Nationals Battle Boston in Championship Rematch
July 3, 2012 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Hamilton Nationals News Release
The Hamilton Nationals host the Boston Cannons in a Championship Game rematch on Saturday, July 7th. The 7:00 p.m. game at Ron Joyce Stadium at McMaster University will be broadcast on ESPN3. The game will air locally on Sunday, July 15th at 7:00 p.m. For ticket information, contact the Nationals Ticket Office at (905) 768-2225.
Scouting the Nationals: Hamilton sits in sixth place with a 2-5 record, and bring a two game losing streak into the second half of the season. Joe Walters leads the team with 21 points (10+1+10) in four games. Stephen Keogh took over the Nationals' goal-scoring lead with 13 and ranks second for Hamilton with 17 points in four games. Matt Dolente enters the All-Star Break third in the MLL in ground balls (48) and fourth in faceoff wins (113).
Nationals Shine in All-Star Game: Brett Queener won the Freestyle Event and made six saves in the MLL All-Star Game to earn the victory. Queener was one of five Nationals in the MLL All-Star Weekend, joining Stephen Keogh, Joe Walters, Casey Powell and Matt Dolente. Dolente won 17 faceoffs in his MLL All-Star Game debut, and was accompanied on the Young Guns team by Keogh (one goal). Walters (1+1) and Powell (2+1) played key roles in the Old School team's 18-17 win.
Super Sophomore: Stephen Keogh leads the Nationals with 13 goals and is third with 17 points, despite playing only four games this season with the Nationals. He has career highs in goals, assists and points.
A Chip off the Old Block: The son of Nationals Head Coach Regy Thorpe was named the Auburn Citizen's Boys Lacrosse Player of the Year. Jordan-Elbridge junior attackman Gale Thorpe notched a 64-goal season and averaged 3.76 goals per game for the Eagles, who reached the sectional tournament this season.
Last Meeting: The Nationals dropped an 18-9 decision to the Boston Cannons the last time they met on May 12th at Harvard Stadium. Hamilton was led by four points from Kevin Crowley (3+1) and two goals from Jeremy Thompson. Boston got five-point efforts from Paul Rabil (2+3) and Ryan Boyle (3+2). Mike Stone and Kevin Buchanan also added three-goal nights. In goal, Jordan Burke made nine saves with seven coming in the first half.
Cannons Notes: Boston has dropped two of its last three games to fall to 5-3 in a third-place tie. The Cannons are led by Paul Rabil, who leads the team with 25 assists and 46 points. Rabil leads the point race by 15 and will take a run at John Grant Jr.'s MLL record of 71 set in 2007. Ryan Boyle is tied for fifth with 27 points (8+19) in eight games. Goalie Jordan Burke leads the MLL in goals-against average (9.57), saves (104) and save percentage (578). His five wins are also tied for the league lead. Chris Eck enters the game first in the MLL with 134 faceoff wins and is second with 59 ground balls.
Next Game: Hamilton will return to action with back-to-back games against the expansion Ohio Machine on Friday, July 13th and Saturday, July 14th. The Friday game marks the inaugural meeting between the two teams, and will start at 7:30 p.m. at McMaster University. The team will then travel to Columbus to battle the Machine at 7:00 p.m. Saturday night. Both games will be carried live on ESPN3.
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Major League Lacrosse Stories from July 3, 2012
- Outlaws to Support Colorado Wildfires Relief Efforts - Denver Outlaws
- Nationals Battle Boston in Championship Rematch - Hamilton Nationals
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