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 week for another edition of May’s Grinders!
It was another exciting and busy week around the league, and we learned… approximately nothing about the playoff race. Let’s get into the action.
Dhane Smith and Josh Byrne, Buffalo Bandits.
Aside from the 21 points that Dhane Smith and Josh Byrne combined for in their 15-14 overtime win over Saskatchewan on Friday, the two stars made little plays that went a long win in their victory.
What stood out most outside of Byrne’s highlight reel goals and Smith’s dominance was their willingness to get back in and play defence. There were two instances that caught my attention.
The first included Byrne who had to sprint back in on defence to cut off any available transition opportunities. Once Byrne got back in, he dug in on defence, didn’t give up anything on the two-man game, and forced a turnover by checking down on the Rush player as he went underneath.
Similarly for Smith, he was forced to get in on defence to prevent transition. Without any hesitation he stood up in the two-man game forcing Saskatchewan to pass out of it early, and once the ball was skipped back to the left side, he picked it off.
For the rest of the night, the two continued to dig in defensively when they needed to, proving that stars in this league make an impact all over the floor. In a one-goal win, moments like these are paramount to a team’s success by negating high quality opportunities.
And oh yeah, Byrne did this too…
John Wagner, Las Vegas Desert Dogs
In John Wagner’s final game as a member of the Las Vegas Desert Dogs (he was traded to the Albany FireWolves at the deadline Wednesday) he had a strong performance commanding the defensive end. The Desert Dogs found themselves behind early, going down 5-1, and crawled back to within one until the Riptide scored an empty netter within the final 30 seconds.
Wagner was a field general on the back end for Vegas and his presence will be sorely missed. Right out of the gates, he scored their first goal of the game after picking off a skip pass, running past two Riptide players, and burying on the breakaway.
He brought the juice early and continued to be a spark for his team by using his length to disrupt opponents shots, pick up balls off the ground to push the other way, and stayed sticky on his matchups.
What stood out most about his performance was his presence on the defensive end. Almost always, he was the one signaling to his teammates who to cover when matching up off the bench. Obviously, by watching the game on television, I can’t hear him, but his body language, non-verbal communication, and overall command directing the defence were apparent.
He finished the game with a goal, 7 loose balls, and 2 caused turnovers. He’ll be a game-changer for Albany both in the defensive end and middle of the floor.
Will Malcolm, Panther City
Panther City came out with a vengeance on the road Sunday afternoon when they took on the Philadelphia Wings. They were were buzzing all over the floor, making simple plays by forcing turnovers, riding the ball off the faceoff, and extending possessions by picking up tough lose balls.
It truly was an all-around effort that helped them come away with a 9-8 overtime win, after giving up a three-goal lead late in the fourth.
There were many players on the team who caught my attention; Tyler Burton for his strength to fight through picks, Josh Medeiros for being a one-man clear who pushed the pace in the middle of the floor, and lastly Will Malcom for his effort in the ride.
Malcom had an outstanding possession in the first quarter that seemed to fuel his efforts for the rest of the contest. After taking a poor shot ten second into the possession, Malcolm fought tirelessly against three Wings players to get the loose ball. Ultimately, he didn’t scoop the ball after getting pinned on the boards, but that didn’t stop him. He chased down the ball carrier and checked him by the PCLC bench to jar the ball free.
Once again, the star of the game— Malcolm finished with eight points (three goals, five assists)— laid it all out of the floor making tough plays to generate momentum his his team.