Goaltender Aaron Bold had a hand in that.
“He played great,” Crowley said. “He made the timely saves when we needed them.”
Bold has impressed everyone in the organization in his first season with New England with his devotion to physical fitness and with his attitude.
“He loves the sport and he treats it like a true professional should,” Crowley said. “Aaron is the epitomy of the professional athlete.”
The recent insertion of another veteran with a championship ring, Stephan Leblanc, has had an impact, too. Leblanc had two goals and two assists in the win in Rochester.
“I’ve watched Steph play for a long time,” Crowley said. “He’s a nice addition to our team. He’s a veteran with a ton of talent and the leadership he adds to the left side has been great for us.’’
The home game Sunday has a 2 p.m. ET start time and Crowley is looking for a ride back to Philadelphia where he lives immediately after the game. The Eagles’ NFC championship game begins at 6:40 p.m. Sunday.
“I have a flight out booked for Monday morning but, ideally, I get a ride back to see the last quarter and celebrations afterward,” Crowley said. “Otherwise, I’ll be in a sports bar in the [Mohegan Sun] casino to watch the game. It’s a given we’re taking this. We’re going to the Super Bowl this year.”
An NLL win over Rochester and an Eagles NFL win would be his ideal Sunday.
Eric Penney, who had not started an NLL game since April 30, 2016, delivered a 52-save performance Saturday to lift reeling Vancouver to an 11-10 win at Buffalo.
PENNEY IN A PINCH
Eric Penney was buried on the Vancouver Stealth practice squad. The 24-year-old goaltender hadn’t started an NLL game since April 30, 2016.
But after losing their first four games with Tye Belanger and Brodie MacDonald, the Stealth put Penney in the nets in Buffalo on Saturday night, and what unfolded was nothing short of incredible.
The Stealth, losing 3-0 after one quarter, battled back for an 11-10 victory on Joel McCready’s goal 2:12 into overtime. Penney allowed just three Buffalo goals in the second half to enable the come-from-behind win that may very well have saved his team’s season. He made 52 saves in all.
“Eric has been a total team guy since we acquired him,” Vancouver general manager Doug Locker said. “He does whatever he can to help the team. While I’m sure he didn’t agree with us putting him on the practice roster at the start of the year, he waited for his opportunity and when he got it, he made the most of it. I couldn’t be happier for him. He played really well and was a major contributor to that win.”
NOT EVEN CLOSE
Saskatchewan’s 4-0 record has been built on victory margins of eight over Toronto, 13 over New England, four over Georgia and five over Colorado. And three of those four wins were on the road.
The Rush are No. 1 on defense, allowing an average of 10.25 goals per game, and they are No. 1 on offense, scoring 17.75 per game. What makes the offense so difficult to corral is the multitude of forwards capable of scoring binges on any given night. Ben McIntosh had two goals and eight assists and Curtis Knight and Robert Church each scored three goals in a 17-12 win in Denver on Saturday.
CAREER MILESTONE
Saskatchewan’s Jeff Shattler picked up two assists in Denver to increase his career regular season total to 702 points. The 33-year-old Iroquois forward has fit in seamlessly with fellow lefties Mark Matthews and Ryan Keenan since signing with the Rush last summer.
MAMMOTH REGROUP
Colorado players will be studying game video of their first loss to see what can be tweaked before their next clash with the Rush on Feb. 2 in Saskatoon.
“Saskatchewan has a great defense, and that showed, but it also showed that we let them direct how we play,” said Eli McLaughlin, who had a team-high four goals. “We need to watch our film and use it to make us better.”
LOOKING LIKE CHAMPS
It was obvious to Shayne Jackson, after he scored four goals and assisted on six, why Georgia was able to leave Calgary with a 15-12 victory Saturday night.
“We were playing with speed,” he said.
Teams are checking 2017 NLL scoring champion Lyle Thompson closely. He did not pick up a point in Calgary. But the Swarm have so many scoring threats, that they don’t need Thompson to fill nets every game.
After a slow start, coach Ed Comeau’s defending league champions will be headed upward in the standings once they get their power play working at top efficiency. The Swarm have thus far converted just 24 percent of their power play opportunities, which is eighth-best in the nine-team league.
“We’ve got too many good players to not eventually to be finding the back of the net,” Comeau said.
MR. JONES
Toronto Rock fans are hearing a lot of Counting Crows. The American alternative rock band’s song Mr. Jones is often heard in Air Canada Centre when Adam Jones scores a goal, and he’s leading the league scoring race.
Jones (14g, 22a), Tom Schreiber (13g, 18a) and Rob Hellyer (9g, 20a) are 1-2-3. Saskatchewan’s Mark Matthews (9g, 19a) is fourth.
LOST WEEKEND
After winning their first two games by lopsided scores, the Rochester Knighthawks have lost three in a row. A 9-8 home loss to New England on Saturday after a 17-9 trouncing in Toronto on Friday made for a lost weekend.
“The first couple of games, everybody was just shooting and scoring,” forward Cody Jamieson said. “There was no adversity or hitting pipes or frustration. It’s just a matter of calming down and settling down and getting that confidence back.”
SHANKS IMPRESSES
Austin Shanks scored his first three pro goals during the weekend.
The Rochester rookie cut into the middle of the Toronto zone and beat Nick Rose with a high shot in the second quarter Friday. In the third, he parked himself at the side of the crease and quickly fired a ball into the open side of the net off a Jamieson pass on a power play. Toronto won 17-9, so he was not in a celebratory mood afterward. Shanks scored his third NLL goal Saturday but, again, the team lost — 9-8 at home against New England this time.
The 5-foot-9 forward was the Knighthawks’ second pick, fifth overall, in the 2017 entry draft out of Ohio State. He played indoor lacrosse for his home-city Whitby Warriors and helped them win the Canadian Junior A championship in 2013.
ROOKIE SCORING
No. 1 overall draft pick Josh Byrne leads all rookies with 14 points, including five goals, for Buffalo. Dan Craig of Toronto (6g, 4a) and Ryan Lee of Colorado (4g, 6a) are next with 10 points each.
TEEN PROS
Three 19-year-olds are the youngest players in the NLL.
Calgary rookie Anthony Kalinich, a defenseman from Maple Ridge, British Columbia, was born Oct. 4, 1998. He was the 21st pick in the entry draft last September.
Calgary rookie Ryan Martel, a forward from Aldergrove, British Columbia, was born on April 7, 1998. He was the 11th pick in the last draft.
Toronto’s Latrell Harris, a defenseman from St. Catharines, Ontario, was born on March 15, 1998. He was the 122th pick in the 2016 draft and is in his second season with the Rock.
SETTING AN EXAMPLE
At 39, defenseman Derek Suddons of the Black Wolves is the oldest player in the league.
“Everyone loves the guy,” teammate Kevin Crowley said. “He takes care of his body so he can continue to play at a high level. I have a lot of admiration for that. He’s always jogging off the floor. He’s never hanging his head. The younger guys see that. There’s a lesson to be learned from that. There’s a reason why he’s been around the league for so long. He’s in his late 30s and still getting it done.’’
Suddons broke into the NLL 16 years ago. The native of Whitby, Ontario, is in his third season with New England after playing for Columbus, Toronto (where he earned a ring in 2005), Edmonton and Buffalo.
EVEN SPLIT
In games between teams from different divisions, each division has five wins.
WEEK 7 PREVIEW
There are just two games on the slate this week.
BUFFALO (2-3) at SASKATCHEWAN (4-0), Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET
This will be the only meeting this season.
The Bandits are coming off an 11-10 overtime loss at home to Vancouver, while the Rush remain undefeated after a 17-12 win at Colorado.
The Rush won 17-14 in Buffalo last April 1 in the only 2017 meeting. The last time the Bandits played a regular-season game in Saskatoon, on Feb. 26, 2016, they won 19-18 when Mitch Jones scored his fifth goal of the night 3:44 into overtime. In the playoffs that year, the Rush beat Buffalo 11-10 to win the championship in Saskatoon.
The Rush, enjoying their best start since 2014 when they set an NLL record by winning their first 14 games, should improve to 5-0. While the Rush are No. 1 on both offense and defense, Buffalo ranks fifth on offense and eighth on defense. Evan Kirk’s 77.8 save percentage is fourth best in the league, while Alex Buque is at 76.1 for Buffalo.
ROCHESTER (2-3) at NEW ENGLAND (3-1), Sunday, 2 p.m. ET
This will be the second of three meetings, and the Black Wolves will be aiming to clinch the season series.
In four meetings last season, each team won its two home games.
Rochester is ranked third on both offense and defense, while New England is seventh on offense and sixth on defense. The Knighthawks’ Matt Vinc has an 80.1 save percentage, which is second among all goalies. New England’s Aaron Bold is sixth at 77.5.
BYES: Colorado (3-1), Calgary (1-4), Georgia (2-3), Toronto (3-2), Vancouver (1-4)
ATTENDANCE
League statistics show increased attendance in New England, Georgia and Vancouver and decreased numbers in the other six cities.
Buffalo has taken the biggest hit. After three home games, average attendance is 11,976. The Bandits had a league-best average of 15,148 last season. Colorado averaged 12,105 for its two home games after averaging 14,458 last season.
TIME TRAVEL
Jan. 22, 1999: Casey Powell made his indoor pro debut with Rochester and scored a goal and assisted on three in a win over Philadelphia. Seven teams (Baltimore Thunder, Buffalo Bandits, New York Saints, Philadelphia Wings, Rochester Knighthawks, Syracuse Smash and Toronto Rock) played 12-game schedules that year, and Toronto defeated Rochester 13-10 in the championship game.
Jan. 20, 2007: The expansion New York Titans defeated the Chicago Shamrox 11-9 in front of 13,127 spectators in the first pro indoor lacrosse game in Madison Square Garden. Curtis Palidwor made 51 saves and Jarett Park, Ryan Boyle and Pat Maddalena scored two goals each for the Titans. Jason Clark scored three times for the Shamrocks. Chicago goalie Brandon Miller, the only player in that game who is on an NLL roster today (Toronto), made 45 saves