Week 7 Results: Beat Georgia 14-10 Week 8 Opponent: vs Vancouver (3-1) Previous Ranking: Unranked
The Black Bears just missed the cut for last week’s rankings and re-enter after their biggest statement of the season. With a 14-10 win over Georgia, Ottawa has concluded its brutal five-game stretch to open the year with a winning record. That’s a massive departure – and improvement – from the franchise’s history of slow starts. Two weeks ago, no Ottawa player managed more than a single point against San Diego, but in an encouraging turnaround, Jeff Teat and Jacob Dunbar combined for 14 points against Georgia. Zach Higgins was tremendous in net once again and should be considered the frontrunner for the NLL’s Goalie of the Year at this point in the season. With each passing week, it looks more and more like the beatdown Buffalo gave the Black Bears was an aberration as opposed to a source for substantive concern. Ottawa has a chance to make a big statement this week when they play the front end of back-to-back games against Vancouver. They’ll be at home on Friday.
7) San Diego Seals (3-3)
Week 7 Results: Lost to Vancouver 11-9 Week 8 Opponent: vs Las Vegas (1-5) Previous Ranking: 3
Consistently inconsistent is the best way to describe the Seals. They won over two of the six teams ranked ahead of them but haven’t won a road game yet this year. That’s a big problem when you realize that San Diego’s schedule is back loaded with road games down the stretch in March and April. It may officially be time to panic about the Seals’ offense after a third consecutive game in which the unit failed to hit the 10-goal threshold. After a shaky start to the year, Chris Origlieri has been phenomenal over their last three games, which is encouraging. Ultimately, San Diego is extraordinarily fortunate to be 3-3 as opposed to 2-4. Had their game against Ottawa broken the other way, we might be looking at the Seals in the same way we’re looking at Albany and Toronto. The good news for San Diego is that they head to Las Vegas on Saturday with a favorable matchup in an early-season must-win situation before a five-game gauntlet that sees them play Toronto on the road, Buffalo twice, and Vancouver for a second time.
The Mammoth and wild comebacks go together like peanut butter and jelly. Once again, Colorado pulled off an insane comeback after trailing by seven goals in the second quarter. The Mammoth scored 14 of the game’s final 19 goals to stun the struggling Albany FireWolves. In their four wins, offensive explosiveness has been the through line that has underscored what makes Colorado so dangerous. Connor Kelly – once a supporting character – has emerged as one of the league’s most potent scorers, piling up a league-best 20 goals in six games. Ryan Lee is beginning to reclaim the form that made him one of the league’s most exciting players before his first knee injury. The Mammoth need to figure things out on defense, but the ability to regularly pop off for six or seven goals in a quarter should buy them some time to do so. Colorado has proven once again that their home-floor advantage is one of the best in the NLL, but this week they’ll have to prove they can win on the road when they run it back against Albany in the Capital Region.
Albany Firewolves v Colorado Mammoth, 01-11-2025, Jack Dempsey, Ball Arena, National Lacrosse League
5) Georgia Swarm (4-2)
Week 7 Results: Lost to Ottawa 14-10 Week 8 Opponent: at Calgary (2-2) Previous Ranking: 2
It feels like an awfully long time since the Swarm held off Colorado on December 29 to round out a perfect month of December and claim their best start in almost a decade at 4-0. Georgia has now lost back-to-back games at home, games that featured a startling absence of offensive explosiveness and a porous defense. The Swarm haven’t allowed more than 12 goals in any of their four wins, but have allowed 16 and 14 the last two weeks. It’s hard to pinpoint where things turned for Georgia, which is particularly concerning. Even considering those items, Lyle Thompson is still one of the best players in the world and Brett Dobson has already shown a propensity for improving as the season progresses in his young career. The Swarm need to figure things out quickly and they’ll have a chance to do so on Saturday when they visit the Calgary Roughnecks.
4) Saskatchewan Rush (4-1)
Week 7 Results: Beat Las Vegas 15-9 Week 8 Opponent: at Toronto (0-5) Previous Ranking: 6
The Rush are back in the top four this week after a blowout win over the Desert Dogs. Jake Naso continued his torrid start, winning the face-off battle once again, and Zach Manns netted another hat trick. The primary source of skepticism about Saskatchewan’s start was quieted over the weekend when the secondary scoring around Manns showed up in force. Ryan Keenan’s four-goal night and Clark Walter’s two-goal effort offer reason for optimism about Saskatchewan’s improving offense. Frank Scigliano has also quietly been excellent, stopping just under 80% of the shots that he’s faced. With a younger, more athletic group on the floor, the Rush have the look of a team that very well may not peak until late in the season, which should excite Rush fans. Saskatchewan now heads to Toronto to face the Rock, who are infinitely more dangerous than their winless record would suggest.
3) Philadelphia Wings (4-1)
Week 7 Results: Beat Calgary 13-11 Week 8 Opponent: at Buffalo (4-0) & vs Vancouver (3-1) Previous Ranking: 5
The Wings have won four consecutive games following their opening-weekend loss in San Diego. In a continuation of their early-season dominance, the Wings’ lefties potted nine of the team’s 13 goals, including five from Mitch Jones. Brennan O’Neill is averaging nearly five points per game in a rookie season that has been more productive than most outside observers may have expected. Since his difficult night in San Diego, goaltender Nick Damude has been excellent, including a 44-save night in the win over Calgary. Philly is on the rise, but we’ll find out quite a bit about them this upcoming weekend when the Wings put their four-game winning streak on the line in Buffalo.
January 11, 2025: The Calgary Roughnecks vs Philadelphia Wings
2) Vancouver Warriors (3-1)
Week 7 Results: Beat San Diego 11-9 Week 8 Opponent: at Ottawa (3-2) & at Philadelphia (4-1) Previous Ranking: 4
Thanks to a heroic performance from Kegan Bal and arguably Aden Walsh’s best career game to date, the Warriors ripped off a third straight win. After entering the final frame facing a 6-3 deficit, the Warriors poured in six of the quarter’s first seven goals to take a 9-7 lead. In a demonstration of resilience, Vancouver rallied to lunge back ahead of the Seals after San Diego scored twice to tie the game with just over a minute left. After an opening-week disappointment, Curt Malawsky’s squad looks like one of the most balanced and fearsome in the NLL. If Walsh can continue to improve in net and turn in a few more performances like his effort on Friday, the Warriors will be a force out west. Up next for Vancouver is a visit to Ottawa on Friday to play the Black Bears for the opening half of back-to-back tussles with the Black Bears.
1) Buffalo Bandits (4-0)
Week 7 Results: Beat Toronto 15-13 Week 8 Opponent: vs Philadelphia (4-1) Previous Ranking: 1
After a three-game run of dominance to open the season, the NLL’s top team finally received its first test of the campaign. With a home game against the winless – yet talented and dangerous – Toronto Rock, the Bandits rallied late with a six-goal final quarter. In the face of adversity for the first time this season, Buffalo scored the final three goals of the night to drop their rivals from the other side of the border. With 10 more points, Dhane Smith now has an obscene 38 points in four games, which makes for a league-best average of 9.5 points per game. Buffalo departs the weekend with the only remaining unbeaten record in the NLL, having matched Georgia’s start of 4-0. Up next for the Bandits is the third of four consecutive home games when the streaking Philadelphia Wings come to Banditland on Friday.
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