A lot to talk about in the world of lacrosse yesterday. First off, the Washington Stealth signed transition player Paul Rabil to a three year extension. “Paul is truly developing into a fantastic indoor lacrosse player,” said Stealth Head Coach Chris Hall. “He’s an explosive player and virtually impossible to handle one-on-one. He really adds another dimension to our team and in just his third NLL season, he is on the verge of becoming one of the best in the game.”
Meanwhile the Calgary Roughnecks are having their problems. Hours after learning they will not hold training camp due to disciplinary behavior, they announced camp was back on in Calgary. Here is the statement from the Roughnecks: " Yesterday an alleged incident was brought to the attention of the Calgary Roughnecks organization that may have occurred during last weekend’s training camp. The conduct alleged was not of a criminal nature but would have violated team policy and expectations. In order to emphasize to the team that their behavior is expected to represent the Roughnecks properly at all times, management determined that the proportionate response was to cancel training camp this weekend.
Upon further investigation, it was determined that cancellation of camp would be a disproportionate response to the conduct that may have actually occurred. As a result training camp has been reinstated for this weekend.
Upon the conclusion of the continuing investigation, the one player involved will be appropriately disciplined if found to be at fault. The Roughnecks will not tolerate objectionable conduct by players, staff or management."
Meanwhile, top Roughnecks player Curtis Manning will miss the entire 2011 season. The reason behind this is he will be attending a medical school. The Roughnecks will also be without Rob Van Beek, who is pursuing a career as a firefighter.
One final transaction in the NLL world; The Rochester Knighthawks traded Matt Danowski to the Philadelphia Wings for a conditional draft pick. Danowski dressed for just one game with Rochester last season, after playing nine for the Mammoth the year before.
Showing posts with label Matt danowski. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matt danowski. Show all posts
Friday, December 10, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
Boston Blazers.. Is This Their Year?
(photo credit: NLL.com)
When the Boston Blazers first acquired Casey Powell, I thought they became the favorites in the East. When they acquired Josh Sanderson, I thought so even more. The Blazers certainly have what looks to be a powerhouse offense, with those additions along with Dan Dawson. But did the Blazers address their biggest need? And are there more teams to worry about in the East?
Looking at the Blazers roster up-to-down, it looks pretty solid. Along with their big three they have Scott Campbell, John Orsen, Greg Downing, Gary Bining, Kevin Buchanan, Sean Morris, and Dan Teat. Those are some pretty good complementary players to Sanderson, Dawson and Powell. And on the goaltending front, you cannot go wrong with Anthony Cosmo. So again, on paper this team looked solid.
I feel they did address their biggest problem, which was second half scoring. After teams would adjust to Dan Dawson, the Blazers did not have enough players to pick up the slack. They tried to fix this by acquiring Mat Giles, and he was ok, but he was also not their scoring solution.
By getting Powell and later Sanderson, that should solve the issue. Teams cannot double cover all three players. Especially Powell, who has had a history of good second halves.
While credit to Boston for improving the issue, Powell kind of fell right into their lap. Thanks to the Giles trade of the previous season, Boston was left with the #2 pick of the Titans dispersal. With Colorado snatching up Matt Vinc, Powell was left open for the Blazers. They did have to surrender a few players for Sanderson, but it was well worth getting the former MVP.
The rest of their additions look like good support players, like Dan Teat, who is 20th all time in NLL scoring. And then Kevin Buchanan, who looks to score a few goals.
But other teams are improving too. Toronto has a really solid roster, with Blaine Manning, Colin Doyle, Garret Billings and Wade LeBlanc. The Rock, I have always thought, would be able to contend with Boston. But with the recent additions of Rochester, the Knighthawks might jump into that mix. And it is not so much Vinc, as they always had Pat O'Toole in net.
But even with the loss of John Grant, they have Cody Jaimeson, Jordon Hall, Craig Point, Steve Toll, Shawn Evans, and Matt Zash. With a few more roster moves, they also have Brad Self and Matt Danowski.
So with the Knighthawks and Rock in the mix, that leaves the Blazers with some tough opponents. Back to the Blazers, is their still a weakness on this team? They improved their problems from last year, but that does not mean they won't have problems somewhere else.
I think the Blazers acquired some good defensive players with Orsen and Campbell, but they lost Paul Dawson, who is one of the best in the league. While those two may make up for the loss, the acquisition of Kyle Rubisch was supposed to as well. However he remains unsigned, and it is unknown if Boston will have to trade him.
When the Boston Blazers first acquired Casey Powell, I thought they became the favorites in the East. When they acquired Josh Sanderson, I thought so even more. The Blazers certainly have what looks to be a powerhouse offense, with those additions along with Dan Dawson. But did the Blazers address their biggest need? And are there more teams to worry about in the East?
Looking at the Blazers roster up-to-down, it looks pretty solid. Along with their big three they have Scott Campbell, John Orsen, Greg Downing, Gary Bining, Kevin Buchanan, Sean Morris, and Dan Teat. Those are some pretty good complementary players to Sanderson, Dawson and Powell. And on the goaltending front, you cannot go wrong with Anthony Cosmo. So again, on paper this team looked solid.
I feel they did address their biggest problem, which was second half scoring. After teams would adjust to Dan Dawson, the Blazers did not have enough players to pick up the slack. They tried to fix this by acquiring Mat Giles, and he was ok, but he was also not their scoring solution.
By getting Powell and later Sanderson, that should solve the issue. Teams cannot double cover all three players. Especially Powell, who has had a history of good second halves.
While credit to Boston for improving the issue, Powell kind of fell right into their lap. Thanks to the Giles trade of the previous season, Boston was left with the #2 pick of the Titans dispersal. With Colorado snatching up Matt Vinc, Powell was left open for the Blazers. They did have to surrender a few players for Sanderson, but it was well worth getting the former MVP.
The rest of their additions look like good support players, like Dan Teat, who is 20th all time in NLL scoring. And then Kevin Buchanan, who looks to score a few goals.
But other teams are improving too. Toronto has a really solid roster, with Blaine Manning, Colin Doyle, Garret Billings and Wade LeBlanc. The Rock, I have always thought, would be able to contend with Boston. But with the recent additions of Rochester, the Knighthawks might jump into that mix. And it is not so much Vinc, as they always had Pat O'Toole in net.
But even with the loss of John Grant, they have Cody Jaimeson, Jordon Hall, Craig Point, Steve Toll, Shawn Evans, and Matt Zash. With a few more roster moves, they also have Brad Self and Matt Danowski.
So with the Knighthawks and Rock in the mix, that leaves the Blazers with some tough opponents. Back to the Blazers, is their still a weakness on this team? They improved their problems from last year, but that does not mean they won't have problems somewhere else.
I think the Blazers acquired some good defensive players with Orsen and Campbell, but they lost Paul Dawson, who is one of the best in the league. While those two may make up for the loss, the acquisition of Kyle Rubisch was supposed to as well. However he remains unsigned, and it is unknown if Boston will have to trade him.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Bayhawks Shock the World
I was writing here all week how the Bayhawks would not win the championship unless they did a few major things. Like, score consistently, have Kyle Dixon on his game, and stop Boston and Long Island from scoring. I said it would not happen.
It happened.
The Chesapeake Bayhawks took home the Steinfield Cup Sunday, defeating old-rival Long Island Lizrads. The Bayhawks already defeated favorite Boston the day before, their first playoff game since 2005 when they beat the Philadelphia Barrage to win it all. The Bayhawks and Lizards had matched up four times before in the early
2000's, winning the first the first three ever.
Peet Poillon was my player of the game, an absolutely outstanding day for the league's most improved player. The game was deadlocked or close most of the game until the Bayhawks began to dominate, scoring five in the fourth to the Lizard's one goal.
It was 4-4 at halftime and 8-8 going into the fourth quarter. The Lizards lost their rhythm on offense, partially thanks to Chris Garrity, my playoff MVP. Other top performers of the playoffs for Chesapeake where rookies Brian Carrol and Micheal Kimmel. Carrol scoring the hat trick for the Bayhawks, and Kimmel scoring a late goal to seal it.
The Lizards could have played this game better. They looked scattered on offense and Alex Smith dominated them on faceoffs. The Lizards lost their cool late and took too many penalties, highlighted by the Brian Spallina one in the second. Matt Danowski was held without a point for the first time this season, an obvious key to the Lizards loss.
No one gave the Bayhawks a chance, but they lived up to the old Baltimore Bayhawks tradition and beat the Long Island Lizards. This is the end of the MLL season. But stay here at the Lacrosse Blog, NLL season is right around the corner.
It happened.
The Chesapeake Bayhawks took home the Steinfield Cup Sunday, defeating old-rival Long Island Lizrads. The Bayhawks already defeated favorite Boston the day before, their first playoff game since 2005 when they beat the Philadelphia Barrage to win it all. The Bayhawks and Lizards had matched up four times before in the early
2000's, winning the first the first three ever.
Peet Poillon was my player of the game, an absolutely outstanding day for the league's most improved player. The game was deadlocked or close most of the game until the Bayhawks began to dominate, scoring five in the fourth to the Lizard's one goal.
It was 4-4 at halftime and 8-8 going into the fourth quarter. The Lizards lost their rhythm on offense, partially thanks to Chris Garrity, my playoff MVP. Other top performers of the playoffs for Chesapeake where rookies Brian Carrol and Micheal Kimmel. Carrol scoring the hat trick for the Bayhawks, and Kimmel scoring a late goal to seal it.
The Lizards could have played this game better. They looked scattered on offense and Alex Smith dominated them on faceoffs. The Lizards lost their cool late and took too many penalties, highlighted by the Brian Spallina one in the second. Matt Danowski was held without a point for the first time this season, an obvious key to the Lizards loss.
No one gave the Bayhawks a chance, but they lived up to the old Baltimore Bayhawks tradition and beat the Long Island Lizards. This is the end of the MLL season. But stay here at the Lacrosse Blog, NLL season is right around the corner.
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