NLL Eastern playoff race still wide open
The New England Black Wolves beat the Rochester Knighthawks 11-6 on Saturday to move into a second-place tie with Rochester in the National Lacrosse League’s Eastern Division.
Peterborough Laker Matt Vinc blocked 39 of 48 shots in the loss, with New England scoring twice on empty nets.
With one week of regular season play to go, the Eastern Division playoff race remains wide open, with all five teams only 1 ½ games apart and the Georgia Swarm having an extra game to go this weekend.
New England and Rochester can clinch playoff berths with wins in their final games of the season this weekend. Georgia also controls their own destiny and can advance with wins in both of their final games.
Peterborough Laker Adam Jones, Rob Hellyer and Challen Rogers each scored a hat trick and added two assists and Nick Rose made 35 saves as the Toronto Rock kept their playoff hopes alive with a 16-11 win over the Buffalo Bandits in National Lacross League action on Saturday.
Kieran McArdle, Brett Hickey, Jordan Magnuson, Latrell Harris and Brodie Merrill also scored for the Rock (8-9), who sit fourth in a hotly contested East Division, while Reid Reinholdt added two goals. Merrill also had four assists.
Peterborough’s Shawn Evans and Mitch Jones scored hat tricks for the Bandits (8-9), who briefly tied the game in the third period after trailing early.
Justin Martin, Josh Byrne, Steve Priolo, Vaughn Harris and Dhane Smith also found the back of the net for Buffalo, which is tied with Toronto in the East.
Smith added four assists, while Jordan Durston and Nick Weiss had three apiece.
Alex Buque allowed seven goals on 29 shots before being replaced by Zach Higgins in the second, giving up seven goals on 33 shots and taking the loss.
The Rock will wrap up the regular season next Saturday against the Colorado Mammoth in Denver.
Former Peterborough Laker Curtis Dickson paced Calgary with four goals and eight assists and Christian Del Bianco made 37 saves as the Roughnecks thrashed the Vancouver Stealth 26-11 in National Lacrosse League action on Saturday.
The Roughnecks pounced on the Stealth in the opening period and never looked back. Tyler Didgby potted four goals for Calgary (8-9), while Wesley Berg, Holden Cattoni and Dane Dobbie all had hat tricks. Chad Cummings, Mitch Wilde, Zach Currier and Riley Loewen also scored two apiece and Ryan Martel had a single for the playoff-bound Roughnecks.
Tony Malcom led the way for the lowly Stealth, who are last in the league at 2-15, with three goals and three assists. Corey Small and Casey Jackson both scored twice, while Seth Oakes, Rhys Duch, Logan Schuss and Andrew Suitor also found the back of the net for Vancouver.
Eric Penney made 21 saves on 34 shots before being relieved by Tye Belanger in the second period. Belanger took the loss, giving up 13 goals on 27 shots.
The Roughnecks were nearly unstoppable with the man advantage, going 7 for 8, and the Stealth were 2 for 6 on the power play.
Both team’s wrap up their season Sunday, with Vancouver taking on Georgia and Calgary facing Saskatchewan.
National Lacrosse League schedule
Saturday’s results
Calgary 26 Vancouver 11
New England 11 Rochester 6 Toronto 16 Buffalo 11
WEEK 21
Saturday, April 28
Vancouver at Georgia, 7:05 p.m. Rochester at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m. Toronto at Colorado, 9 p.m. Calgary at Saskatchewan, 9:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 29
Georgia at New England, 5 p.m.