A brawl at the end of an exhibition game last Dec. 16 enters into the conversation when analyzing the NLL’s looming championship series.

Saskatchewan Rush goalie Aaron Bold got into a fight with Calgary Roughnecks goalie Frankie Scigliano, Bold was one of five players suspended for one game, and he had to sit out his team’s season opener. It happened to be in Georgia. The Swarm won 18-10. It was the only regular-season meeting between the teams that have emerged to play for the Champion’s Cup beginning June 4.

Georgia has home-floor advantage for the best-of-three final because, thanks in part to that win over the Rush nine days before Christmas, its 13-5 regular-season record was slightly better than Saskatchewan’s 12-6, and this is important because home-floor advantage could swing this thing.

Georgia is 8-2 at home after sweeping aside Toronto in the NLL East final and Saskatchewan is 9-1 at home after eliminating Colorado. In other words, a home win is near to a lock for both of the finalists, and Georgia has the home-floor advantage in this showdown.

Give the Swarm an edge on offense, too. They have scored 290 goals. The Rush have scored 260. The goals-against numbers are even with the Swarm having allowed 230 and the Rush 231 regular-season and playoffs combined.

What the finalists have most in common is a high level of camaraderie among teammates. Rush players consider themselves brothers. It’s a lot like that with the Swarm, too.    

“There’s not a single guy who doesn’t fit in,” said Swarm goalie Mike Poulin. “We are the definition of a team.”

“Our goals all season were, first, to finish first in the division, then win the West and then win another championship so we’re almost there,” said Rush forward Robert Church.

Saskatchewan will be attempting to win the Champion’s Cup a third year in a row. Georgia players have less NLL championship series experience but crystal ball gazers are advised to ignore this factor because most Swarm players have a ton of big-game experience in Canadian indoor leagues and in world championship play.

It’s been a long road to the top for Swarm owner-GM John Arlotta, who will be watching his team participate in the championship series for the first time since buying the team in 2008 when it was in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

The Bold-Poulin goaltending show promises to be a highlight of this series. Bold was the MVP of the 2016 championship series. Poulin has yet to earn an NLL ring.

The Rush will practice on Saturday, June 3, at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre in Oakville, Ontario, before flying out of Pearson International in neighboring Mississauga to Atlanta.

This is what Rush GM-coach Derek Keenan had to say when asked to size up the matchup: “They’re obviously a really good team. They have a very dynamic offensive team. They move the ball really well on offense. Much like us, they have a solid back end. They’re full value for where they’re at.”

Swarm players will head south at month’s end and practice in their home arena on June 3.

This is what Swarm head coach Ed Comeau had to say about matchup: “We know they’re the defending champions so they know what it takes to win. That certainly helps them. We’re playing with a lot of confidence. Both teams have a dynamic offense, good defense and are getting really good goaltending. I don’t see any big advantage for one team. We expect it to be a long, tough series. Nobody starts the season with a goal of getting to the championship series. The goal is always to win the championship and that’s what we’ll try to do.”

Champion’s Cup dates:

Game 1- Sunday, June 4, 5 p.m. ET, Infinite Energy Center, Duluth, Georgia

Game 2 - Saturday, June 10, 9:30 p.m. ET, Sasktel Centre, Saskatoon

Game 3 (if necessary) - Sunday, June 18, 5 p. m. ET, in Georgia

Scary Moment

With victory in hand with one minute remaining in Game 2 of the East final, Swarm goalie Mike Poulin went down in his crease making a save and grabbed his left hamstring. Time stopped for his coaches on the Swarm bench as a referee began waving to the bench for the club’s trainer.

“That wasn’t a very good feeling,” said coach Ed Comeau. “We were a little nervous. Mike kind of fell back awkwardly and his leg kind of twisted.”

But Poulin finished the game, the coaches heaved a sigh of relief, and Poulin seemed okay afterwards.

“He’s fine,” Comeau said. “And the extra week off will benefit him.”

Comeau vs. Keenan

Amazingly, given their 20 years or thereabouts in the NLL, Comeau and Keenan have not previously been opposing coaches in any NLL playoff game.

Their friendship goes back to the late 1980s when they briefly were teammates playing senior box lacrosse in Ontario for the Brooklin Redmen. They coached together in Toronto with the late Les Bartley in the late 1990s and early 2000s. More recently, Comeau has been head coach and Keenan an assistant coach with Canada’s world-champion indoor team.

Two-week Break

There will be 15 days between the end of the division finals and the start of the championship series, which is a first for the NLL. There’s usually only a one-week break. Most NLL teams have slow starts to games coming off bye weeks.

“Schedules are not something we have control over,” Comeau said. “They’re made by owners and leagues. We’re just going to show up and be ready to go. It’s not just one team getting a two-week break so there’s no advantage or disadvantage to either group.”

Big Loss

Chad Tutton tore an Achilles tendon in Game 1 of the NLL East final in Toronto so is done for the duration. Tutton had been a conscientious checker capable of effective fast breaks during his impressive rookie season.

“Someone else has to step up and fill that role and do the best they can do,” Comeau said going into Game 2 of the East final. “Guys obviously feel bad to have a teammate go down like that. They’ll want to make sure we are able to continue our season and allow Tutts to be there for the ride, albeit on the sideline.”

Captain’s Status

Expect to see Rush captain Chris Corbeil, who hasn’t played since suffering a lower body injury in the last game of the regular season at the end of April, in uniform for Game 1.

“The extra week helps us there,” Keenan said. “I think he’s going to be back. We survived without him but it will certainly be nice to have him back.”

Giant Step

The Colorado Mammoth had an up-and-down 9-9 regular season, which was disappointing given their 12-6 regular-season showing in 2016. But knocking off Vancouver in the NLL West semi sure felt a lot nicer than the shock first-round loss to Calgary of the previous spring, making it easy for management and players to walk away with positive vibes.

Getting used to life without John Grant Jr. took time but the offense came around. There was a significant improvement on the back end, allowing Dillon Ward to shine. He’ll likely earn Goalie of the Year honors. The Mammoth got to the NLL West final for the first time in 11 years.

“We came a long way,” said captain Dan Coates. “There’s a lot of positives to take from the season. We really grew as a team.”

The Saskatchewan Rush ended the division final with an 11-10 home win over the Mammoth last Saturday.

“I’m really proud of the way we battled,” said coach Pat Coyle. “We battled, literally, to the last second of the game.”

It was the third time this year that the Mammoth lost by one goal in Saskatoon.

“It’s getting old being on the wrong side of that but I’m super super proud of the way we battled,” Coyle said.

Colorado does not have a first-round draft pick in September. It went to Rochester in the 2015 trade that sent the rights to Jeremy Noble to the Mammoth.

Rock Rebound

Toronto made it all the way to the NLL West final after missing the playoffs in 2016 and that achievement made the Rock the most improved team in 2017 considering they had to cope with the retirements of Josh Sanderson and Colin Doyle and the news that leading scorer Rob Hellyer would sit out in 2017 rehabbing from knee surgery.

Georgia ended the division final with a 13-9 home win over the Rock last Saturday. The Swarm jumped to a 3-0 lead and never trailed.

“We weren’t good enough as a team to win on the road,” said coach Matt Sawyer. “It definitely stings.”

“As tough as it is to see positives so soon after a loss, the team is definitely headed in the right direction,” said captain Brodie Merrill.

Owner-GM Jamie Dawick saw it that way, too.

“It’s disappointing to lose,” Dawick said. “We didn’t get to where we wanted to be but we lost to a great team. We made some great strides considering where we finished off last year. We’ve restocked the cupboards. We got young, which puts us in better shape for the future. If you’d told me at the beginning of the year this is where we’d get to . . . I’d have said okay we’ll take it. I’m happy. I’m proud of the team.”

Toronto’s back end was its strength in 2017. Goaltender Nick Rose put himself into Goalie of the Year consideration with the best season of his career. Bolstering the offense will be the main priority in 2018. The return of Hellyer will help.

Toronto will not have a first-round draft pick in September. It was traded in 2014 to the Swarm along with Ethan O’Connor for defenseman Brock Sorensen.

Brief Respite

Rock captain Brodie Merrill will likely end up playing for four teams in 2017.

Now that his NLL season with the Rock is complete, he will rejoin the Boston Cannons of the MLL and the Six Nations Chiefs of Ontario’s indoor Major Series Lacrosse. He’s aiming to pull on Cannons garb for a home game against Denver on June 3. He’s missed five Cannons games. His first game with the Chiefs, who he helped win the Mann Cup title in Canada last year, might be a home game against Oakville on June 6. He will also be asked to play for Canada against the U.S. men’s indoor team in a game in Hamilton in October.

Merrill is lacrosse director at The Hill Academy just north of Toronto during the school year, leaving one to wonder if he ever puts down a lacrosse stick.

“There’s a little window in the fall after the summer stuff is over and before NLL training camp,” he says.

At the age of 35, he just put in one of the most impressive seasons of his NLL career.

“I still feel pretty good,” he said. “I’ll continue chasing that elusive NLL championship.’’

Merrill made it to the final in 2008 with the Portland LumberJax, who lost 14-13 in Buffalo, and in 2015 with the Rock, who lost two straight to the Rush.

‘Legitimate MVP Candidate’

Dawick touts Tom Schreiber, who led the team in scoring, as a “legitimate MVP contender.”

“What Tom did up here this year is unbelievable considering he hadn’t played the indoor game before,” Dawick said.

Schreiber was on a one-year contract as a rookie and Dawick intends to re-sign him.

“I’m expecting Tom to be back,” he said. “To think about having Tom and Rob [Hellyer] on the same side of the floor for us is exciting.”

It remains to be seen if the NLL extending its season into mid-June will discourage Schreiber and Keiran McArdle from re-signing with the Rock for 2018.

Constant Struggle

Toronto dropped to fifth in average attendance with 9,623 per game in the regular season, drew 6,000 and change for the division semifinal win over New England and 7,000 and change for the home loss to Georgia in the division final in Air Canada Centre. Competition for the entertainment dollar has never been greater in Canada’s largest city.

“It’s a constant struggle,” Dawick said. “The product is priced reasonably and is entertaining . . . . It’s tough. It’s really tough. Why aren’t they coming back? I don’t know. I recognize it’s not cheap to go downtown but I truly believe that for entertainment value our product matches anything that goes on in that building.”

Time Traveling

May 27, 1990: Paul and Gary Gait were drafted and signed to play with the Detroit Turbos. The identical twins from Victoria, British Columbia, helped Syracuse win the NCAA championship in 1988, 1989 and 1990.