It’s been a long week on the charter bus, but the Thunderbirds are headed back to Halifax for a little bit of fun under the sun. This weekend at the ScotiaBank Centre, the Thunderbirds are set to host the Colorado Mammoth for Beach Night, their third theme night of the year.
The Thunderbirds went 1-1 in their Week 7 doubleheader, securing a much-needed 13-11 win against the Ottawa Black Bears on Friday. The two squads traded scoreless stints during the matchups middle brackets, but Halifax goaltender Warren Hill’s 47 saves and defenders Tyson Bell and Graeme Hossack’s combined seven caused turnovers and 21 ground balls kept Ottawa out of the crease in the second half. However, Saturday’s upset against the Oshawa FireWolves shocked fans and players alike, as the Thunderbirds left the Tribute Communities Centre with a chippy 16-9 loss. Though Halifax was able to convert on six of their nine Power Play opportunities, their two-goal first half proved too much for the Thunderbirds to come back from in the later minutes.
With the sour upset framing this week’s home matchup, the Thunderbirds will do whatever they can to send Colorado home with that same feeling. The visiting Mammoth, however, are even less willing to give up the energy. After their holiday loss to the Georgia Swarm, the Mammoth have more than made up for it with a two-game hot streak, first spoiling Rochester’s thus far undefeated season, then turning right around to regift their loss back to Georgia last weekend. Though the rematch was a hard-fought low scoring game, the Mammoth sent out a reminder to the League that they’re not to be taken lightly on the road, putting up 57 shots against the Swarm, 21 of which were pulled by forwards Will Malcom and Jack Hannah, and pulling out 11 of the 16 faceoffs taken to control transition, thanks to the efforts of Matthew Paolatto.
The 3-2 Mammoth currently sits just outside of the League’s Top 3, needing a fourth win and a Vancouver loss to finally break onto the platform. Just below, the Thunderbirds are hanging onto a .500 record, occupying the sixth slot, and need to get back in the win column to prevent them dropping any further during these middle weeks of the season.
The Mammoth tip off the weekend in Halifax this Friday night, January 16, at 6:30PM ET. Catch the opening whistle on ESPN+, NLL+ and TSN+
Halifax Thunderbirds at Ottawa Black Bears 01.09.26
It’s been an interesting first half of the season for the reigning champs. Since their opening weekend win against the Swarm, the Buffalo Bandits have yet to keep a streak alive in their four games played. First falling in overtime to Halifax, then hammering in a 13-7 win against Calgary, and barely scraping out a third win against Las Vegas in Week 6. Now heading into Week 8, last weekend’s bout against Rochester has raised more questions regarding the Bandits’ future than it has answered.
During the latest installment of the Thruway Rivalry between the Bandits and the Knighthawks, despite outshooting their opponents and taking control of the momentum from the faceoff dot early on, the Bandits were outpaced by Rochester on the defensive end every quarter, losing their only lead of the game late in the first quarter and ultimately never closing the two-goal gap.
Now ranked fifth in the League rankings, the Bandits need a win to pad their currently plus-500 record; otherwise, they run the risk of falling below a winning record for the first time since the early weeks of the 2023 season.
The visitors’ bench, however, is set to host players with nothing else to prove other than that they can prove the odds wrong. The Ottawa Black Bears, now sat anxiously in the middle of the pack once again after their Week 7 home loss to Halifax, have finally begun to cement themselves as a team that can do it all. Bleach Bears Jeff Teat and Rob Hellyer currently hold two of the League’s top three spots for points scored this season– Teat sits atop the NLL with 44 points (14G, 30A), with Hellyer sandwiching the podium with 37 (14G, 23A). Additionally, Ottawa defender Callum Jones is currently second in the League for loose balls (61 LB); one of two non-faceoff taking players in the top five.
But with each time bringing a widely known high-powered offense into KeyBank Center, a united effort on the backend is going to make all the difference in this contest. Ottawa was able to hold Halifax scoreless in the second quarter while putting up five goals of their own, while Buffalo was held to three or fewer goals until the fourth quarter. With defensive and offensive conversions in question for both squads, goaltenders Matt Vinc and Zach Higgins will have to put their teams on their backs to pull out what could be either of their fourth wins.
The weekend starts HERE with NLL Friday on TSN at 7:30PM ET. Opening faceoff will also be available to stream on ESPN+, NLL+ and TSN+.
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Continuing the action this Friday Night on TSN, the NLL makes its dramatic return to Edmonton, Alberta for the first time in a decade for an NLL UnBOXed Series Game! For our 2026 return, the Georgia Swarm will line up at Rogers Place, home of the Edmonton Oilers and Oil Kings, as the showcase’s home team to square off against the “visiting” Canadian Prairie Stars, the Calgary Roughnecks.
The NLL was last active in Edmonton in the 2015 season, then still home to the Edmonton Rush before their cross-prairie relocation to Saskatchewan. In their final season at Rexall Place– the now defunct Northlands Coliseum– the Rush brought the West Division and League Titles home, ending their tenure in Edmonton as Regional and National Champions.
The stars of this year’s showcase have seen varying degrees of success so far this season. The Swarm, currently tied with the Las Vegas Desert Dogs at a 2-3 record, have either won by a few or lost by a few in each of their matchups so far, with their biggest goal deficit coming from their 15-11 loss to Buffalo in Week 1. Since then, the Swarm have traded losses for wins each week and are currently due for a win. In their Week 7 rematch with the Colorado Mammoth, a 7-5 Georgia loss, the Swarm’s offense still put up 44 shots and went 2-5 on Power Play opportunities, all while goaltender Brett Dobson kept the Mammoth at bay with 50 saves. However, Georgia only scraped out five of their 16 faceoffs, missing out on crucial transition momentum against the Mammoth.
The Roughnecks, conversely, got all their adversity out of the way early in the season. Currently 1-4 and holding up the base of the League totem pole, the success of their season was called into question early. However, their first win of the year against San Diego in Week 6 and their near miss against Vancouver last weekend have sparked a larger conversation. In Week 7, the Roughnecks took the favored Vancouver Warriors all the way into overtime, holding the Warriors scoreless for the entire fourth quarter and clawing back from a four-goal deficit.
Despite inconsistent successes, both of these squads have proved themselves more than capable of pulling out a scrappy win by any means necessary. The Swarm versus the Roughnecks is sure to close out this Friday Night on TSN with a nailbiter.
The NLL returns to Edmonton on January 16 at 10:00PM ET this Friday Night on TSN. The NLL UnBOXed Showcase is also available to stream on ESPN+, NLL+ and TSN+.
San Diego, CA – January 9, 2026: San Diego Seals vs Toronto Rock at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California (Photo by Alexis Goeller / National Lacrosse League)
The Seals are migrating North to the waterside city of Vancouver, boots strapped tight and hats sat right– the Warriors are set to host San Diego for Country Night, presented by the Yellowjackets themselves, Coors Original (or as we call it Stateside, the Banquet Beer). Stepping into Week 8 as the number three team, Vancouver’s saddled up for a country-style throwdown to show the League once and for all why they think Rogers Arena is “one of the toughest buildings to play in.”
After their opening weekend loss to the Colorado Mammoth, the Warriors have been on the warpath, winning their last three straight games, even if by the skin of their teeth. In last weekend’s road win against Calgary, Vancouver dressed out their new Warriors to take on their old team in a down-to-the-wire overtime grudge match. The Roughnecks held Vancouver to a tight race, keeping them to a two-goal lead heading into the half, before the Warriors broke away in the third to make it a four-goal game. Though Calgary nearly took the win after forcing the matchup into extra minutes, Vancouver forward Curtis Dickson was not leaving his old stomping grounds without a win, calling game with his fourth goal of the night, assisted by fellow former Roughneck, Jessie King.
With their hot streak only getting hotter, the Warriors are faced with the 1-3 San Diego Seals, a team that has so far excelled individually this season but has yet to put the pieces together. Week 7’s dustup with the Toronto Rock brought with it another installment of the Berg-Currier show, as the two each put up two highlight-worthy goals in the Seals’ seven-goal effort, tied as well by Tre Leclaire’s two nets of his own. In addition to his 11 loose balls and single block, San Diego faceoff specialist Trevor Baptiste also won 23 of the 23 faceoffs taken against the Rock, his fourth career perfect game.
But despite all the big numbers and love spread on the offensive end, the Seals have been unable to put those numbers towards a win, having fumbled their last three outings. The Seals need a win this weekend to put themselves back on pace with the rest of the pack and avoid a four-win catch-up.
The Seals ride into Rogers Arena at 10:00PM ET this Friday, January 16th on ESPN+, NLL+ and TSN+.
San Diego, CA – January 9, 2026: San Diego Seals vs Toronto Rock at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California (Photo by Alexis Goeller / National Lacrosse League)
The Rochester Knighthawks are once again stepping out under the lights at Blue Cross Arena after a two-win doubleheader weekend in Week 7. Following their Friday night 16-13 win against the Philadelphia Wings, the Knighthawks hightailed it back into Upstate to take on their I-90 rivals, the Buffalo Bandits. Rochester not only made it out of the weekend with their fourth win, but with a three-goal victory over the Bandits to give the visitors their second loss of the season and drop them from the League podium.
Riding high off a Zed Williams natty hatty and another bonkers out-of-net performance by goaltender Rylan Hartley, the Knighthawks are ready to welcome the Toronto Rock into the Flower City. The Rock, now 2-2 after their 12-7 road victory against San Diego, are looking to keep that spark alive and bring another win back to Ontario. Against the Seals in Week 7, by preliminary numbers, Toronto was shut out, falling short at the faceoff dot, on the Power Play, and ending the night with 16 turnovers on the stat sheet.
But at the end of the day, the only number that matters is goals scored. Of the Rock’s 12-goal effort against the Seals, rookie forward CJ Kirst was responsible for five– a single goal shy of his first career sock trick just eight short weeks into NLL debut– with captain Challen Rogers coming up second with two goals of his own. Kirst, fellow rookie forward Owen Hiltz (1G, 3A), and rookie defender Sam English (1G, 1A, 1CT) have introduced themselves to the Rock and the League as one of the most dangerous and effective rookie lines in activity this season.
Now with a second opportunity to pay back the Knighthawks for the preseason, the Rock is ready to get hot and stay hot. With Nick Rose holding up the pipes on the back end, supported by Rogers, Josh Jubenville and Elijah Gash, Toronto has every opportunity to put the next loss in Rochester’s least favorite column.
Watch those rookies fly! The Rock touches down at Blue Cross Arena this Saturday, January 17th, at 8:00PM ET on ESPN+, NLL+ and TSN+.
It’s been an up-and-down first season in Oshawa so far. But just when the cloud of doubt couldn’t get any thicker, the FireWolves swing back to remind fans and players alike exactly what got them to the finals in 2023.
After opening their doors for the Halifax Thunderbirds to roost at the Tribute Communities Centre, the FireWolves shooed the ‘Birds out of the rafters with a 16-9 win, their biggest score gap this season. Thanks in part to the 13 blocks made by the Oshawa defense, as well as goaltenders Doug Jamieson and Andrew Kidd’s 44 combined saves, but last weekend’s win lies mostly in the hands of an angry Oshawa offense. While forwards Alex Simmons (2G, 7A) and Ethan Walker (3G, 6A) put up more than their fair share against Halifax, Tye Kurtz’s career-high seven goals and three assists put the FireWolves over the edge and into win territory with a first-quarter natural hat trick and a scoreboard appearance in every quarter after.
While the momentum is slowly being rebuilt in Oshawa, it hasn’t had a moment of rest in the great Canadian Plains. Back on the signature Saskatchewan green, the Rush are running through the League like a bison in a china shop. As the first team to five wins, and the first to four straight, Saskatchewan has every reason to get cocky, but none to get complacent. In last weekend’s West Coast roundabout against the Las Vegas Desert Dogs, the Rush put up 21 goals on 62 shots, with scoring led by captain Ryan Keenan (6G, 6A), converted on four of their six Power Play opportunities, all while Jake Naso pulled out 29 of the 40 faceoffs taken that evening.
Heading into the weekend, the numbers do not stand in favor of the FireWolves. But, until the two take the field, anything is possible. If Oshawa hits the turf at SaskTel Centre this Saturday with the same vengeance Halifax showed up to, next week’s League standings could tell a very different story.
Tune in this Saturday at 8:00PM ET on ESPN+, NLL+ and TSN+ as the Rush take on the FireWolves.
January 9, 2026: The Rochester Knighthawks vs the Philadelphia Wings at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, PA.
Rounding off the weekend, the Las Vegas Desert Dogs catch an easy Uber back to their home turf to take on the Philadelphia Wings. If a home game wasn’t enough for you, Vegas fans, the Desert Dogs invite home and away fans in to help celebrate a very special someone at Lee’s Family Forum– the Desert Dogs’s own Decker is celebrating a big birthday! Las Vegas is inviting fans to wear their best derby hats and get ready for the “Best in Show” contest with Decker and his friends for Derby Night, celebrating their beloved mascot’s first birthday.
But as any good mascot would agree, what Decker wants more than anything for his birthday is a big home win. After a tough 21-15 home loss last weekend against the Rush, the Desert Dogs are a win away from recovering their .500 record and washing away the sour taste in their mouths. Though they were unable to bring the gap any closer than two goals against the Rush, the Desert Dogs were full of surprises in their last outing. With Mitch Jones and Chris Cloutier leading the scoring against Saskatchewan, both scoring three goals each, Chase Fraser and Jonathan Donville kept the rock airborne and net-inbound, assisting six and five goals respectively. Additionally, Vegas’s 65 loose balls and 41 combined saves kept the Rush fighting at full speed through the first half.
Despite frontloading their schedule with 2024 Playoff contenders, the Desert Dogs won’t be getting off easy against the visiting Wings. In their Week 7 rivalry-sparking rematch against Rochester, the Wings not only held the Knighthawks to a single-goal lead until the final minute of the third quarter, but have named themselves as actionable contenders in this League despite a misrepresentative 1-3 record. Sophomore Philly forwards Brennan O’Neill and Michael Sowers’ respective five and seven-point performances, as well as Nick Damude (45 SVs) and Deacon Knott’s (18 SVs) bricklaying in net kept the Wings neck-and-neck until the final buzzer.
In a matchup between two exceedingly gritty teams, the outcome of this weekend’s closer can only come down to who wants it more. Will we see the return of a Vegas .500, or will this weekend be the first spark in a Philadelphia hot streak?
The Wings look to beat the house at Lee’s Family Forum this Saturday at 10:30PM ET on ESPN+, NLL+ and TSN+.
