While the outdoor Major League Lacrosse season is still in its early stages, the indoor National Lacrosse League is in the middle of its playoffs. With some of those teams completing their season or getting knocked out of the playoffs, marquee players returned to the field game and made impressive debuts this weekend.
One of the biggest impacts came from Charlotte’s Kevin Crowley. The veteran midfielder began his seventh season in MLL, and second with the Hounds, with a two-game weekend. On Thursday, he scored a game-high four goals to lead Charlotte to its first win of the season, a 14-10 victory over Rochester.
“Always a little different transition coming back to the field game from box, but I thought we had a nice team win and took care of the ball today,” Crowley said on Lax Sports Network after the game. “The Hounds hadn’t won in three games, and neither had I with the indoor season, so this W feels extra special.”
Charlotte couldn’t keep the winning momentum going, falling to Chesapeake 17-16, but Crowley contributed two goals and three assists against his former team.
Rochester also played two games this weekend, with Dan Lomas making his first appearances of the season. The attackman from High Point had two goals and an assist against Charlotte, and he had another goal and an assist in a 14-10 victory over Boston.
Meanwhile, the New York Lizards were happy to welcome Curtis Dickson to the team in their game against Atlanta, needing a boost on offense coming off the heels of scoring just seven goals against the Denver Outlaws two weeks ago.
Dickson last played in the league in 2015, appearing in four games for the Denver Outlaws and tallying one goal and two assists. In his 2017 debut, however, he matched that point total from two years ago, scoring twice and earning the assist on another score.
“He just came into town last night, so we’re all just trying to get used to playing with Curtis,” New York Lizards assistant coach Brian Dougherty said in a halftime interview on Lax Sports Network. “But he’s such a good off-ball player and understands the game so well, coming off a great indoor season, so it hasn’t been that tough. He’s just moving around, getting open.”
Also playing in his first game of the season was Boston Cannons midfielder Kevin Buchanan. Boston lost the game, but Buchanan scored one goal.
Pannell brothers showdown in Atlanta
When the New York Lizards took on the Atlanta Blaze, both teams featured a Pannell starting at attack.
Rob Pannell had a goal and three assists for the Lizards in their 14-12 victory over the Blaze, while his brother, James, had another impressive outing for Atlanta, scoring twice and earning the assist on two other scores to tie for the team lead in points.
Rob Pannell tweeted a picture of the two post-game, with the caption saying, “Enjoy playing with this guy a lot more than against him. Always proud of the way he plays! Nice to get back on track with the squad tonight.”
Since being drafted with the No. 1 pick in the 2012 MLL Collegiate Draft, Rob Pannell has been a key piece to the Lizards’ championship puzzle, as he is a multiple-time all-star and won 2016 MLL Offensive Player of the Year honors after setting the league’s single-season scoring record (74 points).
James Pannell was drafted by the Lizards with the 24th pick in 2016, but walked into a much different situation than his brother did, with a team full of all-star veterans contending for a championship, so it was difficult to find playing time. In his rookie season, he played four games for the Lizards, finishing with a goal and an assist.
The younger Pannell was selected by Atlanta with the 92nd pick in the supplemental draft. On a young team still attempting to solidify a lineup that is also missing top attackman Kevin Rice with a broken hand, James Pannell has taken advantage of an increase in playing time. In three games, he has five goals and four assists. He first filled in as the point-behind attackman for Rice in the Blaze’s 13-10 victory over Boston in Week 2, and he finished that game with one goal and two assists.
“I think James did a great job,” Blaze head coach Dave Huntley said on Lax Sports Network’s MLL Press Pass show after the game. “It’s been a while since he had to play that deep behind the goal. I think like a lot of guys in this league, they’re just willing to do whatever it takes for the team to be successful and that’s what James did.”
Kelly continues dominance
Jack Kelly, the 2016 MLL Rookie of the Year, is still coming up big for the Denver Outlaws. In the team’s 15-8 victory over the Florida Launch, Kelly made 21 saves while allowing only eight goals against, maintaining his average for the season.
After four games, the Outlaws are still undefeated and Kelly leads the league with a 62.8 save percentage, which would be second-best in league history for a single season, behind Tilman Johnson’s 64.0 save percentage for Rochester in 2004.
Last season, Kelly was second in the league with a 54.5 save percentage.
Noteworthy
Against Chesapeake, Charlotte faceoff specialist Brendan Fowler went 14-for-25 from the X, picked up seven ground balls, and scored two goals. … Ryan Brown had a big weekend for the Hounds, tallying two goals and an assist in the victory over Rochester and adding four goals and an assist in the loss to Chesapeake. … Jay Carlson scored two goals for the Bayhawks, including the game winner with 16 seconds left to defeat Charlotte and bring the Bayhawks to a 2-1 record. He also had two assists on the night. … Mike Bocklet had five goals and an assist for the Outlaws in their victory over Florida. … Joe LoCascio scored four goals and added on assist in Boston’s loss to Rochester. … JoJo Marasco scored his first two goals as a member of the Rattlers in the victory over Boston. He also had an assist.
Player of the Week
Paul Rabil, New York
After being silenced by the Denver defense his last time out, Rabil took advantage of a young Atlanta defense by scoring five goals in the first half, including one 2-pointer, for a total of six points. Those six points were the difference at the half, as New York had a 9-3 lead. In the two games prior, the star midfielder scored only two goals, none of which were 2-pointers.