Wings Make Blockbuster Trade, Climb Two Spots in NLL Power Rankings

With Week 10 in the books, we are officially halfway through the National Lacrosse League season. For some teams, that means an opportunity to put themselves in very good positions for spots in the playoffs over the next few weeks.

For others, that means time is running out to turn things around.

1. SAN DIEGO SEALS (6-1)

Three Seals recorded hat tricks — Wesley Berg, Dane Dobbie and Austin Staats — as San Diego bested Panther City 12-10. The defense stood tall in the final six minutes after Will Malcom cut the deficit to one, with Cam Holding adding cushion in the final 45 seconds. Curtis Dickson added six assists. Last week: 1

2. TORONTO ROCK (6-2)

The Rock put on an offensive clinic, orchestrated by Tom Schreiber, in a 22-14 showcase against New York. Schreiber dished out 11 helpers in addition to a hat trick as Toronto extended its win streak to five. Four more players had seven points or more: Corey Small with nine, Dan Craig with eight and Dan Dawson and Stephen Keogh each with seven. Toronto is averaging 14.1 goals per game, tops in the league. Last week: 2

3. BUFFALO BANDITS (7-2)

Can anyone stop the Dhane Train? Dhane Smith recorded 10 points (four goals, six assists) to help Buffalo escape an early 5-1 hole and defeat rival Rochester 13-10. Smith has accumulated 31 points in his last three games, now leading the league in scoring with an 18-point cushion. As for the team as a whole, the Bandits got revenge for a loss to the K-Hawks earlier in the season and moved into first place in the East. Last week: 4

4. ROCHESTER KNIGHTHAWKS (6-2)

The Knighthawks were in great position after Connor Fields capped a five-goal run to put his team up 5-1 in the early stages of the second quarter. Then the offense went flat while Buffalo found its stride, allowing the Bandits to orchestrate a 10-1 run that put Rochester in dire straits in the fourth quarter. The lead was cut to three a trio of times, but the Knighthawks never got closer despite seven points from Fields. Last week: 3  

5. SASKATCHEWAN RUSH (4-2)

It was a group effort for the Rush down the stretch, with seven different players scoring in a game-closing 7-1 run to help Saskatchewan avoid an upset and best Vancouver 14-8. The Rush were down for much of the first half, but Alex Buque hunkered down against his former squad. He shut the Warriors out in the third quarter and allowed only two tallies in the fourth, with the final one coming with the game already out of reach. Last week: 5

6. CALGARY ROUGHNECKS (4-3)

Christian del Bianco became a brick wall when the Riggers needed him most, holding Halifax without a goal for the final 16 minutes of action in Calgary’s 12-11 overtime victory. That stellar showing in net allowed the Roughnecks to mount a slow four-goal comeback, with Dan Taylor forcing an extra frame with 18 seconds remaining in regulation. That allowed Jeff Cornwall, who previously scored on an empty net with just a second left in the third quarter, to bury the OT winner right off the faceoff. Last week: 9

7. COLORADO MAMMOTH (4-3)

The weekend was a mixed bag for Colorado, the only squad that had to play twice in Week 10. The Mammoth ended on a 4-1 run to break a tie with Georgia and win 13-10 on Friday but seemed victims of short rest a day later in Las Vegas. Colorado never led against the Desert Dogs, falling behind as much as six goals in a 13-8 defeat. Connor Robinson had a combined 12 points on the weekend, while Chris Wardle and Rhys Duch were a point behind him. Last week: 7

8. HALIFAX THUNDERBIRDS (4-4)

Thunderbirds coach Mike Accursi was frank after the loss to the Roughnecks. “There’s no way we should have lost that game,” he told reporters. Accursi pointed to shot selection in explaining Halifax going cold down the stretch. Compounding the offensive struggles, Jake Withers suffered his only loss at the faceoff X at an ill-fated time, allowing Cornwall to run right down the floor for the game winner. Last week: 6

9. PHILADELPHIA WINGS (3-4)

The Wings made a major move to add to their offensive firepower, acquiring Mitch Jones from Vancouver midweek. He wasn’t shy in his Philadelphia debut, tying for the team high with 10 shots while recording two goals and three assists in a 13-5 domination of Albany. After the FireWolves tied the game at 1, Philly went on a 10-goal run that stretched from the first quarter into fourth. Joe Resetarits recorded five of his team-leading eight points during that spurt. Could a blockbuster trade be the catalyst the Wings needed to turn things around? Last week: 11

10. PANTHER CITY LACROSSE CLUB (4-4)

Rookie Mathieu Gautier recorded scored a career-high four goals, while Jonathan Donville accounted for seven points in PCLC’s loss to San Diego. Panther City nearly dug itself out of an 8-3 goal, getting within a score twice in the fourth quarter, but wasn’t able to complete the job. Last week: 8

11. ALBANY FIREWOLVES (2-4)

The FireWolves went 28-and-a-half minutes without a goal against Philadelphia in by far the team’s worst offensive performance of the season. Four of their goals came in garbage time in the fourth quarter and only two were from pure offensive players. Last week: 10

12. LAS VEGAS DESERT DOGS (2-5)

Things are heating up in the desert. Las Vegas has now won two of three thanks to its win against Colorado, by far the most impressive outing for the expansion franchise yet. Ohio native Jack Hannah has been a revelation, notching his first sock trick and a career-high nine points. That pushes him into second in the rookie points race. Landon Kells also made a career-high 41 saves, including a stellar acrobatic stop off a rebound. Last week: 14

13. NEW YORK RIPTIDE (1-6)

The Riptide tied their season high in goals but still weren’t close to their counterparts on the floor. The defense allowed Toronto to set a new NLL high for goals in a game this season, marking only the third performance of 20 or more this campaign. Connor Kearnan cut the deficit to two when he opened the second-half scoring, but Toronto struck back with seven goals in the third quarter and six more in the fourth. That wasted Jeff Teat’s third double-digit point game of the year. Last week: 12

14. GEORGIA SWARM (0-5)

The Swarm are enduring their worst start in franchise history and their first five-game losing streak since 2016 after the latest defeat to Colorado. On the bright side, Seth Oakes scored a hat trick against the Mammoth and Andrew Kew had his most prolific day since being ACQUIRED from Albany, recording a goal and seven assists. Last week: 13

15. VANCOUVER WARRIORS (1-7)

The Warriors’ fire sale began this week when the squad sent leading scorer Mitch Jones to Philadelphia in exchange for defender Steph Charbonneau, a first-round pick and a second-round pick. Head coach and interim general manager Troy Cordingley expressed his love for Jones to The Province, but said it was time for the team to get younger. The offense will also now be without Logan Schuss, who suffered a season-ending knee injury. Even so, Vancouver was tied with Saskatchewan early in the fourth quarter before a doomed final 11 minutes. Last week: 15