Top Performers – Week 17

All six games from Week 17 in the National Lacrosse League are wrapped up as we creep closer to the playoffs at the start of May. Before we begin thinking of this coming weekend’s action, let’s explore the top single game performers from across the NLL.

MOST GOALS

Dhane Smith (5) – Buffalo Bandits

Josh Currier (5) – Philadelphia Wings

Interestingly enough, both leading goal scorers from Week 17 played on teams that came up short. Buffalo’s Dhane Smith and the Wings Josh Currier each lit the lamp on five occasions. Smith added two assists, while Currier contributed a single helper.

MOST POINTS

Dane Dobbie (11) – Calgary Roughnecks

Calgary got back in the win column Saturday and Dane Dobbie was an important reason why. Visiting Philadelphia, the veteran forward buried four goals and set up seven others for a league best single game 11-point effort.

BEST SAVE PERCENTAGE %

(Playing at least 30-minutes)

Tyler Carlson (0.839%) – San Diego Seals

It was a winless weekend for the Seals, but Tyler Carlson certainly wasn’t to blame.

The goaltender hopped in net for the majority of the second of San Diego’s back-to-back versus New England. Carlson stopped 26-of-31 shots and it will be interesting to see how the netminding workload is shared going forward with Frank Scigliano.

MOST LOOSE BALLS

Billy Hostrawser (13) – Toronto Rock

Trevor Baptiste (13) – Philadelphia Wings

Cameron Holding (13) – San Diego Seals

Number 13 was lucky when it came to collecting loose balls this week. The high number from a faceoff specialist like Trevor Baptiste is expected, but an extra tip of the cap goes out to the other two grinders.

In the hard-fought overtime win over Buffalo, Billy Hostrawser gutted out 13 LB’s. In New England, Cameron Holding was man on the spot 13-times for the Seals who fell 17-14 despite a fourth quarter surge.

BEST FACEOFF WINNING PERCENTAGE %

(Taking 10 or more faceoffs)

Trevor Baptiste (80.6%) – Philadelphia Wings

No surprise here as rookie Trevor Baptiste continues to be a force in the faceoff circle. Taking 29 of 36 draws gave the Wings valuable possessions to help keep the expansion club close in their eventual loss to Calgary.

Baptiste’s 286-faceoff wins are the most in the NLL, 75 ahead of second place, and he’s number two in winning percentage only behind Rochester’s Jake Withers.

Andy McNamara has been a play-by-play commentator for the NLL on TSN, B/R Live, and world lacrosse tournaments since 2011. He’s also a sport talk host and anchor on TSN 1050 sports radio. Follow Andy on twitter @AndyMc81