NLL Panther City Lacrosse Club

Panther City Lacrosse Club Pre-Practice Report -- January 28

Published on January 28, 2022 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Panther City Lacrosse Club News Release


Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - The Panther City Lacrosse Club will take to the floor this evening in preparation of their game against the Saskatchewan Rush on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. CT on ESPN+ at the Sasktel Centre. The team is coming off the franchise's first ever win on January 15 against the New York Riptide. Rookies Patrick Dodds (3 goals & 5 assists) and Taite Cattoni ( 3 goals & 4 assists) led the way for the PCLC offense in the win. In what was the fifth longest game in NLL history, Dodds scored the game-winner over 10 minutes into the overtime session. Between the pipes, goalie Kevin Orleman had his best performance of the season against New York, stopping 41 shots. The game will also feature the return of transition player Jeremy Thompson to Saskatchewan, where he spent 82 games and racked up 75 points in six years. The Rush made the playoffs in four of his six years with the team. In addition, Panther City will see a return of multiple keys players this weekend who had been on the NLL Covid Protocol List.

The matchup will also pit brothers against each other, as Panther City transition player Travis Cornwall squares off against his younger brother, Rush transition player Jeff Cornwall.

PRE-PRACTICE QUOTES

Panther City Lacrosse Club Head Coach Tracey Kelusky

On the team moving forward after accomplishing the franchise's first win...

"Move on. That is behind us. Noted - and our mindset all year has been, we play, we reflect, we regroup and we refocus. It was awesome to get the first one. The boys got a good taste of what it feels like to win and we prepare for Saskatchewan and we get ready for tomorrow night."

On maintaining the team's momentum...

"Something we have talked about all year and every time we get together - intensity is controlled emotion, right? Stay the course. Buying in to what we are doing. Obviously let that propel us a little bit with some momentum. Again, it is that whole belief system. Our boys, now that we got that win, the guys being able to buy in and believe in what we are trying to do here and believe in one another. It only helps support that. We are excited. We know we are playing against a hungry Saskatchewan Rush team, but we also are very hungry. Now that we had a taste, I am hoping the boys will be better for it."

On if he is seeing the team buy into his 'Trust the Process' message...

"Absolutely. They are echoing all of the things that we are as a coaching group. Toller [Defensive Coach Steve Toll] has his game plan and his notes and his philosophy on what he wants to do defensively and same thing with Teater [Offensive Coach Dan Teat], but those guys have been pounding the pavement and pounding it into the guys. The guys are starting to pound it into one another. 100 percent. I thought we have had great buy-in from day one with that. Now it is even more evident with the boys trusting the process and sticking with it and reiterating it to the rest of the guys. It has been fun to watch. There are still a lot of steps that need to be made."

On reincorporating some of the team's key players who were out due to Covid and continuing to establish chemistry...

"It is something that we have talked about. We do have depth and we do have people who are chomping at the bit to get into the lineup. I think it really makes everybody that much more hungry and understand that with the guys that we have on any given night they can play and perform. That is the importance of [the players] doing their jobs when they are playing. That is my approach and that is how I am going to spin it with the guys. On any given night we have guys in our stable - we have people apart of the practice roster and guys that maybe aren't activated that are hungry and want to play. Do your job and make sure we are getting the best version of yourself or unfortunately you could be on the sidelines watching. It creates that competitive competition within, which is a healthy competition within, which is something every team needs in order to have success.

Panther City Lacrosse Club Forward Taite Cattoni

On his up and down year so far and his feelings on this season so far...

"This year for my first year has been pretty interesting, especially with Covid and all that. I feel like it has been good. I have learned a lot. We have a lot of great veterans that I have learned a lot from. It has been an excellent experience. Hopefully after that first win the boys settle down and we figure out how to win those tight ones. We have played a lot of tight games and it is good to finally finish a game the way we wanted to. I think we feel like we are going to turn the corner here and get some more wins here and make a push for the playoffs."

On maintaining the team's momentum...

"It is the little things. Doing the little things. On Saturday night here, we have to get off to a good start. It is so important in this league to get off to a good start on the road. Little things add up to huge things in this league and as good as these teams are, especially Saskatchewan - the type of winning they have had and their culture and the type of great players they have - we have to do all the little things well. I think the buy-in with our group to do those things is really good right now. I think we understand that we need to do those little things to win games and I think everyone is buying in. We feel pretty confident we can do those little things to win the game."

On stay fresh and ready to play coming off bye weeks...

"Obviously it is nice to give the body a little rest, especially after a physical, long, overtime game, but I think the most important thing is watching a lot of film, especially for me. Our team - we have a lot of young guys and we haven't played a lot of lacrosse together, so it is important to watch the game, see the tendencies of each player. I watched five, six hours of film this week and just trying to figure out what we do best, what we need to work on - things I can talk to guys on offense about in terms of where they want me in certain situations. I think that is most important during bye weeks. The body stays fresh. We get a little rest, but mentally we are sharp up top.

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