Titans Take On Defending League Champs
Published on March 19, 2010 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Orlando Titans News Release
ORLANDO, Fla. (Mar. 19) -- At first glance, revenge could appear to be a motive for the Orlando Titans (6-3) when they face the defending league champion Calgary Roughnecks (5-4) on Saturday night at Amway Arena.
After all, it was Calgary that ended the then-New York Titans dream season last May with a 12-10 win in the National Lacrosse League's championship game.
But for Titans Head Coach Ed Comeau and his players, tomorrow's game is just another step in the journey, rather than a destination.
"What happened in the Champion's Cup seems a lifetime ago," Comeau said. "We're a different team from last year, playing in a different city, and Calgary is a different team too. I think our mindset is that this is a non-division game that we can hopefully use to pick up some ground against our East rivals. Obviously when you play a team that you played in the championship you would like to go out there and win, but we're not focused on [avenging that loss], we're focused on the 2010 season.""
With only one other game on the NLL schedule this weekend (Boston at Edmonton), the Titans will have an opportunity to pick up a half-game on four East Division teams with a victory. With the red-hot Blazers (5-5) playing a tough road game against Edmonton (6-3), a full game swing is also possible.
The players share Comeau's vision. "There's a little of that (revenge) on our minds, but our team goal has never been to beat Calgary in a regular season game. Our goal is to put ourselves in position to win a league championship and this is just another step in the process," transition star Jarett Park says.
Orlando is coming off a big week where they won a tough back-to-back situation last weekend, beating Philadelphia (11-9) at home on Friday before dismantling Rochester (9-4) on the road the next night.
The Philadelphia win came on a night when regulars Casey Powell (knee), the Peyser brothers (Greg and Steve) and Bill Greer did not play for various reasons. That left Comeau to rely on three young replacements, which were all making their NLL debut, to replace a lot of veteran firepower. Those players, Nick O'Hara, Jessie Guerin and Mike Ammann; along with Mat MacLeod, all played well in the victory.
Saturday's game came down to Orlando's defense - led by goalie Matt Vinc -- simply shutting down the Rochester attack. The defense held Rochester scoreless in the first half. Vinc, who stopped 47 of 51 shots, earned NLL Defensive Player of the Week for a second time. Although the Titans were without Powell for a second straight game, veterans Mike McLellan (2 G), Matt Alrich (2 G, 2 A) and Jordan Hall (1 G, 6 A) picked up the offensive slack to lead the Titans to the relatively easy win.
"Last week was a prime example of why depth is important in this league. We had to play a tough Philly team with some key guys missing and we had some youngsters pick us up," Comeau said. "On Saturday, VNO (Vinc) just gave us another stellar effort in goal."
Orlando will need another great effort against the Roughnecks. Led by the league's leading point man Josh Sanderson (64 points, 7.11 points per game), Calgary will present a formidable challenge to the Titans. The Roughnecks attack also features a blend of seasoned veterans and outstanding young players that appear to be gelling at the right time.
Calgary got off to a rough 1-3 start, but has won four of their last five and only a game-winning goal by Edmonton's Luke Wiles with 1:22 remaining last week have kept the Roughnecks from being perfect since Jan. 24.
Game-time is 7:35 p.m. at Amway Arena. The game is also being broadcast on Bright House Sports Networks (Channel 47-Orlando). For tickets and information, call 407-601-6516.
TITANS NOTES: For their play last week, Titans goalie Matt Vinc (90 saves on 101 shots) and Jordan Hall (3 G, 9 A, 12 Pts.) were selected National Lacrosse League's "Defensive Player of the Week" and "Transition Player of the Week" respectivelyCasey Powell is still listed as "day-to-day" with his injuryforward Mat MacLeod, obtained by the Titans just before the start of the regular season in a trade with Rochester for Matt Danowski, has proven to be a valuable addition to the Titans attackseldom used in Rochester last year, MacLeod has nine points on six goals and three assists to go with 20 loose balls in just six games for the Titansa star of the future, he MacLeod just turned 22 last monthStephen Peyser has won 61% of his faceoffs this season (34 of 55), compared to just 51% for the rest of the Titans team (87-169)Orlando is ranked number one this week in Brian Shanahan's NLL Power Rankings for NLLInsider.comit is just third week the Titans have held the top spot in the rankings in the franchise's 4-year historywith a win, Titans head coach Ed Comeau will become just the 8th coach in NLL history to record 50 regular season wins.
National Lacrosse League Stories from March 19, 2010
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- Titans Take On Defending League Champs - Orlando Titans
- Roughnecks Take On Titans This Saturday - Calgary Roughnecks
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