Swarm Returns to Action with Back-to-Back Games

Published on February 18, 2009 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Minnesota Swarm News Release


SAINT PAUL/MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The National Lacrosse League's (NLL) Minnesota Swarm (2-3) returns from a weekend off to host the Boston Blazers (4-3) Friday night, 7:00 PM at the Xcel Energy Center. The Swarm will head on the road Saturday to face the Philadelphia Wings (2-5), 6:30 PM (CST) at the Wachovia Center. The first 5,000 fans in attendance to Friday's game vs. Boston will receive Swarm Thunderstix, sponsored by Subway.

Minnesota dropped to 2-3 overall this season with a 13-8 loss at Calgary (2/6), followed by a 13-8 loss to Colorado (2/7). F Ryan Ward led the Swarm on the weekend with seven points (3-4=7) including two goals and three assists vs. Colorado. Ward (10-8=18) is now tied with F Kevin Ross (7-11=18) for the team lead in points with 18, but Swarm General Manager Marty O'Neill is looking for more from his offense. "These two week gaps aren't making things easy for us to get into a rhythm, but that's still no excuse and we really just have to find our offense," O'Neill said. "We've been generating shots but just haven't been getting over ten goals and that's not going to win you many games in this league." In goal, Nick Patterson fell to 1-2 on the season after receiving the loss in both games. G Kevin Croswell is 1-1 on the season and is second in the league in goals-against average at 8.84, and second in save percentage at .827.

Minnesota starts the weekend hosting the expansion Boston Blazers. In its first season, Boston is 4-3 in the East Division and has won back-to-back games including an 8-4 win at Philadelphia last Friday (2/13). The Blazers have five players with at least 20 points and are led by F Dan Dawson with 41 points (13-28=41), and F Daryl Veltman with 30 points (12-18=30). G Anthony Cosmo is 4-2 this season, and has won four of the past five games. Cosmo's only loss since opening night was a 9-8 overtime loss vs. Portland (1/31). D Kyle Ross was selected by Boston in the NLL Expansion Draft (7/24/08) and has three points (1-2=3) in the first seven games this season. Ross scored 10 points (3-7=10) in 15 games with the Swarm the past two seasons. Friday's game is also the first of five consecutive games against the Eastern Division for the Swarm. Minnesota is 0-1 vs. the East Division this season (L 10-9, 1/24 vs. Buffalo) and 22-27 all-time vs. the East.

After Friday's contest, Minnesota hits the road Saturday and plays its first of six consecutive road games, starting with the Philadelphia Wings. Philadelphia is 2-5 on the season, coming off the 8-4 loss to Boston last Friday (2/13). The Wings have seven players with double-digit points and are led by F Mat Giles with 28 points (13-15=28), and F Merrick Thomson at 25 (12-13=25). F Drew Westervelt leads the team with 15 goals, and G Brandon Miller is 2-4 with an 11.83 goals-against-average and a .770 save percentage.

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National Lacrosse League Stories from February 18, 2009


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