After a bounce-back win over Rochester, the Warriors climb back into the Power Rankings and claim the final spot in the top eight. Vancouver boasts the best win of the teams in contention for the final spot, beating Rochester, who was a playoff team a season ago. There are reasonable cases to be made as well for the Wings and the Black Bears, but the Warriors’ effort in their home opener presented reason for optimism. The offense has left something to be desired, scoring just 17 goals in two games, but Aden Walsh has been impressively effective between the pipes, stopping 81.3% of the shots that he’s faced. Once Keegan Bal and Adam Charalambides settle in, the Warriors’ scoring output will improve. Also worth mentioning is the torrid start of Owen Grant — he’s quickly developed into a stud. Vancouver has a bye week before heading to Calgary to take on the 2-0 Roughnecks on December 28.
7) Colorado Mammoth (2-1)
Week 3Results: 14-11 loss to San Diego Week 4 Opponent: vs Halifax (0-2) Previous Ranking: 7th
The Mammoth hold steady in the Power Rankings despite suffering their first loss of the season at San Diego. Colorado looked poised to carry a 3-2 lead into the second quarter, but conceded a full-floor empty-net goal with 1.2 seconds remaining in the first quarter. That heartbreaking goal opened the floodgates at Pechanga Arena, as the Seals scored eight of the final 10 goals of the opening half. Colorado played much better after halftime, but the formula for success that led the Mammoth to wins over Vancouver and Las Vegas failed against one of the league’s most talented teams. The Mammoth still boast a tremendously balanced offense with multiple threats on both sides of the floor. Pat Coyle was candid in explaining that there is still a process of role and chemistry development in progress. Ryan Lee’s return from injury and the start of Will Malcom’s second stint with the Mammoth mean that the offense will likely endure periods of disjointedness until chemistry is fully formed. Colorado gets the nod ahead of Vancouver, Philadelphia and Ottawa thanks to the strength of their limited resume this season.
6) Albany FireWolves (1-2)
Week 3Results: 13-12 OT loss to Calgary Week 4 Opponent: Bye Week Previous Ranking: 3rd
As the only team with a losing record in this week’s Power Rankings, the FireWolves have served as a tremendous example of just how narrow the margins are between victory and defeat in the NLL. Albany has lost 2 of 3 to start the season, dropping both games in heartbreaking fashion at home in overtime. Expectations are still high for the FireWolves, but their collapse against Calgary on Saturday night may be cause for concern. It’s far too early to sound any alarm bells around Albany, but it’s fair to state that their opening-month results have been disappointing. The good news for folks in the Capital Region is that Doug Jamieson has stopped nearly 82% of the shots that he’s faced and the offense has received significant contributions from multiple different faces. Alex Simmons may be the headliner to their attack, but the FireWolves were still able to pour in a dozen goals against Calgary with Simmons failing to score a goal. Albany gets to enjoy a week off before heading to Halifax to play the Thunderbirds on December 28 in an early-season must-win game.
Roughnecks at Albany 12/14/24 (Photo: Geovanna Soler)
5) Calgary Roughnecks (2-0)
Week 3Results: 13-12 OT win over Albany Week 4 Opponent: Bye Week Previous Ranking: 8th
After their season-opening win over the Thunderbirds, we made two statements about the Roughnecks that were reinforced in Saturday night’s win over Albany. Firstly, the Roughnecks are going to have to rely on their offense to win games this year in an effort to mask some deficiencies on their back end. Secondly, the Roughnecks certainly will not be boring. Saturday night’s come-from-behind victory illustrated both of those points brilliantly, as Dane Dobbie nearly single-handedly ripped victory from the jaws of defeat for Calgary. His NLL-record seven-goal fourth quarter and eight total goals provided an early candidate for the greatest individual performance of the season. The Roughnecks have earned their position in the top five this week, but it’s also important to acknowledge that they could just as easily be winless as undefeated. Their position in the Power Rankings is a reflection of their results to date more so than a prediction of what is to come. They may be 2-0, but the Roughnecks are still the most enigmatic team in the league. Calgary doesn’t play again until December 28 when the Warriors and former head coach Curt Malawsky pay them a visit.
4) Saskatchewan Rush (2-0)
Week 3Results: 9-8 OT win over Halifax Week 4 Opponent: at Rochester (1-2) Previous Ranking: 5th
Two things are immediately visible when you watch Saskatchewan play this year: first, the defense is vastly improved, and second, the offense is a work in progress. The best news for Rush fans is that goaltender Frank Scigliano has been dynamic between the pipes, posting a .838 save percentage through two games. Matt Hossack’s return to Saskatchewan has provided the Rush defense with a massive boost. His seven caused turnovers is tied for the most in the NLL and ranks him first among players to only play two games thus far. Offensively, Zach Manns followed his four-goal season debut against Albany with a sock trick against Halifax — he’s scored 10 of Saskatchewan’s 19 goals this season. At some point, the Rush will need to unlock some secondary scoring to support Manns, as no player other than Manns has scored more than three goals for the Rush this season. The Rush head to Rochester on Saturday for a measuring stick game.
3) San Diego Seals (2-1)
Week 3Results: 14-11 win over Colorado Week 4 Opponent: vs Georgia (2-0) Previous Ranking: 4th
The Seals check in as the highest-ranked team with a loss on their record after a mostly dominant performance against Colorado. After a slow start offensively, the Seals erupted for seven goals in the second quarter to take a 10-5 halftime lead, subsequently fighting off any Mammoth attempts at catalyzing a comeback. Most notably for San Diego, goaltender Chris Origlieri turned in his best performance of the young season, making a flurry of clutch saves down the stretch to keep Colorado from mounting a furious comeback. Wesley Berg enjoyed his most productive game of the season against the Mammoth and Kyle Jackson’s season debut offered a different component on the left side. San Diego looks significantly more well-rounded on offense with clearly defined roles already in place. Patrick Merrill has been pleasantly surprised by the speed with which his offense has developed chemistry. Saturday night’s home game against Georgia is an opportunity to make a loud early-season statement.
Toronto Rock @ Georgia Swarm 12/14/24 (Photo: Victoria Adkins)
2) Georgia Swarm (2-0)
Week 3Results: 10-9 win over Toronto Week 4 Opponent: at San Diego (2-1) Previous Ranking: 2nd
Last week, the Swarm ascended to the second-ranked position behind Buffalo on the heels of a thrilling overtime victory over San Diego. The Swarm followed that effort with another dramatic one-goal win over Toronto. While the Rock have been the league’s most disappointing team to this point, Georgia’s ability to win close games with clutch late-game goals is an excellent sign of things to come. Lyle Thompson and Andrew Kew were masterful for the second consecutive week, and Brett Dobson followed his remarkable performance against San Diego with a 46-save effort to fight off a comeback-minded Rock team. Georgia’s first road test of the season is this weekend when the Swarm travel to California for a rematch with the Seals. Winning on the road is remarkably difficult in the NLL and San Diego has won 17 of their last 20 regular-season home games. A win at Pechanga Arena should cement the Swarm as the number two team behind the Bandits.
Another week in the top spot for the champs, as Buffalo dissected Ottawa on Friday night en route to a blowout win. Ian MacKay deservedly received most of the press for his five goals on just five shots, but the Bandits’ dynamic duo of Dhane Smith and Josh Byrne was as dynamic as ever, combining for 19 points. The most notable takeaway from Buffalo’s first two games is the level at which the defense and goaltender Matt Vinc are playing. The Bandits have outscored their opponents an absurd 33-14 en route to a perfect 2-0 record. After a week off, the Bandits will take the floor next just before New Years when the Knighthawks visit Banditland.
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.
3rd Party Cookies
This website uses Google Analytics and Facebook to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages.
Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.
Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!
