Are you ready for a busy weekend of NLL action? There are eight games on the calendar this weekend, the most games in one weekend so far this season. That includes a rare Monday night game, which is only the third regular season Monday night game in league history.Â
If that doesn’t get you pumped up for this week’s slate of games, here are some nuggets to be aware of, with a few extra to make up for missed time last week.
This is By the Numbers.
4,332 – Days Since Vancouver Warriors Franchise Was Three Games Above .500
This weekend, the Warriors have the chance to do something their franchise hasn’t accomplished in more than a decade.
The Warriors currently have a record of 3-1. It is their best four-game start to an NLL season since the 2013 campaign when they were the Washington Stealth. That 2013 season was memorable for a few other reasons.
After defeating the Philadelphia Wings on March 9th of that year, the Stealth extended their win streak to three games and moved to 7-4 on the year. This was the last time this franchise had a record of three games above .500 or better. The Warriors would finish the regular season 9-7 that year and make the postseason.Â
In the playoffs, the Stealth pulled off two gritty wins against the Edmonton Rush and Calgary Roughnecks in the first two rounds of the 2013 playoffs (both games were won by one goal, and the outcome was determined in the fourth quarter); the Stealth lost in NLL Finals in heartbreaking fashion to the original Rochester Knighthawks (now Halifax Thunderbirds).
As a bonus nugget: Because the Warriors play two games in Week Eight, if they can win both games and move to 5-1, this would be the first time this franchise was four games over .500 since 2010. That year, the Stealth went 11-5 and started that season 6-0.
10 – Number of Double Header Weekends in Six Years for the Philadelphia Wings
A double-header weekend is never easy for NLL teams. The Wings know that first hand. In their six seasons of existence, the Wings have played multiple games in one weekend ten times. Only one of those time have they won both games.
During the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season, the Wings played on back-to-back nights three times. That January, they split their first back-to-back, and in March, they split their last back-to-back of that season. It was in their February 15th and 16th back-to-back going up against the Buffalo Bandits and New England Black Wolves (now Albany FireWolves) where they won both games.
Philly is in Buffalo on Friday and will look for their first win in Banditland since that 2020 victory.
4 – Times NLL Teams From Vancouver and Ottawa Have Played Each Other In NLL History
This weekend, the Vancouver Warriors and Ottawa Black Bears will face each other for the very first time. However, this is not the first time these two cities will have NLL teams squaring off.
22 years ago, on March 28th, 2003, the Vancouver Ravens battled the Ottawa Rebel in Vancouver – the Ravens lost 10-7. This was the last of only four matchups that these two major Canadian cities ever had – the Rebel won the head-to-head series 3-1.
The only time that Vancouver won a game was on November 18th, 2001. That was the first game in Vancouver Ravens history and the first game for any NLL team based in Vancouver – the Ravens were the first to be from Canada’s largest Western city.
13.83 – Colorado Mammoth Goals Per Game This Season
Even Colorado Mammoth Head Coach Pat Coyle has admitted that this year’s Mammoth are one of the most impressive offensive units he’s had during his 10+ years coaching Colorado’s team. With Connor Kelly, Eli McLaughlin, Will Malcom, Zed Williams, and Ryan Lee, it’s hard to disagree. But this team is producing at such a high level to start this season; Mammoth fans haven’t seen anything like this in decades, literally.
The Mammoth are currently averaging 13.83 goals per game through their first six games of this NLL season. The last time they averaged more goals per game was all the way back in 2004, when that Mammoth team averaged 13.93 goals per game. If you’re wondering, that 2004 Mammoth team finished the regular season with 14-2 record.
The only other time the Mammoth averaged more than 13.83 goals per game was their first year in Colorado after moving from D.C where they were the Washington Power. During that inaugural Colorado season, the Mammoth averaged 14.12 goals per game.Â
The game was played very differently in the early 2000s and in the 1990s. Goals were pouring in across the board at a much higher rate, so for the 2025 Colorado Mammoth to be averaging 13.83 goals per game in today’s game is very impressive.
6 – Years Since The Toronto Rock Had Six or More Regular Season Losses in a Single Season
This has been a rough year for the Toronto Rock to say the least. The Rock are currently 0-5 and off to their second-to-worst start in franchise history – only the 2016 started off an NLL season worse (they were 0-6).
So, not only could the Rock tie their worst start in franchise history with another loss this weekend (they host the Saskatchewan Rush), they could hit a mark that they haven’t reached in six years (and not in a good way).
The Rock have been so dominant over the last five years, and particularly over the last three seasons prior to this year. From 2022-2024, the Rock had a combined regular season record of 41-13. Think about that for a moment: the Rock already have five losses this season, while in the three previous years combined they had 13 losses – this year’s Rock still have to play 13 more games.
The Rock are now almost certainly destined for a sixth loss this season (whenever it may happen). This would be the first time since the 2019 Rock, who finished a solid 12-6 that season, to have six or more regular season losses in one year.
13 – Goals The Georgia Swarm’s Bryan Cole Has This Season
Heading into Week 8 action, the Georgia Swarm have played 6 of their 18 games this season. Still, Bryan Cole, a listed transition player, is already only 3 goals shy of setting his single-season high in goals scored.
Cole is a great two-way player. He can play solid defence, and he knows how to score. In 2018, Swarm Owner and General Manager John Arlotta called Cole one of the Swarm’s top defenders.
Over the last few years, however, Cole has been scoring with much greater regularity. During the 2022-23 NLL Season, Cole set a career-high of 15 goals. Last season, Cole scored 14 goals. Only one-third of the way through this season, he’s got 13 goals, putting him on pace for a 39-goal season.
Cole is the team’s 2nd-best goalscorer this season, and he’s on a 4-game multi-goal scoring streak, including 3 hat tricks in that span. Considering that he’s been finding the back of the net at such a high frequency over the last month, we could see him set a new single-season personal best in goals scored this weekend, especially since he and the Swarm are facing the Calgary Roughnecks, who are allowing an NLL 3rd-worst 14 goals per game so far this season.