Week 1 Recap – #Faceoffwknd

The National Lacrosse League began a new season this past week, with a pair of games in New York as part of #FaceOffWKND.

The 31st season of NLL action began Thursday, December 29th, as the Toronto Rock visited their East Division rivals, the Rochester Knighthawks. Both teams were looking to start off the year on the right foot after failing to qualify for the postseason in 2016. The contest was tied at three after the first quarter, and then the Rock took over. Toronto went on to win 12-5, thanks to a pair of hat tricks from Brett Hickey and Kasey Beirnes. Rock rookie Jordan Magnuson added his first NLL goal late in the second period to give Toronto a 9-4 lead at halftime.

For a full recap of the Rock’s win in Rochester, click here.

The second game of #FaceOffWKND took place Friday night in Banditland, where the visiting team was once again victorious. The Colorado Mammoth traveled to Buffalo and started the new season with a convincing 12-8 win over the 2016 East Division Champions. At one point the Bandits trailed 9-2, but were able to fight back and make it close at the end. Dillon Ward was outstanding for the Mammoth, stopping 47 of the 55 shots he faced.

For a full recap of the Mammoth’s victory over the Bandits, click here.

The NLL season continues next weekend with four different games being played Friday, January 6th and Saturday, January 7th. A full schedule can be found here.

Make sure to follow the NLL’s coverage on social media all season long for highlights, interviews, pictures, and more. Updates and game recaps can be found at NLL.com.

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