Overview:
Daniel May is a Toronto native and current lacrosse player at Jacksonville University. May’s Grinders is a weekly series which highlights the contributions of players around the league, particularly those that don’t appear on the box score. Check back here every Wednesday for another edition of May’s Grinders, or find previous editions here!
Week nine of the NLL season included a great slate of action. Let’s look at a few key contributors this week, and the impact they had on and off the box score.
Matt Gilray – Rochester Knighthawks
Matt Gilray is arguably the most important member of the Rochester Knighthawks, and this weekend was another prime example. Gilray impacts the game in multiple phases (offence, defence, transition) and produces some unique statlines. He’s a terrific defender who uses his size and strength to smother opponents, making it difficult for them to get space off a dodge or get their hands free for shots. In the loss to the Thunderbirds he forced 4 CTOs over the course of the game.
He prances across the floor like a gazelle creating chances in transition. This weekend he tallied the Knighthawks’ first of the game off of a three-on-two, which was his sixth goal of the season in as many games.
He’s contributing nearly two points a game, providing Rochester with reliable transition offence that has been able to steadily produce over 13 goals per-game. His transition ability is fuelled by his play off the carpet, where he is able to pick up ground balls in bunches. He finished the game with 10 ground balls and found ways to get going up the floor every time.
Taggart Clarke – Philadelphia Wings
Taggart Clarke has had a strong start to his rookie campaign putting up eight points (five goals, three assists) in his first four games. This weekend was arguably his strongest performance of the year, finishing the game with three assists. His first of the game came in the fourth quarter off of a beautiful BTB feed to Blaze Riorden while on the penalty kill.
Most importantly, he wreaked havoc on the interior, setting picks and creating space for Joe Resetarits and Ben McIntosh to get open for shots. Both finished the contest with hat-tricks. A sequence of his that stood out most during the game came at the end of the second quarter. He tip-toed the crease and secured a ground ball while evading two San Diego Seals defenders to give the Wings a second-chance possession.
On the ensuing possession, the refs called a moving pick which gave the Seals the ball at the restraining with all the Wings players at or behind the ball. One of the Seals broke up the floor and was all but clear for a breakaway until Clarke got his stick in the passing lane and knocked down the ball. It prevented the breakaway chance and gave the Wings a couple more good looks at the cage.
All in all, the Beaches product is stacking tough plays on top of one another, subtly making him an integral part of the Wings lineup.
Callum Jones – New York Riptide
After watching Callum Jones play over the past couple weeks, I’ve become a big fan of his game. He’s a shorter defender but shows that size doesn’t matter when you possess his speed and tenaciousness.
He’s an extremely sticky defender who’s able to navigate through picks while still maintaining his matchup. Because he stays locked on to his man, he’s able to get in front of shots and make life difficult for opposing players when he’s on-ball.
What I’m most impressed by is his ability to “smoke out” dodges. This is when a defender begins to “show” or fake a slide to deter an ongoing dodge, then snaps back to his original matchup after the ball has been moved.
On multiple occasions he was able to do so, but on one specific occasion he forced the ball out of the dodgers sticks, then tracked the ball as it swung across the floor. Despite his original slide, he was still able to get in front of a shot. It’s all because of his speed and his quickness, which allow him to be in nearly two places at once.
He finished the game with 4 loose balls, 3 blocked shots, and 3 CTOs. He’s just what this Riptide defence needed to take the next step this season. The Riptide are currently 3-4 and on a two-game win streak where they’ve beaten the Buffalo Bandits and Georgia Swarm. They’ll be an interesting team to continue to follow this season as guys like Jones help this team surge towards their first playoff berth in franchise history.
TJ Comizio – Georgia Swarm
TJ Comizio makes a lot of little plays that add up in big ways for the Swarm. He plays good two-man game defence by evading picks and does a great job denying opportunities off the roll. His speed is noticeable, as he gets up and down the floor in the blink of an eye. It allows him to create advantages between the lines, and although he didn’t get on the scoresheet this weekend, more chances will come his way.
His speed also gives him the ability to recover quickly if he gets caught on the wrong end of a pick, which doesn’t happen often. In the fourth quarter, one of the Riptide players was able to bump Comizio’s back on an up-pick, putting him out of position. Although he was a step behind his man, Comizio was able to catch up and get on the shooter’s hands, which forced an easy save for Brett Dobson.
The part of the game where he thrives the most is on the ball team (a term used to describe the five-man face off unit) and ensuing defensive zone ground balls. He uses his speed to pick up tough loose balls and quickly get to space for outlets. It gives the Swarm offence more chances and it can also lead to chances in transition. He finished the game with 9 loose balls, 1 blocked shot, and 3 CTOs.