Every team was in action during Week 3, providing plenty of drama. Early in the season, the old adage of “anybody can beat anybody on any given night” is proving to be true. Colorado, which beat Vancouver in Week 1, lost to Philadelphia. Toronto staged an epic comeback over Calgary. Ottawa took down Saskatchewan and Halifax defeated Buffalo in overtime. Now that every team has finally played at least one game, we have more data points to work with. What has that done to the Power Rankings? Read on.
The Swarm are on the rise. A Week 1 loss to Buffalo was understandable, and this week they improved to 1-1 with a 9-5 win over Oshawa. It wasn’t a dominating win, but Brett Dobson stymied the opposition in goal with 51 saves. Offensively, the Swarm are retooling after the departures of four key players, but their new-look team looks like they can get the job done. They were led by the veterans: Shayne Jackson had a hat trick, Lyle Thompson contributed four points and Bryan Cole three. Rookies Nolan Byrne and Michael Grace scored, as did sophomores Kaleb Benedict and Richie Connell. It’s a younger, faster team that has a lot to look forward to.
HAMILTON, CANADA – DECEMBER 13: 2025 NLL regular season game action between the Calgary Roughnecks and Toronto Rock at TD Coliseum on December 13, 2025 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Christian Bender/NLL)
Week 3 Result: Beat Calgary 11-10
Week 4 Opponent: Bye Week
Previous Ranking: N/A
The Rock were forced to play catch-up during most of their win over Calgary: the fourth quarter began with the Roughnecks up 8-6, but Mark Matthews, Chris Boushy, Owen Hiltz and Josh Dawick each rattled off goals in a span of 3. 5 minutes for the lead. Calgary tied the game at 10; Boushy’s hat-trick goal with 2:06 left gave the Rock, who have now both won and lost by a single goal, the win. The Rock were bolstered by playing their home opener in the newly renovated TD Coliseum, back in front of an appreciative and knowledgeable crowd. 2025 leading scorer Dawick had six points (3G/3A) after a single assist in Week 1, and Owen Hiltz’s six-point game vaulted him into first in team scoring.
Saskatchewan Rush at Ottawa Black Bears 12.12.25
Week 3 Result: Beat Saskatchewan 11-8
Week 4 Opponent: vs. Las Vegas (0-1)
Previous Ranking: N/A
Speaking of epic comebacks – Ottawa was down 8-5 against Saskatchewan until six unanswered goals in the fourth quarter, sparked by a four-goal, five-assist effort from Jeff Teat (who finished with 17 shots on goal). Rob Hellyer, who sits at the top of the NLL scoring race after two games, had three goals and five assists – four of them on Teat’s goals. Ottawa outshot the Rush and scooped more loose balls, and Zach Higgins was great down the stretch. It’s possible the Black Bears have another up-and-down season, but beating last year’s second-place team is a step in the right direction as they look to go on a streak with games against Las Vegas, Philadelphia and Oshawa coming up.
San Diego, CA – December 14, 2025: San Diego Seals vs Rochester Knighthawks at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California (Photo by Alexis Goeller / National Lacrosse League)
Week 3 Result: Lost to Rochester 15-7
Week 4 Opponent: Bye Week
Previous Ranking: 6th
A loss to Rochester wasn’t surprising: the Knighthawks had been chomping at the bit for three weeks to get going and burst out of the gate, taking it to the Seals early and often. San Diego played a decent game. They outshot Rochester 66-48, with three players reaching over 10 shots on goal, and two more tallying nine. Pat Kavanagh broke out with a pair of goals and four assists in his second-ever NLL game. Trevor Baptiste gave them 24 chances off faceoff wins. If not for Rylan Hartley in Rochester’s goal, this game would have had a much more respectable score.
Saskatchewan Rush at Ottawa Black Bears 12.12.25
Week 3 Result: Lost to Ottawa 11-8
Week 4 Opponent: vs. Georgia (1-1)
Previous Ranking: 2nd
Saskatchewan flexed its muscles, coming back from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game at half. They scored four more to open the third and finished the period up 8-5 on Zach Manns’ hat trick goal, but Ottawa staged a fourth quarter comeback and outscored the Rush 6-0. The Rush did many things right in the game: Mike Messenger continued to be a force, contributing a goal, 14 penalty minutes and 14 loose balls. Frank Scigliano was a brick wall with 54 saves and Jake Naso dominated the faceoff dot, winning 17 of 23 draws. They just had a bad quarter.
Week 3 Result: Beat Las Vegas 15-9
Week 4 Opponent: vs. Oshawa (1-2)
Previous Ranking: 4th
Did Vancouver dominate Las Vegas this week on the scoreboard? Yes, they did – for three quarters. But they took their foot off the gas late, allowing Las Vegas to score five of the last six goals of the game. That aside, it was an elevated effort from the Warriors’ Week 1 loss to Colorado and should be the norm moving forward. Keegan Bal and Adam Charalambides had eight-point nights. Every other forward contributed at least one goal, and Shane Simpson and Tyler Garrison chipped in from the back end. Christian Del Bianco held the fort down in goal, making 44 saves.
San Diego, CA – December 14, 2025: San Diego Seals vs Rochester Knighthawks at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California (Photo by Alexis Goeller / National Lacrosse League)
Week 3 Result: Beat San Diego 15-7
Week 4 Opponent: vs. Philadelphia (1-0)
Previous Ranking: 4th
The Rochester momentum train is picking up steam. It may have been their first game of the season, but the Knighthawks played like a championship-calibre team in a dominant win over San Diego. Ryan Lanchbury and Thomas McConvey each had nine points. MVP Connor Fields contributed four goals and two assists and Ryan Smith three goals and four assists. The offence never let up, leading 8-4 at halftime and that was before a seven-goal run throughout the third and fourth. Rochester’s defence was stifling; although they gave up 65 shots, they put them right where Rylan Hartley was best positioned to stop them, which he did in dramatic fashion during a career outing.
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Buffalo Bandits against the Halifax Thunderbirds on Dec. 13, 2025 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY. (Caroline Sherman/NLL)
Week 3 Result: Lost to Halifax 9-8 in overtime
Week 4 Opponent: Bye Week
Previous Ranking: 1st
The three-time defending champions had a loss as close as it can be – one goal in overtime to a team nipping at your heels. Dhane and Josh combined for 13 points and 30 of the team’s 53 shots on goal, but their supporting cast was held to two goals and a smattering of assists as the team faced a tough early-season test. They’ll tweak some things, forget about this one and be ready to face Calgary in two weeks.
Buffalo Bandits against the Halifax Thunderbirds on Dec. 13, 2025 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY. (Caroline Sherman/NLL)
Week 3 Result: Beat Buffalo 9-8 in overtime
Week 4 Opponent: Bye Week
Previous Ranking: 3rd
To be the best, you have to beat the best, and taking down the defending champs in dramatic fashion accomplishes that. They’re the first two-win team of the season thanks to two strong games from Warren Hill, who stopped 40+ shots in each. Against Buffalo, Halifax fought back from deficits of 2-0, 5-2 and 7-4 before rattling off four goals in a row to take their first lead of the game. Talk about resilience; it took only 26 seconds of overtime for Clarke Petterson to secure the win.
