Stories from April 10, 2015


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