The National Lacrosse League (@NLL), the largest and most successful professional lacrosse property in the world, is coming off a successful “NLL Faceoff Weekend,” with five games over two days. The five teams that did not compete last week are among those in action, including the defending champion Buffalo Bandits, who begin the campaign across I-90 at the Albany FireWolves.
Here are 10 things to know about the NLL entering Week 2:
TV Time: Local markets continue their strong connections with NLL teams, as eight local broadcasts will complement the ESPN+ and TSN+ broadcast of games this week, alongside the NLL Game of the Week on TSN. NBC Sports + (Philadelphia), CW23 (Buffalo), My4 (Albany), Altitude Sports Network (Colorado), Peachtree Sports (Georgia), SSSEN (Las Vegas), KUSI (San Diego) and Bally Sports Southwest (Panther City) will have live in-market broadcasts of their respective contests.
Radio Row: Also on the broadcast front, the Rochester Knighthawks renewed their broadcast agreement with iHeartMedia, keeping the team on the FM dial there. Craig Rybczynski returns for his 22nd season calling NLL games.
Here Comes the Metric System: NLL.com’s content team has been busy with numerous features every week. This week marked the debut of a new feature, “LAXMetrics,” an innovative data approach to better understand the league. NLL.com’s Cooper Perkins breaks down the Roughnecks and Knighthawks game here.
Del Bianco Loves Kids: Calgary Roughnecks goaltender Christian Del Bianco (Coquitlam, B.C.), in partnership with Ascent Consulting Ltd, today launched his Assists for Kids program supporting KidSport. Since its inception in 2018-19, the program has raised over $38,000 for youth sport programs in Alberta. For every assist made by Del Bianco in the 2023-24 NLL regular season, Ascent Consulting will donate $500 to KidSport, with Del Bianco and the Roughnecks Foundation also contributing $30 each.
Robinson Gives Back: Buffalo’s Brandon Robinson (Pickering, Ont.) is launching a new initiative this year partnering with Morgan’s Message, a foundation that strives to aid those with mental health issues. He will donate $1 for every goal scored across the entire NLL over this season. Fans can support here.
Beer Here: Three Heads Brewing has unveiled a new Knighthawk Hazy IPA, just in time for the 2023-24 season. The local brewery debuted the new beer, described as “loaded with Citra and Mosaic hops, the notes of mango, papaya and citrus are a delight for senses.”
The College Try: The U.S. colleges with the most active players in the league on opening day rosters are Robert Morris (15), Ohio State (12), RIT (11) and Denver (11). Top Canadian schools are Guelph (8) and Brock (6).
Put Me In, Coach: Three active NLL coaches are among the six all-time winningest mentors: Ed Comeau of Georgia (2nd, 122 wins), Paul Day of Philadelphia (4th, 113 wins) and Mike Hasen of Rochester (6th, 98 wins). They have a way to go to catch Derek Keenan, who won 155 games.
NLL Players reaching milestones last week included:
Halifax D/T Jake Withers (Peterborough, Ont.) now has 1504 faceoff wins after taking 29 of 33 vs. Saskatchewan
Philadelphia F Blaze Riorden (Fairport, N.Y.) now has 102 goals after netting four vs. New York
Saskatchewan F Zach Manns (Victoria, B.C.) now has 101 points after his three-goal, three-assist effort vs. Halifax
Saskatchewan D/T Mike Messenger (Surrey, B.C.) now has 101 points after posting two assists vs. Halifax
Player achievements within reach this week are:
Albany F Ethan Walker (Peterborough, Ont.) needs nine points to reach 100
Buffalo coach John Taveras needs one victory for 50
Buffalo D Steve Priolo (St. Catharines, Ont.) needs one point for 200
Calgary F Thomas Hoggarth (Lakefield, Ont.) needs four goals to reach 100
Colorado F Eli McLaughlin (Surrey, B.C.) needs eight points to reach 500
Colorado F Chris Wardle (Victoria, B.C.) needs one goal for 100
Colorado F Zed Williams (Silver Creek, N.Y.) needs three assists for 100 and one point for 200
Halifax F Ryan Benesch (Elmira, Ont.) needs one assist to pass Shawn Williams for eighth on the all-time list with 709
Halifax D Graeme Hossack (Port Perry, Ont) needs five points to reach 100
Philadelphia F Holden Cattoni (Calgary, Alb.) needs one game for 100 and seven points for 400
Rochester D Dan Coates (St. Catharines, Ont.) needs two points to reach 100
San Diego D Kyle Rubisch (Brampton, Ont.) needs one game played for 200
Saskatchewan F Ryan Keenan (Oshawa, Ont.) needs one game played for 100
Toronto D Mitch de Snoo (Oshawa, Ont.) needs three points for 100
Toronto F Challen Rogers (Coquitlam, B.C.) needs 10 points for 200
Schedule – Week 2 (All Times Eastern)
Saturday
Sunday
