Justin Ivey, Co-Editor
Lacrosse is Awesome©
The Albany Firewolves (9-2) welcomed the New York Riptide (5-7) to MVP Arena Saturday night for another NLL x Marvel Superhero night. The crossover events this season have drawn large crowds, and Albany was no exception. The home team was cheered on by the largest crowd of the season and they rode that momentum leading the contest from start to finish. Despite a great effort from Jeff Teat (2G, 3A), the Riptide struggled to contain the young guns of Albany. Led by Alex Simmons (3G, 4A) and Doug Jamieson (45SV), Albany started and finished strong. Final Score: New York-8, Albany-14.
The Firewolves jumped on the Riptide from the opening faceoff. Joe Nardella won the battle at the dot and although the Firewolves offense did not get set well, Tye Kurtz (2G, 4A) fired a long-range bomb after gathering an errant pass off the side boards. The shot just 22 seconds into the game slid right by goaltender Cameron Dunkerley (49SV) for the opening score. Before the five-minute TV break, Albany put two more in the net. Both came from the stick of Travis Longboat (2G, 1A). His first goal came with 12:15 on the clock as he found space coming off a high screen. 36 seconds later, Marshall Powless (1G, 4A) found him cutting to the net and delivered a perfect pass for the finish. Just 3:21 into the game, Albany had a 3-0 lead. After a little bit of defensive back and forth, the Riptide finally got on the board. Connor Kearnan (2G) netted his 20th goal of the season with a quick stick from the middle on a power play opportunity with 7:27 remaining. They cut further into the lead with a Teat man up goal just a couple minutes later. The one goal deficit would be the closest they would get for the rest of the game. Albany flurried again to end the opening quarter. Ethan Walker (3G, 2A) scored two in a row, 17 seconds apart from each other. The first, with 2:17 remaining was a quick stick finish from just beside the net while a delayed penalty on New York was waiting. On the ensuing powerplay, Walker dunked the ball from behind the net. A Riptide penalty was assessed with 25 second remaining, and Simmons capitalized on the man advantage scoring from outside with just five seconds on the clock. At the end of the first quarter, Albany led New York 6-2.
Albany struck quickly again in the second quarter. Kurtz quick sticked a Nathan Grenon (1G, 2A) pass into a wide-open net 31 seconds in. The Riptide finally found some momentum and clamped down defensively while Stephen Keough (2G, 2A) scored two in a row for the visitors. The second came just 25 seconds after the first with 9:40 remaining in the half. Keough launched a laser that had eyes for the far bottom corner. Grenon was able to put a stop to the run with a transition goal just under three minutes later, but a Teat goal with 5:25 left brought the Riptide within three again. Copying the rollercoaster from the first quarter, Albany also finished the scoring in this quarter with a late goal. This time, Powless rolled around a high screen and got his hands free for a sidearm score through the five hole. At the half, Albany led New York 9-5.
The third quarter, minus the last ten seconds, was owned by the Firewolves as they outscored the Riptide 3-1. Keeping in pattern, Walker scored an early goal for Albany. After deking his defender and goalie aside, his ball crossed the goal line just 34 seconds in. Scoring took a long pause before Sam Firth (1G) scored on a power play opportunity with 5:06 remaining to put Albany ahead 11-5. Simmons extended the lead to seven with his second goal of the game and 2:49 on the clock. With the game slipping away, Kearnan provided some light for New York, scoring with just seven seconds remaining. At the end of the third quarter, Albany led New York 12-6.
New York made a run to start the fourth quarter. Larson Sundown (1G, 1A) scored for the Riptide while they were trying to last out a five on three favoring Albany. For being two men down he found a big berth of free space to twist a shot into the net 2:36 in. They followed that up with a Kiel Matisz (1G, 2A) power play goal with 9:46 remaining to get within four. That is where the improbable run did end though. Colton Watkinson (1G, 2A) and Simmons both scored for Albany with under five minutes remaining to bring us to the end. Final Score: New York-8, Albany-14
Up Next:
The Albany Firewolves (9-2) host the Vancouver Warriors (3-8) on Friday, March 9 at 7:00 PM EST.
The New York Riptide (5-7) have a bye week before travelling to play the Saskatchewan Rush (4-5) on Saturday, March 16 at 8:30 PM EST.