NLL Final Scores

Last night the Toronto Rock beat the Orlando Titans to clinch a trip to the Champions Cup. The Rock went up early, 3-1, before Orlando stormed back to take a 5-3 lead. The Rock swarmed back and scored seven goals in the third quarter alone. The Rock dominated play in the second half and picked up the 15-10 win.
It was a much tighter game in Everett as the Washington Stealth beat the Edmonton Rush 12-11 in overtime, ironically the same score when these two teams met for the last time in the regular season. The Rush scored two goals in the final 56 seconds to tie it and came back from a fourth quarter three goal deficit. The Stealth would lead by five in the second quarter, but the Rush resiliently came back. The Stealth scored eight seconds into the OT, a goal from Paul Rabil to beat Matt Disher.

Next week the Washington Stealth will host the Toronto Rock for the Champions Cup. The game will be Saturday, May 15 at 10:30 pm. You can watch the game on Versus at 2 pm the next day.

NLL Playoffs Round One: Recaps

What an exciting night in the NLL! I was there first hand to see the Orlando Titans beat out the Boston Blazers in a thriller, 12-11. Here are your recaps:

* Toronto beat Buffalo, 13-11

* Edmonton beat Calgary 11-7.

* Washington beat Minnesota 14-10

* The Titans did a great job of containing Dan Dawson all night, only allowing one goal from the Blazers superstar. Meanwhile, Casey Powell scored five goals and lit up the Blazers defense.

* Matt Disher stopped 60 shots for Edmonton, leading them to their first playoff win ever.

* Ryan Ward had eight assists for the Rush

* Rhys Duch scored six goals for the Stealth.

* Stehphen LeBlanc scored five goals for Toronto.

* Games next week will be Toronto @ Orlando at 7:35 pm and Edmonton @ Washington at 10:30.

* Predictions: Edmonton and Toronto win.

NLL Game Preveiw: Mammoth @ Rush

photo credit: NLL.com
Preveiw: The Edmonton Rush, who last week clinched a playoff spot, look to the beat the Colorado Mammoth. With a win, the Rush will move ahead of the Washington Stealth in the West. Along with a Roughnecks loss, they will clinch a home game in the playoffs. For the Mammoth, a loss and a Minnesota Swarm win would eliminate them from playoff contention.

Leading Scorer: Edmonton: Ryan Ward 60 pts
Colorado: Jamie Shrewchuk 48 pts

Goaltender: Edmonton: Matt Disher 12.84 GAA, .754 S%
Colorado: Andrew Layshon 13.39 GAA, .716 S%

Injuries: Edmonton: Chris McElroy (Questionable)
Colorado: Ilija Gajic (Illness)

Notes: * The Mammoth are 0-5 in games where they score less than 10 goals

* The Mammoth have lost four one-goal games this season

* Edmonton penalty killers gave up four goals on five Stealth PP attempts last week

* The game can be heard on CFRN 1260 AM in Edmonton. You can watch the game at NLL.com

* The game is in Rexell place in Edmonton

* The Rush lost the lose ball battle in Minnesota, 105-85

NLL Game Preveiw: Edmonton @ Minnesota

photo credit: NLL.com
Preview: Tonight the Swarm can clinch a playoff berth with a win over the newly-berthed Edmonton Rush. The Rush clinched a playoff spot last night with a win over the Washington Stealth, but face another challenge tonight vs a hungry Minnesota team. The Swarm lost last week to Edmonton, 16-14.

Leading Goal Scorer: Minnesota: Aaron Wilson, 64 pts
Edmonton: Ryan Ward, 54 pts

Goaltender: Minnesota: Nick Patterson, 12.21 GAA, .749 S%
Edmonton: Matt Disher, 12.48 GAA, .758 S%

Injuries: Minnesota: None
Edmonton: None

Notes: * The Swarm can clinch a playoff berth with a win.

* With a win the Rush can tie the Stealth for first place in the West.

* The Swarm play four of their last five games at home.

* Callum Crawford scored a hat trick for Minnesota the last time these teams met.

* The game can be seen on NLL.com Network.

NLL Game Preview: Washington @ Edmonton

photo credit: NLL.com
Preview:
The Washington Stealth have already clinched the playoffs, while the Edmonton Rush look to gain ground on the #1 team in the West. The Rush have only one loss at home, that coming from the Boston Blazers two weeks ago. With a win for the Rush, they could gain some separation from Calgary, who play in Toronto tonight. The Stealth can clinch a home game in the playoffs with a win, two Calgary losses, and a Minnesota loss. The Stealth can also take the season series from Edmonton with a win. On the other hand, the Rush have won four of their last five games and have gotten off to their best start in franchise history.

Leading Scorers: Edmonton: Ryan Ward, 50
Washington:Jeff Zywicki, 68 pts

Goaltenders: Edmonton: Matt Disher, 12.08 GAA, 122 GA, .767 S%
Washington: Tyler Richards 11.54 GAA, 78 GA, 7.64 S%

Injuries: Edmonton: None
Washington: None

Notes:
* The Rush have five players with over 30 points.

* The Stealth have the best offense in the league, scoring 12.8 goals a game.

* The Stealth beat the Rush in their second game of the season, winning 15-7.

* Washington swept Colorado last weekend, earning a playoff berth.

* Tyler Richards is expected to be in goal for Washington.

* The Rush play the Swarm tomorrow.

* This game will be seen on NLL.com Network on the Washington and Edmonton channels.

* The game is in Rexell Place of Edmonton.