Nationals Take on Charlotte on National TV
May 31, 2012 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Hamilton Nationals News Release
The Hamilton Nationals travel to play the expansion Charlotte Hounds on Saturday, June 2nd at 7:00 p.m. The Nationals will play the Hounds on national TV on the CBS Sport Network.
Scouting the Nationals: Hamilton enters the week 0-3 after dropping its last game, 20-7, to the Chesapeake Bayhawks. The Nationals played in front of a record home crowd of 3,751 at McMaster University on May 18th. The Nationals got three points from Kevin Crowley (2+1) and two-point games from Casey Powell (1+1), David Earl (1+1) and Garrett Billings, all of whom made their 2012 debuts. Crowley leads the Nats with seven points (7+2) in two games. Stoney Creek, Ontario, native Kiel Matisz also scored his first professional goal. Joe Resetarits and Dan Coates made their Nationals' debuts as well. Brodie Merrill scooped up eight ground balls to reach 540 in his career and set a MLL record.
Fantastic Four: Four draft picks of the Hamilton Nationals were named to the USILA 2012 Division I All-American Teams. Princeton defenseman Chad Wiedmaier garnered First Team honors, while Matt Lovejoy (Second Team), Kiel Matisz (Third Team) and Joe Resetarits (Honorable Mention) were also honored by the USILA. Wiedmaier (Princeton) and Lovejoy (Virginia) are expected to make their pro debuts on June 2nd.
We are the Champions: Last season, the Hamilton Nationals fell one goal short of winning a world championship. A title, however, would not elude several of those in the indoor game as Cody Jamieson, Joe Walters and Stephen Keogh captured the NLL Champion's Cup on May 19th. The trio of Rochester Knighthawks players helped their team defeat the Edmonton Rush 9-6. Jamieson, Walters and Keogh have been activated for the game in Charlotte. The Nationals also activated defenseman Kyle Rubisch, who played in the NLL Finals with Edmonton. Rubisch was the 2012 NLL Defensive Player of the Year.
Dynamic Duo: Head Coach Regy Thorpe and Assistant Coach Gary Gait led the Syracuse University Women's team to the school's first NCAA Division I Finals. With the Orange, Gait serves as the head coach and Thorpe holds down the assistant coaching position. Last season, the duo led the Nationals to the MLL Finals.
Charlotte Notes: The Hounds are 1-3 this season, losing their last game on May 19th. Charlotte engineered a late four-goal rally in the fourth quarter, but fell just short in a 10-9 to the Long Island Lizards. Matt Danowski (1+3), Justin Smith (2+1) and former National Jeremy Boltus (2+0) led the offensive effort. Boltus was the 2011 MLL Rookie of the Year. Stephen Berger leads the team with nine goals and 15 points (9+1+5), and is tied for fourth in the MLL in points. Danowski is second on the team with 12 points (4+8).
Next Game: Hamilton will return home on Saturday, June 9th to host the Rochester Rattlers at 7:30 p.m. at McMaster University. For ticket information, contact the Nationals Ticket Office at (905) 768-2225.
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Major League Lacrosse Stories from May 31, 2012
- Nationals Take on Charlotte on National TV - Hamilton Nationals
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