What We Learned | Week 5

Final NLL Scores: Week 5

• Halifax Thunderbirds 13, Albany FireWolves 9
• Buffalo Bandits 13, Rochester Knighthawks 6
• Ottawa Black Bears 12, Toronto Rock 11
• Philadelphia Wings 12, Saskatchewan Rush 11 (OT)
• Vancouver Warriors 14, Calgary Roughnecks 10
• Georgia Swarm 13, Colorado Mammoth 12

What We Learned:

Make the Defense Work for You

Both Philadelphia and Saskatchewan stuck to their guns in Saturday’s matchup, dictating the others’ movements to work into their own offensive/defensive scheme. Despite the Wings’ three-goal lead heading into the second half, the Rush maintained composure on both sides of the ball, not letting the Wings’ 15 and 19-goal games from weeks past loom over their shoulders. Saskatchewan stuck to their green defensive machine, actively maintaining distance between the arc and their matchups, quickly reading Resetarits’ now trademark skip lanes to generate quick transitions and settled opportunities. Similarly, the Wings took advantage of the Rush’s disciplined style of play early on in the game. By forcing Saskatchewan’s defenders to switch, the forwards opposite ball were able to seal three defenders to allow Mitch Jones and Brennan O’Neill to cut behind and dodge one-on-one, and Holden Cattoni to shoot hands-free from a distance.

Let the Rookies Play!

The young bucks were getting involved during Saturday’s games, with several standout performances and firsts from the freshmen additions. In Curt Malawsky’s 100th career win over Calgary on Saturday, 2024 rookie forward, Payton Cormier, scored his first NLL goal, shedding first blood against the Roughnecks.

Only needs a little room for a BIG goal – Cormier’s first in the NLL! pic.twitter.com/wH3QpVbNlo

— NLL (@NLL) December 30, 2024

There was also plenty of commotion in Saskatoon where the Rush hosted the Philadelphia Wings, showcasing the competitive spirit between fellow Duke alumni and current roommates, Brennan O’Neill (PHI) and Josh Zawada (SAS). The two found themselves head-to-head throughout regulation, with O’Neill tallying a career-high eight points on the evening (2G, 6A), and Zawada cashing in a goal of his own. Zawada and fellow Rush rookie, Levi Anderson, also made their presence known in settled offense, working overtime to find open lanes and create space for their teammates. After this weekend, the Class of 2024 seems to have finally found their footing in their new homes and are becoming more confident in the paint.

Albany’s Fountain of Youth Falls to Halifax’s Wealth of Experience

The Firewolves’ quick offensive unit began applying pressure early in the game, capitalizing on Halifax’s visibly disjointed defenders. For most of the first half, the Thunderbirds were skating by on individual efforts, keeping the Albany forwards out but unable to effectively clear the ball and capitalize on offense. Albany’s forwards are elite ball handlers, but they shy away from contact, and Halifax was able to take advantage of that in the second half. The Thunderbirds made sure the Firewolves felt them breathing down their necks, making sure hands were locked and that picks were played effectively on both sides of the ball. Due to a lack of offensive production, Albany’s play fell as the half progressed, allowing the defense to take advantage of quick rebounds and loose ball situations, and generate multiple goals in transition. In addition to individual performances from forwards Clarke Peterson and Randy Staats, and goalkeeper Drew Hutchison, Halifax looked like night and day compared to their desperate play from weeks prior.

Minor adjustments make for big plays.

Minor adjustments on both ends became major difference-makers early on in Colorado. The Mammoth were quick to pressure and show for a double on defense to take advantage of Georgia’s want to shoot immediately from top center. Additionally, by attacking quickly off the substitution, Colorado was able to pack the Swarm defense to the pipes, opening up skip lanes and clearing space for one-on-ones in the alley. Colorado was able to stack up an early lead with this tactic, while Georgia was slow to make adjustments on either side of the ball in the first half. They showed a push to adjust on offense late in the second quarter, utilizing ball speed to stretch the defense and open lanes, cashing in opportunities on the crease.

LYLE 🤩

Absolutely magic hands on the quick stick!@GeorgiaSwarmLAX pic.twitter.com/iqz9U7j2z3

— NLL (@NLL) December 29, 2024

Into the second half, Georgia made a clear adjustment on both sides of the ball. The defense started pressing out ball side, manufacturing skip lanes that lead right into the far defenders’ sticks and easy saves for Brett Dobson. The Swarm’s ball speed, packaged with individual attacks on the crease, packed the Mammoth defenders into the crease, limiting their ability to press out on hands or attack rebounds.

Bandits Can Smell Fear

Rochester looked to squeeze out a win in the I-90 rivalry game by stretching the Buffalo defense, but the Bandits’ disciplined play shone through. The Knighthawks’ forwards entered the first quarter in a diamond (1-3-1) set, passing the ball around the perimeter and using the player(s) top center as a through-man. Against an aggressive zone defense like Buffalo’s, keeping the ball on the outside appears to be the best option, as it keeps the ball hot and out of traffic and allows easy fills after unsuccessful cuts. However, this set relies heavily on a successful seal on the crease and quickly recognizing skip lanes that open for a split second. The distance between players also strains loose ball play, allowing defenders to skate between adjacent forwards in the event of a dropped pass or rebounded shot, and giving Buffalo defenders like Ian MacKay and Steve Priolo multiple transition opportunities. To compensate, Rochester took advantage of every shot opportunity available, but even a barrage of outside shots were no use with Matt Vinc in goal for the Bandits. Throughout the evening, Vinc tallied 62 saves, a new single-game franchise record, and a career-high.