Another Week of National Lacrosse League action means you, the readers, are due another serving of nuggets to fill you up before the action starts. This week, there are only five games on the schedule. But boy… are they meaningful games.
It’s Week 14, so we’ve reached the point that every game really does matter. If a team falters now, it might cost them a playoff berth come mid April. This is the March to May, as they [the NLL] say. This is By The Numbers.
3 – Years Since The Halifax Thunderbirds Had A 5-Game Win Streak
The Halifax Thunderbirds are on a heater right now. After starting this season 0-3, they have won six of their last seven games.
A five-game win streak in the NLL is no easy feat. There a few teams (who I won’t mention by name) that haven’t done it in a couple of years, and a couple more that haven’t had one in five or more years.
The 6-4 Halifax Thunderbirds are on the verge of extending their win streak to five games for the first time since the 2022 season. That year, they won five in a row from February through early March. Sound familiar?
During the 2021-22 season, Halifax started the year 8-1 and finished 11-7. At 6-4 with 8 game left, they are on pace to end up right back at 11-7, which would put this team back in the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.
This scorching hot stretch has shown the rest of the NLL world that Halifax should be considered true contenders this season. Winning a fifth consecutive game would continue to get people on board with that idea, even if the fifth straight win comes against a Desert Dogs team that hasn’t fully lived up to its potential this season.
14 & 33 – Career Goals & Points Jeff Teat Has Tallied Vs. The Georgia Swarm
Jeff Teat has had the Georgia Swarm’s number in his NLL career.
Teat has only played five games against the Swarm in his four year NLL career, but when he’s played them, he’s balled out. Teat has posted 14 goals, including 4 hat tricks versus Georgia, and he’s dished out 33 assists against them in that span, as well.
When Teat faced the Swarm back on January 10th, he posted 3 goals and 6 assists in the Black Bears’ 14-10 win. The 9 points tied a personal-best against Georgia.
It’s always a treat when Jeff Teat and Lyle Thompson go head-to-head, and Friday’s game in Ottawa should be no different. As it stands going into their Week 14 clash, Teat leads Thompson in the all-time series battle in points 33 to 30.
83.7% – Nick Rose’s Save Percentage Vs. Colorado Mammoth Over Last 2 Games
Nick Rose has not always had the Colorado Mammoth’s number, but lately, he seems to have them figured out.
At the beginning of February, Rose, then still a member of the Toronto Rock, met with the Mammoth in Colorado that ended in thrilling fashion. Rose’s Rock beat the Mammoth 9-8 in OT. In that game, Rose only allowed 2 goals in the second half and OT, including letting in just 1 goal over the final 33+ minutes of game time. All-in-all, Rose stopped 39 of 47 Mammoth shots on goal in that February 1st game, finishing the evening with a 83% save percentage.
When Rose saw the Mammoth back in March of 2024, he held his opposition to 7 goals stopping 38 of 45 shots on goal. The Rock would win that battle 12-7. One of Rose’s most impressive nuggets from the game was that he held Zed Williams and Connor Robinson to a combined 0-11 shooting on that night (shots on goal only). Furthermore, outside of the 4 goals he allowed to Tyson Gibson and Eli McLaughlin in that game, Rose held the rest of the Mammoth to 2 of 23 shooting (shots on goal only) that night – that’s a collective 8.7% shooting percentage.
Now with the Calgary Roughnecks, Rose will be looking to keep his hot streak going against Colorado. Over those past 2 games, Rose has had a save percentage of 83.7%. That’s a number that will get you a win on most nights, and it has for Rose versus the Mammoth. In the 2 games mentioned above Rose and the Rock were 2-0.
9 – Loose Balls Steve Priolo Needs To Reach 1,400 In His Career
Steve Priolo is the heart and soul of the Buffalo Bandits. He has the “C” on his jersey for a reason.
Priolo is a do-it-all defender for the Bandits. He is fierce. He is fearless. He is gritty. His loose ball totals throughout his 15-year NLL career help tell that story. Heading into Week 14, Priolo needs 9 loose ball recoveries to reach 1,400 for his regular season career.
He would become just the 14th player in NLL history to reach that illusive mark, but he would be only the 3rd in Bandits history to do so. Only John Tavares and Mark Steenhuis have achieved that in Bandits history.
When Priolo does reach 1,400 loose ball recoveries, he’ll need 157 more to pass Steenhuis for the second-most LBs picked up in franchise history. Priolo is currently signed through the 2026-27 season, so he will almost certainly pass Steenhuis in this category before he decided to retire.