Tom Coyne, Lacrosse Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome
Lacrosse is awesome, especially this time of the year. The NCAA lacrosse Final Four occurs on Memorial Day weekend, and if you have cable TV you were able to watch some of the greatest lacrosse of the year. Right from your favorite couch everyone was able to tune in on this great holiday to watch the 2018 NCAA Championship game between Yale and Duke. Or for those of you who prefer the professional games, you had Game One of the NLL Championship Finals or the two MLL games this weekend. All you needed was Wi-Fi or hot-spot; a subscription and you are good to go, or should I dare say, stay at home.
On May 26, Lax Sports Network broadcast the two MLL games, both which were being played and streamed at the same time. With my two Smart Phones, I was able to watch both the Ohio Machine (2-2) Charlotte Hounds (5-1) game as well as the Dallas Rattlers (5-2) Florida Launch (2-4) game. Then later, using the NLL TV app I was able to stream the first game of the NLL Championship series between the Rochester Knighthawks and the Saskatchewan Rush.
The Hounds were in first place in the MLL, half a game ahead of the Rattlers prior to their games on Saturday. Charlotte needed a win to stay on top; and the Rattlers needed one as well in order to stay just half a game back. Both teams were able to manage a victory. The Hounds
playing against the defending champions the Ohio Machine in Charlotte were able to jump out to a quick lead, as did the Rattlers who were on the road in Boca Raton, Florida. Both teams were able to seal the deal, keeping the standings intact.
Notable keys to the Rattlers success are the strong offense. Three different players notching hat-tricks. Jordan Wolf with five goals; Cody Radziewicz (3G, 2A); Brian Kormandy hat-trick; and John Ranagan with a four point game (2G, 2A). Drew Simoneau not only dominated at the faceoff x (22-37) but tallied his own unassisted goal, giving Dallas a 19-13 victory. Goalkeeper John Galloway (Team USA) had 14 saves, and the Rattlers defense was their normal efficient unit. In last week’s OT victory for Dallas, Ty Thompson had two goals and an assist; Ryan McNamara with the OT game-winner also coming away with the hat-trick and two assists; Jordan MacIntosh two goals; and both Jack Near and defenseman Joel White, each with an assist. These successes continue to show the strength and depth of the newest team in the MLL.
As for the league-leading Hounds, they were able to win their fourth home game, as they swept the league’s defending champs the Machine, 14-12. Leading the way for the Hounds was Matt Rambo, with five goals and an assist bringing his season total to 26 points. Also of note was rookie Noah Rak from U Mass, who went 8-13 at the faceoff x; and Kevin Massa, who went 9-16.
The NLL championship series commenced as well on May 26th, in Saskatoon at the Sasktel Center, in front of 11,842 rowdy fans. Jeremy Thompson started the scoring off at the 12:26 mark for the Rush on a transition goal with the assist coming from Goalkeeper Evan Kirk. Each team would score two consecutive goals, starting at the 10:47 mark with Rochester’s Austin Shanks making it a 4-3 Knighthawks lead. But it didn’t last long as that’s when Robert Church scored the first of three consecutive goals, shorthanded and within three minutes giving the Rush the momentum and the lead at halftime 6-4.
The Rush piled it on in the first 3:39 of the third quarter with four more goals making it a 10-4 game and Rochester would never be able to make up the gap the seven consecutive goals opened up. Ryan Keenan tallied the first goal in the fourth quarter at the 2:08 mark, only to have Rochester retaliate with two goals. Then at the 4:28 mark, Church would score his fourth of the game giving the Rush a five-goal lead, 13-8. Rochester would score their last goal at the 5:46 mark on a goal from Kyle Jackson, followed by three unanswered goals from the Rush, two coming off defenders within a minute of each other, and the final goal of the game by Keenan at the 12:12 mark making it a final score of 9-16, and giving the Rush the lead in the series 1-0. They play again next Saturday in Rochester on June 2nd. Each goalie played well with Evan Kirk
getting the win with 35 saves and his one-time idol Matt Vinc getting a whopping 48 saves and the loss.
It was an amazing night of lacrosse, thanks to the cable TV networks. I will be tuning in next week for more of the same.
Keep on Laxin’.
Tom Coyne, Lacrosse Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome