Week 1 of the 2022-23 National Lacrosse League season belonged to the underdog. Both participants in last year’s NLL Finals went down, and Rochester, last in the initial USA Lacrosse Magazine power ranking, pulled off a promising road victory in Georgia.
Thanks to opening weekend’s six results, there’s some significant movement in this week’s ranking.
1. SAN DIEGO SEALS
Curtis Dickson left a stellar first impression, notching five goals and three assists, as the Seals survived a furious late-game comeback effort from the New York Riptide in a 15-14 win. Wes Berg’s goal with five-plus minutes left gave San Diego a 15-10 advantage, but four goals in less than four minutes meant New York had a chance to tie in the closing seconds. Last week: 1
2. TORONTO ROCK
The Rock walloped Vancouver 19-8 for their most lopsided win in four years, with 11 different players managing to beat the Warriors goaltending tandem of Steve Fryer and Aden Walsh. Four players notched five or more points, and three had hat tricks, with reigning NLL Defensive Player of the Year Mitch de Snoo among the latter group. Last week: 4
3. HALIFAX THUNDERBIRDS
The T-Birds had five players score seven points or more in the NLL’s season opener Friday, including newcomer Randy Staats. After missing last season with injury, he appeared to fit right in with a goal and six helpers in the 18-8 victory over Philadelphia. Clarke Petterson broke the seal on scoring this season less than three minutes into the game and finished with a team-high eight points on four goals and four assists. Last week: 5
4. SASKATCHEWAN RUSH
While the offense certainly is worthy of headlines after an 18-6 victory against defending champion Colorado, the most promising aspect of Saskatchewan’s opener was the play of Alex Buque. The recent acquisition from Vancouver helped quiet down skepticism of the Saskatchewan goaltending by making 40 saves and holding Colorado scoreless for nearly the first 20 minutes. The Rush got 12 points from Mark Matthews and 10 from Robert Church, while Kyle Rubisch became the first player to record 400 caused turnovers in a career. Last week: 7
5. ALBANY FIREWOLVES
Albany never trailed against the Bandits after equalizing at 1, thanks largely to the play of Doug Jamieson. He made 44 saves and held Buffalo without a goal for a 10-minute stretch in the fourth quarter, allowing Kieran McArdle and Colton Watkinson to score and break a tie at 9 for an 11-10 victory. McArdle had six points in his FireWolves debut, one behind team leader Tanner Thomson. Last week: 11
6. BUFFALO BANDITS
The Bandits hope they simply ran into a stellar goaltender in Game 1 and that their loss to Albany isn’t a sign of things to come — a fair conclusion given that Buffalo led the NLL in goals last season by a wide margin with most of these same players. Buffalo played without Steve Priolo, its captain and top defender, due to illness. Last week: 3
7. COLORADO MAMMOTH
The Mammoth were never in their matchup with Saskatchewan, falling into a 6-0 hole. Colorado failed to cut the deficit under four the rest of the way. No need to panic just yet, though — the group is playing without Ryan Lee and Chris Wardle to start the year. Plus, Colorado had an early season dud last year with a four-goal performance against San Diego and still went on to win the title. Last week: 2
8. ROCHESTER KNIGHTHAWKS
Connor Fields is set to take on a much larger role in Rochester after a year with the stacked Bandits offensive unit, and he looked up to the task in a 16-11 win against the Swarm. His 11 points (four goals, seven assists) set a new single-game franchise record. The K-Hawks should also be excited about their response, erasing a three-goal halftime deficit, and the play of Rylan Hartley. He allowed just two goals in the second half. Last week: 15
9. NEW YORK RIPTIDE
Jeff Teat nearly added a last-second equalizer to an already stellar night, but his goal with 6.2 seconds remaining to tie San Diego at 15 was waived off following review. He still managed 12 points. The squad hung with one of the league’s top contenders, even with a relatively quiet night from Callum Crawford. Reilly O’Connor had five points in his Riptide debut. Last week: 8
10. PANTHER CITY LACROSSE CLUB
Panther City makes its season debut on Friday at home against the expansion Las Vegas Desert Dogs. Last week: 10
11. GEORGIA SWARM
Five different players scored as part of a promising 6-2 run to end the first half against Rochester, but an ensuing seven-goal Knighthawks run took the wind out of the sails. Craig Wende, playing his first game between the pipes following Mike Poulin’s retirement, made 39 saves. Last week: 9
12. CALGARY ROUGHNECKS
The Riggers make their season debut on Saturday when they host the Vancouver Warriors. Last week: 12
13. PHILADELPHIA WINGS
The Wings have built a reputation of playing close games, as exemplified by this week’s loss being only the second by 10 or more goals in franchise history. Philadelphia has dropped three straight to the Thunderbirds, but last season’s two games were both 10-8 finishes. Blaze Riorden led the offense with five points. Last week: 6
14. LAS VEGAS DESERT DOGS
The NLL’s newest franchise is set to make its debut Friday when the Dogs travel to Fort Worth to battle Panther City. Last week: 14
15. VANCOUVER WARRIORS
It was a disappointing debut behind the bench for Troy Cordingley, who is leading a team for the first time since he was with Buffalo in 2018. Shawn Evans was also disappointing in his first outing as a Warrior, held without a point or shot on goal. On the bright side, Mitch Jones played his first game in 10 months and led the team with five points. Last week: 13