Photo Credit: NLL Top Photos

The term unicorn gets used in sports for players who can do a little bit of everything. These are athletes who defy the traditional skill stereotypes of their played position and make impacts all over the floor or field.

In the NLL, the unicorns are the guys who can make a significant impact on both ends of the floor. Two of the best in the world at this are Bryan Cole and Ryan Terefenko.

Two of the best NCAA midfielders of their generation, both have played the majority of their careers out the back door in the NLL. Terefenko still plays defence, while Cole has taken an offensive role this season. But in week ten, they both made huge impacts all over the floor.

There are just two grinders this week, so let’s get right into it.

Bryan Cole, Georgia Swarm 

Bryan Cole entered his rookie season in 2017 after a legendary career at the University of Maryland. Although he was a USILA’ First-Team All-American selection as an offensive midfielder, the Swarm’s loaded offence forced Cole to play transition for the early part of his career.  

Over the years he honed his role as a transition player, proving to be one of the NLL’s best and winning gold this past summer at the World Championships for Canada. But with many changes to the Swarm’s roster over the years, Cole’s found his way back to the O-door. 

He’s such a crucial piece to the Swarm’s offence because of his willingness to do the little things. Cole makes his money on the inside, setting hard picks and timely seals to open up space for his teammates.

On Shayne Jackson’s first goal of the night, Cole made the play possible by setting a crucial seal. Cole set a seal on his man that pinned both his and Jackson’s defender underneath it, which freed up Jackson to curl over top for a hands-free shot. 

Later on in the corner, the Swarm created some good chances on an off-ball up-pick play ran by Cole and Jackson. Cole would come up from the crease to set an up-pick on Jackson’s defender allowing him to cut to the back pipe without pressure, while Cole rolled to the middle. 

Nearly halfway through the second quarter, the two of them ran the play to perfection that freed up Jackson for a backdoor quick stick goal. Unfortunately for Jackson, the goal was called off because he stepped in the crease before the ball trickled fully into the goal.

The Swarm got their revenge minutes later, but this time it was Cole who capitalized on the play. On this occasion, the low Desert Dog defender switched onto Jackson to prevent to backdoor feed, allowing Cole to roll to a wide-open lane in the middle and finish on the doorstep untouched. 

That’s just a small sample size of times where the Swarm converted off of Bryan Cole picks and seals. He worked tirelessly all night and was a big reason why they came out on top of the 16-14 barn burner over the Las Vegas Desert Dogs. He finished the game with 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) and 3 loose balls.

Ryan Terefenko

At first glance, a stat line of 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists) doesn’t immediately signal someone whose name would end up in this article (where the goal is to highlight under the radar players). But Ryan Terefenko was the difference Friday night in Halifax Thunderbirds 10-9 win over the Vancouver Warriors.

Terefenko was the catalyst in the middle of the floor that carried the slack for the Thunderbirds offence who struggled to find the back of the net against Aden Walsh and the talented Warriors defence. 

Terefenko scored his first goal of the night by chasing down a missed shot that bounced from the back-boards to nearly the centre line. He made a crafty swim and spin move that probably made everyone in the rink question why he doesn’t play more offence. 

His second goal of the game followed Dawson Theede’s shorthanded goal by 10 seconds, giving the T-Birds a +2 differential on their own penalty. Off the faceoff, Terefenko was the beneficiary of a tic-tac-toe play, receiving a back-door feed from Graeme Hossack for an easy tap in. The two-goal run, on the penalty kill, gave the Thunderbirds the 6-5 lead, which they never gave up for the remainder of the night. 

Terefenko completed the hat-trick– the first of his career– by using his blistering speed to get a prime scoring chance before the Vancouver defenders could catch him from the bench. His underhand that painted the bottom right corner further showcased his scoring touch. 

This final goal was crucial for Halifax’s 6-goal run in the middle of the game. Following another Theede goal, this time by 38 seconds, was Halifax’s second goal within the first three minutes of the third quarter. 

To start the second half as strong as they finished the first provided the cushion they needed to fight off a second half comeback by the Warriors. 

A crucial point to be aware of is that four of the six goals on Halifax’s run in the middle of the game came off of Terefenko’s stick. He was the heartbeat for Halifax on Friday night. 

By scoring so shortly after each prior goal, Terefenko provided a spark that help the Thunderbirds gain momentum that engaged their rowdy fanbase. When the Scotiabank Centre gets going, it’s a madhouse. Having the crowd on your side of a one-goal grudge match can be the difference in those games, which Terefenko played a huge role in creating for the Thunderbirds.

Along with leading the team in points (5) and goals (3), Terefenko capped of a spectacular night for the team-lead in loose balls (8). He truly did it all. 

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *