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Black Wolves are ready to begin the season with revamped defense
New England Black Wolves coach Glenn Clark referred to the initial upset of the season ending last year as a “hangover.”
The Black Wolves (8-10) made the National Lacrosse League playoffs, falling to Toronto in the first round, but in totality New England gave up the second-most shots (56.39 per game) and second-most goals (244) in the league last season.
“It's frustrating while you're going through it, there's that hangover when the season ends, but pretty soon you start talking about, ‘What do we need to improve on?'” Clark said in a conference call this week.
The answer, to everyone involved, was defense.
Headed into Friday night's season-opening game against the defending NLL champion Georgia Swarm (7:30 p.m., Mohegan Sun Arena), the Black Wolves have made considerable changes to their defense, beginning with a trade that sent star goalie Evan Kirk to the Saskatchewan Rush for goalie Aaron Bold, defender John LaFontaine, the eighth pick in the 2017 Draft and a second-round pick in the 2018 draft.
New England also signed 6-foot-4 defender David Brock, who spent the last five seasons with Buffalo including an appearance in the Champions Cup final two seasons ago, and traded for former Rochester defender Adam Bomberry.
They join returning defenders Sheldon Burns, Joel Coyle, Brett Manney, Matt Spanger and Derek Suddons.
The Wolves also added Colton Watkinson, their top draft pick at No. 7 overall, to their transition game. Watkinson won three NCAA Division II titles at Limestone College, earning All-America honors and receiving the Lt. J.G. Donald MacLaughlin Jr. Award as the Most Outstanding Midfielder.
“I think we made about six changes on defense this year and also acquired a two-time NLL champion goaltender with Aaron Bold,” Black Wolves leading scorer and captain Shawn Evans said of the changes. “I think (Black Wolves general manager) Rich Lisk and our coaching staff went out there, they saw the needs we had if we wanted to compete for a championship and they (addressed them). … We know we have some young talent, but we're going to have speed and quickness. I think that is what we've been lacking.”
“Georgia is a real good team at putting pressure on guys when they pick the ball up, forcing turnovers, and we want to limit those. Certainly, we’re going to get a good test right off the bat.” GLENN CLARK, BLACK WOLVES COACH
“I think the area we made the most changes is on the defensive end,” Clark said, asked what would look different when the Black Wolves take the floor Friday night. “The ability to push the ball up the floor, our athleticism, our size, the speed we play with at the back end … not turn the ball over in transition. Those are the big things we talked about in our exit meetings.”
The defense will be put to the test right away against Georgia, which finished the regular-season last year with a leaguebest 13-5 record. The Swarm boast reigning NLL MVP Lyle Thompson (45 goals, 71 assists, 116 points, 126 loose balls) and led the NLL with 266 goals last year.
The Black Wolves were 1-3 against Georgia last year.
“Georgia is a real good team at putting pressure on guys when they pick the ball up, forcing turnovers, and we want to limit those,” Clark said. “Certainly,
we're going to get a good test right off the bat. Georgia is the gold standard right now.”
Evans finished with 38 goals, 65 assists and 103 points last year, leading New England in points and assists. Kevin Crowley led the way in goals with a career-high 45, adding 40 assists, while Kevin Buchanan set new single-season highs in goals (25), assists (49) and points (74). Jay Thorimbert had 192 loose balls and 302 faceoff wins to lead the league in both categories.
Clark called this training camp a close one in terms of talent, forcing a few tough decisions as to player personnel. He said, however, that he believes the group is ready to go.
“We've liked what we've seen from the guys we brought in,” Clark said. “Training camp is a lot about the evaluation, getting that (new) group comfortable with the systems and the language.
“The challenge is always the improvement part. That's the balancing act, the personnel, the coaching, the practicing, preparing, always looking for that edge. That's week to week. That's year to year.” v.fulkerson@theday.com