NLL Week 21: What A Finish
Since being introduced before the 2023-2024 NLL season, the unified standings are two for two in creating maximum drama deep into the NLL season.
Three playoff spots were up for grabs this past weekend, with countless scenarios being in play. In the end, Georgia got the win they needed, San Diego paid off their “win and you’re in” status, and Calgary handled business twice.
It was a wild weekend with dramatic games all over the place. Let’s get right into it!
Halifax Thunderbirds 16 – Toronto Rock 9
The Thunderbirds finished strong and solidified the third seed in the playoffs with a win over the Rock. After and 0-3 start, they dominated down the stretch of the NLL season and will be a force in the playoffs.
Dawson Theede had a career night with 4 goals and 6 assists to lead the Thunderbirds, while Randy Staats had 2 goals and 5 assists and Clarke Petterson had 7 assists.
Chris Boushy scored 5 goals for the Rock in the first half of a big weekend for the righty.
Stat of the Game: Drew Hutchison made back to back starts in goal and made 31 saves in the victory.
Attendance: 5,232
Calgary Roughnecks 12 – Vegas Desert Dogs 9
The Calgary Roughnecks put the final nail in the coffin for the Desert Dogs, beating them 12-9 at Lee’s Family Forum. The Roughnecks led 8-2 at one point before a furious comeback.
Jesse King had 3 goals and 7 assists to lead the Riggers. Tanner Cook had 3 goals and 3 assists.
Jon Donville, Holden Cattoni, and Adam Poitras had 4 points each for the Dogs.
Stat of the Game: In the game, Nick Rose passed Anthony Cosmo for second all-time in career saves.
Attendance: 5,002
San Diego Seals 11 – Albany Firewolves 10
There was nothing complicated about the Seals playoff scenarios. They needed to win to make the playoffs and were eliminated with a loss.
Wes Berg scored 4 times and added 2 assists to finish off a mammoth second half of the year. He broke a 10-10 tie with less than four minutes remaining to win it for San Diego.
Ethan Walker and Tye Kurtz had 6 points each for the Firewolves, who failed to make the playoffs after reaching the finals last season.
Stat of the Game: Ryan Benesch had a hat-trick in the game, bringing his career total to a round 580 goals.
Attendance: 8,697
Calgary Roughnecks 11 – Colorado Mammoth 5
The late-season injuries and work commitments proved too much for the Mammoth to overcome, as they lost to the Roughnecks and were eliminated from the playoffs.
Down Zed Williams and Eli McLaughlin for most of the second-half of the year, Colorado lost their last 5 games.
Curtis Dickson had 4 goals and 3 assists to lead the Roughnecks, while Ryan Lee had 3 goals and a helper to lead the Mammoth.
Stat of the Game: After the nine Buffalo home games, the Roughnecks had the next six highest attended games of the season.
Attendance: 15,197
Vancouver Warriors 11 – Philadelphia Wings 5
In a game that mattered for the Warriors, they soundly defeated a Wings team that had nothing left to play for and locked up a first-round home game.
Adam Charalambides, Marcus Klarich, and Riley Loewen all had 5 points for the Warriors.
Mitch Jones scored a goal and 2 assists for the Wings.
Stat of the Game: Christian Del Bianco has yet to lose since being traded to Vancouver.
Attendance: 10,876
Saskatchewan Rush 16 – Ottawa Black Bears 7
A close first-half gave way to a blowout second at the Sasktel Center, as it was likely that the Bears learned about their playoff fate at half-time. When Georgia beat the Bandits, they were eliminated from the playoffs.
Robert Church had a sock-trick along with 3 assists to lead the Rush, who had a dramatic bounce back season this year.
Jeff Teat had another hat-trick for the Bears, and finished the regular season as the league leader in goals.
Stat of the Game: Teat was the only NLL player to break 50 goals this season, finishing with 56, 7-ahead of second place Ryan Smith.
Attendance: 7,473
Georgia Swarm 14 – Buffalo Bandits 11
The Swarm won the 4th quarter 3-0 and beat the top-seeded Bandits to make their way into the playoffs.
Andrew Kew had 4 goals and the same number of assists, while Brendan Bomberry had 2 goals and 3 assists.
Josh Byrne had a goal and 8 assists to lead Buffalo. The Bandits enter the playoffs having gone just 2-3 in their last five games.
Stat of the Game: Dhane Smith broke his own NLL assist record for the fourth straight year, finishing with 103 helpers and 135 points.
Attendance: 5,381
Toronto Rock 11 – Rochester Knighthawks 10
In arguably the least consequential game of the weekend, the Toronto Rock beat the Rochester Knighthawks in a game that had not outcome on the final standings.
Chris Boushy scored 3 times to hit the 40-goal plateau for the season, while Josh Dawick had 2 more to finish at 42 on the year.
Ryan Lanchbury had a goal and 5 helpers to lead the Knighthawks.
Stat of the Game: Rochester finished with the third best offence in the NLL behind only Halifax and Buffalo.
Attendance: 6,445
And make sure to check out the most recent news, analysis, and highlights from across the LCD platform!
By the Numbers: Rose Closing in on Cosmo
Nick Rose is closing in on second place in all-time saves in the NLL this weekend, one of several milestones to watch!
The College Lacrosse Show – Cornell Wins on the Island
On today’s episode of the College Lacrosse Show, Donny does a solo episode and looks at the biggest storylines in the sport!
