The playoff picture is beginning to take shape, but it seems the more questions get answered, the more pop up. Without further ado, lets get into the grinders who may it happen for their squads last week.
Jake Withers, Halifax Thunderbirds
This one has been a long time coming. Jake Withers, is arguably, one of the most importance pieces to his team out of anyone in the NLL due to his abilities to dominate the X, the middle of the floor, and the loose ball battle.Â
This past Friday’s win at home over Panther City was another reminder of his skillset. He dominated the faceoff game going 20-for-26, was a menace in the middle of the floor by creating chances off the draw and pushing transition, and he found ways to pick up tough loose balls in both the faceoff and defensive end. He finished the night with 23 loose balls, and they weren’t all clean pick-ups off the draw.Â
Withers made his presence felt early. Just two minutes into the game, he lost the faceoff, forced an errant pass by riding the ball back, scooped up the loose ball on the other side of the floor, swum past two PCLC players, and it resulted in a backdoor tap-in goal for Dawson Theade. Although the goal was called back, you can’t deny Withers’ effort, which continued all night long.
Withers added a timely fourth quarter goal to his already dominant performance. Immediately following Clarke Peterson’s goal at the beginning of the fourth— their first goal since 45 seconds left in the second— he won the faceoff and ran down the gut of the PCLC defense to bury one on top of the crease. Extending the lead to five in the matter of seven seconds was the final dagger for the Thunderbirds.Â
Brent Mitchell, Panther City Lacrosse Club
Panther City started out slow on Friday night in Halifax, as they saw themselves down 10-2 at the end of the second quarter. Then a sparked jolted through the team that surged a run in the second half of the game.
Brent Mitchel came off the bench two minutes into the third and picked a fight with Halifax’s Nonkon Thompson in their end. Two heavy weights— Mitchell, 6’2, 220; Thompson, 6’2, 218— met at the Halifax blue line and went toe-to-toe trading punches for nearly a minute before they went to the ground.Â
That’s exactly what Panther City needed, which you could tell by both the energy from the bench, ensuing possessions, and the scoreboard. PCLC scored five straight and shut out Halifax in the third.Â
The eight-goal deficit proved to be too deep to climb out of, but Mitchell’s willingness to put his body on the line for his teammates lit a fire amongst the group.
Jake Boudreau, Saskatchewan Rush
Jake Boudreau put together one of the most dominant transition performances in recent memory. In Saskatchewan’s 17-15 win over the New York Riptide, Boudreau was a catalyst in the middle of the floor generating five points (three goals, two assists).Â
He started the game strong by scoring two goals in the first quarter that were nearly carbon-copies of one another— turning on the jets after a Riptide turnover that resulted in a breakaway goal. Each time finishing it off with his a celly of jumping into the boards.Â
His work didn’t stop there. His assist to Ryan Keenan, which started off the Rush’s scoring in the second quarter, was a result of a timely body check that forced a turnover. He scooped up the loose ball, got up floor, and found a streaking Keenan from the bench who buried while one-on-one with the goalie.Â
On top of a night where he filled the scoresheet, he finished the game with seven loose balls and three blocked shots. He wasn’t credited with any CTOs on the stat sheet, but I counted a couple throughout the game.Â
Boudreau has a presence about him when he has the ball in his stick. He relentlessly wants to make plays and is determined to use his legs to create chances. He did it everything he could to will the game in the Rush’s favor. At the end of the day, their eight transition goals were the deciding factor in their win.Â
Zack Deaken, New York Riptide
This was the game we’ve all been waiting for out of Zack Deaken. The rookie out of Orangeville put together a strong performance scooping up nine loose balls and two caused turnovers, but clearly settled in and made numerous plays defensively in a game that was otherwise a shootout.
When you look at the top defenders in the league size stands out, but that’s not a prerequisite. Deaken makes that apparent with his combo of great feet and slick hands that make him a sticky cover with the ability to lands numerous takeaway checks.
One of his takeaways that stood out was against Mike Triolo at the end of the first quarter. With a head of steam coming off the bench, Triolo marched towards the net. He put his shoulder into Deaken using his 6’3 frame to his advantage, but Deaken wrapped him up and had an opportunistic wrap check that jarred the ball loose.Â
Editors Note: Shoutout to twitter user @RobPlass for capturing this play!
Players who think they can take advantage of Deaken because of their size are often mistaken. He’s not someone you want to go after unless you want your turnover margin to skyrocket. Watch Deaken continue to emerge as the Riptide make their final playoff push. This is a time where big time players step up, and the former captain of the 2019 Minto Champions knows a thing or two about playing his best in big moments.Â