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National Lacrosse League: Ten Things to Know for Week 6

Published on January 4, 2024 under National Lacrosse League (NLL) News Release


PHILADELPHIA - The National Lacrosse League (@NLL), the largest and most successful professional lacrosse property in the world, features four games, including the NLL Saturday Showcase, a 2023 NLL Finals rematch between the Colorado Mammoth and Buffalo Bandits at KeyBank Center (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+, TSN+, Altitude Sports, CW23), this weekend.

Here are 10 things to know about the NLL entering Week 6:

Dobbie vs. Benesch Watch: The NLL's All-Time Scoring list will have two new occupants among the top five soon, but in which order is anyone's guess. Colin Doyle currently stands at No. 5 with 527, but Halifax forward Ryan Benesch (Elmira, Ont.) (521) and San Diego forward Dane Dobbie (Elora, Ont.) (519) are on his heels, and flipping the sixth and seventh spots weekly. Benesch gets the next crack at the spot when his Thunderbirds visit Albany on Friday. Dobbie and the Seals take on Las Vegas on Jan. 12 in their next contest.

Flipping the Turnstiles: Big crowds were the norm this past weekend in NLL arenas across North America, with Buffalo's near-17,000 attendance in its showdown with Georgia at KeyBank Center leading the way. WestJet Field at Scotiabank Saddledome was rocking with 13,405 in its win over the Las Vegas Desert Dogs. The Toronto Rock and New York Riptide played in front of 9,566 in Hamilton, Ontario, Ball Arena in Denver was as loud as ever with 9,743 fans, Scotiabank Centre in Halifax hit hard with 9,857 on hand, and the SaskTel Centre was on par with 9,377 rushing through the gates for their annual New Year's Eve game.

Breakthrough in Stripes: Calgary's Carmen Massel worked the shot clock during Saturday's Rochester vs. San Diego game at Pechanga Arena. Notable because she became the first woman to officiate an NLL game. Massel also works in the Rocky Mountain League and is a member of the Alberta Lacrosse Referee's Association.

ESPN Top 10, Make it a Double: ESPN SportsCenter found two Top 10 plays to its liking last weekend: on Saturday, Buffalo's Kyle Buchanan's (Nepean, Ont.) nifty behind-the-back tally was No. 7; and on Sunday, this incredible save by Toronto's Nick Rose (Orangeville, Ont.) earned No. 5.

Metric Tons: The popular "LaxMetrics Powered by the NLL" feature on NLL.com this week has Cooper Perkins's look at Georgia Swarm netminder Brett Dobson's (Oshawa, Ont.) early-season case for Goaltender of the Year.

Three for Free: The New York Riptide may be looking for their first win, but there is past history that says teams who start 0-3 can still make the playoffs. Of current NLL franchises, 11 teams have started off dropping their first three and qualifying, as recently as 2019, when Colorado turned the trick. On the flip side, the Albany FireWolves (4-0) and Toronto Rock (3-0) are the remaining unbeatens... in league history, only two teams among current franchises have started a season 3-0 and not made the playoffs, the last occurring in 2001, when the Buffalo Bandits ended at 8-4 and in 1990, when the Baltimore Thunder (now Colorado Mammoth) finished 4-4. As for the FireWolves, no NLL team has played a full season after starting 4-0 and failed to make the postseason.

Locally Shown: Six local outlets will have live coverage of the four NLL games this weekend, in addition to ESPN+ and TSN+ for every contest: Halifax Thunderbirds at Albany FireWolves (Saturday, 7 p.m. ET, CTV2, My4); Colorado Mammoth at Buffalo Bandits (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, Altitude Sports, CW23); Panther City Lacrosse Club at Georgia Swarm (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, Peachtree Sports); New York Riptide at Philadelphia Wings (Sunday, 3 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia).

Power Up: NLL.com posted its latest Power Rankings, and the Toronto Rock vault into first after a resounding win over New York, supplanting Buffalo, which slides all the way to sixth after a 1-2 start and impending Finals rematch with Colorado. The Albany bandwagon is gaining occupants, with a move from fourth to second after a thrilling OT win at Saskatchewan keeping the FireWolves unbeaten. Also making significant jumps are San Diego, off a win over previously unbeaten Rochester to bounce into third and Georgia, whose 3-1 start and win over Buffalo justifies elevation to No. 4.

NLL Players reaching milestones last week included:

Philadelphia forward Joe Resetarits (Hamburg, N.Y.) is now the career points leader among American-born players with 675, passing Casey Powell, after a goal and six assists vs. Halifax. Powell will be in the booth Saturday serving as the broadcast analyst for the undefeated FireWolves contest against the Thunderbirds.

Buffalo forward Dhane Smith (Kitchener, Ont.) now has 623 assists, passing Gavin Prout for 10th on the all-time list after distributing seven helpers vs. Georgia

Las Vegas forward Casey Jackson (Victoria, B.C.) now has 102 goals after netting three vs. Calgary

San Diego forward Wesley Berg (Coquitlam, B.C.) now has 302 assists and 500 points after a three-goal, six-assist effort vs. Rochester

Toronto forward Dan Lintner (Courtice, Ont.) has now played in 100 games, and the century marker was a good one, with two goals and two assists vs. New York

Player achievements within reach this week are:

Buffalo forward Chris Cloutier (Kitchener, Ont.) needs nine points to reach 200

Buffalo forward Chase Fraser (Vancouver, B.C.) needs two goals to reach 100

Buffalo forward Tehoka Nanticoke (Six Nations, Ont.) needs three points to reach 100

Buffalo defenseman Steve Priolo (St. Catharines, Ont.) needs one point to reach 200

Colorado goaltender Dillon Ward (Orangeville, Ont.) needs one win to pass Dallas Eliuk for eighth on the all-time list with 70

Georgia forward Brendan Bomberry (Six Nations, Ont.) needs three assists to reach 100

Georgia forward Andrew Kew (Oakville, Ont.) needs four goals to reach 100

Georgia forward Lyle Thompson (Onandaga Nation, N.Y.) needs eight goals to reach 300

Halifax forward Ryan Benesch (Elmira, Ont.) needs seven goals to pass Colin Doyle (depending on Dane Dobbie, see above note) for fifth on the all-time goals list with 528

Halifax defenseman Graeme Hossack (Port Perry, Ont.) needs four points to reach 100

Halifax forward Randy Staats (Six Nations, Ont.) needs five goals to reach 200

New York forward Connor Kearnan (Courtice, Ont.) needs one assist to reach 100

New York forward Jeff Teat (Brampton, Ont.) needs two goals to reach 100

Philadelphia forward Joe Resetarits (Hamburg, N.Y.) needs four assists to reach 400 (in addition to the American-born scoring record, noted above)

Schedule - Week 6 (All Times Eastern)

Saturday

Halifax Thunderbirds (2-1) at Albany FireWolves (4-0), 7 p.m., ESPN+, TSN+, CTV2, My4 (Glasheen, Powell, Miller)

Colorado Mammoth (1-2) at Buffalo Bandits (1-2), (NLL Saturday Showcase) 7:30 p.m., ESPN+, TSN+, Altitude Sports, CW23 (Gurtler, Bermel, Buchanan)

Panther City Lacrosse Club (1-2) at Georgia Swarm (3-1), 7:30 p.m., ESPN+, TSN+, Peachtree Sports Network (Mooneyham, Hanover, Hoffman)

Sunday

New York Riptide (0-3) at Philadelphia Wings (2-2), 3 p.m., ESPN+, TSN+, NBC Sports Philadelphia (Smith, Gabrielsen, McGuinness)

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