Week14 Results: Lost to Colorado 11-8 Week 15 Opponent: at Buffalo (9-1) Previous Ranking: 6th
What can we expect from the Roughnecks going forward? On one hand, the Roughnecks are struggling on the floor and have a gauntlet of a schedule ahead. On the other, they just made a move for one of the most impactful goaltenders in the sport in Nick Rose. Yes, Calgary lost to Colorado over the weekend, but the ceiling for the Roughnecks is far higher than it was a week ago when Rose was not their man between the pipes. Star power out the front door is not in short supply for Calgary, and with Rose now between the pipes fans can be optimistic about Calgary’s outlook. The schedule for Calgary is about to get brutal: the next four games will make or break Calgary’s season, as the Roughnecks go to Banditland on Saturday before returning home a week later to play the Bandits again and then face San Diego and Saskatchewan. If Calgary misses the playoffs, Josh Sanderson’s group will look back at early-season missed opportunities against Vancouver and Philadelphia as the moments that decided their fate.
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK – FEBRUARY 28 :: Rochester Knighthawks v Albany Firewolves :: February 28, 2025 in Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, NY, USA (Photo by Micheline Veluvolu)
7) Rochester Knighthawks (6-7)
Week14 Results: Beat Albany 14-7 Week 15 Opponent: at Las Vegas (3-9) Previous Ranking: 8th
Don’t look now, but the Knighthawks are back in playoff position. Thanks to three wins in their last four games, the Knighthawks have shot up the standings and positioned themselves for a late-season run with only five games remaining. After a 3-6 start to the year, Connor Fields, Ryan Smith and company seem to have rediscovered their identity from a year ago. Back-to-back excellent efforts offer both an encouraging sign and a small sample size from which to draw conclusions. Still, it’s easy to be bullish on Rochester. Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of their win over the FireWolves was the Knighthawks’ late-game explosion to pull away. When Albany closed the score to 8-7 in the first minute of the fourth quarter, the Knighthawks were unfazed, ripping off the final six goals of the game. The offensive firepower is always lying in wait with Rochester, and this weekend’s win was an excellent illustration of how quickly the Knighthawks can explode on a massive run. While he only faced 43 shots, goaltender Rylan Hartley seems to be settling back into game speed, which is bad news for Rochester’s opponents. Two road games await Rochester next on the schedule, as the Knighthawks will head to Las Vegas on Friday before visiting Ottawa next week. After that, a bye week will give them a chance to catch their collective breath before a final three-game homestand against San Diego, Ottawa and Toronto.
One week removed from the team’s least inspiring offensive effort of the season, the Mammoth jumped all over Calgary, racing to leads of 5-0 and 7-2 in the first half. Even with Nick Rose between the pipes for Calgary, the Mammoth were clearly the better team. Four different Colorado players tallied multiple goals, led by four from the franchise’s new leading goal scorer Eli McLaughlin. An injury to Zed Williams is a big loss to the offense, but perhaps a couple of weeks of simplifying the equation out the front door with fewer high-volume scoring talents will serve Pat Coyle’s club well. Most importantly, Dillon Ward returned to his brilliant form with 49 saves against the Roughnecks, which is tremendous news for Colorado moving forward. Teams are often only as good as their goaltending come playoff time and if Ward is at his best during the March to May, the Mammoth will very likely be a playoff team. After a week off to get healthy, the Mammoth will travel to Philadelphia to play the new-look Wings.
5) San Diego Seals (5-6)
Week14 Results: Idle Week 15 Opponent: vs Vancouver (5-6) Previous Ranking: 5th
They may not have played this weekend, but the three-game run that the Seals were on ahead of their bye week was inspiring. Even without four of their best players, the Seals pushed the Bandits to the brink and left us wondering what they might look like once healthy. Zach Currier should return to the lineup this weekend, Trevor Baptiste is very close to returning and Kyle Rubisch should follow soon after. San Diego was as bewildering as any team in the league at the season’s halfway point, but the group’s potential has been undeniable since the beginning of the year. Friday night’s home game against Vancouver—who is also coming off a bye week—will be an interesting stress test for the Seals: have they actually turned a corner or was their three-week run of high-level success was a flash in the pan?
Aside from the Bandits, Georgia made the weekend’s loudest statement with a dominating second-half effort against Ottawa on the road. Their early-season tribulations have served them well, as they adjusted brilliantly after halftime to out-score the Black Bears 9-2 in the final 30 minutes of game time. It feels like an eternity ago that the Swarm dropped three in a row after their 4-0 start. Since the start of February, Georgia has won three of four games, averaging 13.5 goals per game in the process. Brett Dobson has now stacked back-to-back brilliant efforts atop each other, which may be the best news that Ed Comeau could have received. If Dobson continues to play at the level he has the last two weeks, the Swarm could make some serious noise. Their 4-1 record in one-goal games will serve them well in late-season games when each goal matters that much more. We’ll enjoy a major measuring stick game this weekend when the Swarm welcome the Rush to Gas South Arena.
3) Halifax Thunderbirds (7-4)
Week14 Results: Beat Las Vegas 9-5 Week 15 Opponent: vs Toronto (3-8) Previous Ranking: 3rd
Watch out for the league’s hottest team. After an 0-3 start, the Thunderbirds have gone on a scorching run to a top-three spot and a likely playoff berth. While they only netted nine goals against Las Vegas, the Thunderbirds enjoyed contributions from eight different goal scorers, paired with a suffocating defensive effort. Warren Hill deserves mention once again this week for his rock solid, yet under-the-radar work between the pipes. The common theme between the three top teams in the Power Rankings is that none have a clear weakness. Like the Bandits and the Rush, the Thunderbirds enjoy situational offensive explosiveness, a nice blend of veteran and youthful presences, dynamic athletes out the back door and reliable goaltending. Randy Staats deserves mention as an under-appreciated MVP candidate. If this run continues for the Thunderbirds, they will all but assuredly turn the corner and make a semifinal series this year. Up next is a Friday night game in the Nest against the reloading Toronto Rock.
Bandits vs Rush
2) Saskatchewan Rush (9-3)
Week14 Results: Lost to Buffalo 9-7 Week 15 Opponent: at Georgia (7-4) Previous Ranking: 2nd
Despite the team’s home loss to the Bandits, the Rush don’t slide in this week’s rankings. While Halifax has a strong case to be made, the Rush shouldn’t be faulted for losing a highly competitive game to the league’s two-time reigning champs and clear-cut top-ranked team. While Zach Manns was superb in his four-goal performance, the Rush did struggle to find supplemental scoring around Manns, offering shades of some early-season concerns. Are the Rush reverting to their early-season issues on offense or were the Bandits simply too good on defense? It’s a question worth monitoring in the coming weeks, but not one that is pressing enough to slide the Rush down the rankings. Saskatchewan’s resume is clearly the second strongest in the league, even if Halifax may be hotter right now. The coaching duo of Jimmy Quinlan and Derek Keenan has been superb, and the Rush will make sound adjustments. The first post-Buffalo test worth watching will be this week when the Rush travel to Georgia to play the Swarm.
Despite a 5-3 halftime deficit on the road, the Bandits once again found a way to assert themselves as the league’s top team. Thanks to a 3-0 third quarter that was part of a larger 6-1 run, Buffalo rallied to knock off the league’s second-ranked team in a heavyweight battle.
It’s fairly simple at this point in the season: The road to the NLL Championship will run through Buffalo. There are contenders that can challenge the Bandits, but the two-time reigning champs have the body of work through 10 games that validates the benefit of the doubt they received early in the season, despite a multitude of off weeks. As we’ve seen up close for three consecutive weeks, Matt Vinc might be the league’s oldest player, but he still is one of its top goalies on any given night. If he sustains this level of play through the Bandits’ run of eight games in seven weeks to end the season, Buffalo will be the clear-cut top seed in the postseason. The Bandits now return home to host Calgary on Saturday.
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