NLL Preview Minnesota Swarm

The Swarm had a very disappointing year, going 5-11 but making the playoffs due to Colorado's horrendous season. But Minnesota could not have been happy with their efforts as they try to regain their form again.
Minnesota barely made the playoffs, losing their last six games of their season, they made it only when Colorado lost their second to last game of the season. It's no surprise either, they were tied for the worst goals again est average in the league. Both their goaltenders, Nick Patterson and Eric Croswell, had GAA's over 12.
One of the bright spots in the Swarm season was the play of Callum Crawford. Crawford had bounced around in his first five seasons, playing on five different teams. His 96 points were his career high by a large margin, his previous high being 41 the season before. It was also the first time Crawford had played a full season, playing only 13 games before with Edmonton, and before that 12, 13, and 5 games per season. The Swarm look for Crawford to continue off his breakout season and be their catalyst on offense.
The next leading scorer for Minnesota was Ryan Benesch. Benesch scored 81 points in his first year in Minnesota, also a career high for him. His previous high had been 58 in his rookie year with Toronto. The Swarm also acquired Benesch from Edmonton, was traded for Ryan Ward, who turned out to be Edmonton's leading scorer. Benesch had been traded from Toronto to Edmonton previous of that.
The Swarm's next leading scorer is Tim Campeau, with 48 points. Acquired from Portland in the dispersal draft, Campeau scored twenty more points than the previous year and picked up 51 more loose balls.
I'm going to look at one more player here from Minnesota, one I expect big things from in the future. Zack Greer was just a rookie last season, and played in 13 games and picked up 13 points. Greer is one of the top scorers on the MLL's Long Island Lizards, and I think a big year may in the waiting for Greer in Minnesota.
Minnesota had enough scoring to go by. In fact, they scored more than Edmonton, Boston, and Buffalo, who all made the playoffs with a better record. But their issue once again leads to goaltending. They gave up 201 goals on the year. Nick Patterson was 13th in the league in goals against. His save percentage was the third lowest in league, only Andrew Leyshon and Matt King was a lower save percentage. Patterson has been a long time member of the Swarm, coming over from the Vancouver Ravens in 2005. In that time period his best GAA was in 2006 when he had a 10.16 GAA, and the year after that it was 10.88. Patterson has been good in the past, but his GAA has gone up every year since then. But the one thing that stands out about Patterson is his playoff numbers. His career GAA in the playoffs is 14.01. His save percentage is only .713. And he has never had a playoff win, holding a record of 0-4.
I really think the Swarm can make the playoffs again, but they need an all around better year from their goaltenders.

The next and final preview: Buffalo

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.