What makes the National Lacrosse League so unique is not just how much parity there is amongst the teams but the skill level of each individual who steps on the floor. Any team and any player can make an impact on a given night, which is one of the best things about following this league.
Week 8 was filled with “upsets” and standout performances from players who aren’t getting the credit they deserve. Of course, many of the usual suspects had standout performances, too. Now we head into Week 9 with only four games on the docket. Even with an abbreviated schedule, there is much to look forward to. Here is By the Numbers.
10:39 – Time Deacan Knott Spent In Net Vs. Buffalo
Deacan Knott grew up watching Matt Vinc play lacrosse. He became one of Knott’s lacrosse icons.
Last Saturday night, after Nick Damude was chased out of the game temporarily by a surging Buffalo Bandits offence, Knott stepped in between the pipes for Damude for 10 minutes and 39 seconds with Vinc in the net on the other end of the floor.
This was Knott’s first-ever game in Banditland. I talked to him following the game, and e described it as a surreal experience. Whether it was last backing up Zach Higgins or this year backing up Damude, Knott has not gotten a lot of playing time. So, the fact that he got this experience against Vinc in Buffalo will be a life-long memory.
During those 10:39 of game time, the Bandits peppered Knott with 12 shots – Knott managed to stop 7 of those shots on net. Ultimately, between Knott and Damude, the Wings let in 19 goals on the night and lost the game 19-14. As they have for everyone else this year, the Bandits proved to be a lot.
However despite the loss, it was still a bucket liist experience for Knott.
319 & 79.55% – Saves and Save Percentage of the Rochester Knighthawks’ Riley Hutchcraft
The Rochester Knighthawks’ Riley Hutchcraft is playing very well this season. Heading into Week 9, Hutchcraft’s 319 saves are the most in the NLL. His 79.55% save percentage is also the fifth-best in the NLL right now, according to NLL.com.
It’s worth noting that there are some minor differences in the stats from different websites. Hutchcraft is essentially tied with Doug Jamieson, Frank Scigliano and Justin Geddie, with the differences depending on the site.
He may not be one of the biggest names between the pipes, but he should be. He’s stopped 40+ shots in 6 of the team’s 8 games this season, and he’s made 45+ saves in three of those. He’s also held his opposition under 10 goals on three occasions (min. 45 minutes played in a game).
The Knighthawks give up a lot of shots, and have played more games than anyone else. This impacts the statistics, but Hutchraft has been very solid for the majority of the year.
This past weekend, Hutchcraft had one of his most clutch games of his career. He stopped 15 of 16 shots on goal in the 4th quarter, including about 4 of 5 saves in the final minute of play. Hutchcraft was pulled the week before in a shootout against Halifax, so to bounce back with such a strong performance was certainly commendable.
The Knighthawks are 3-5 on the year, but if Hutchcraft keeps carrying on like this, he’ll have career-high numbers, and he’ll help Rochester go on a run to get back into a playoff spot.
3 – Win Streak of the Ottawa Black Bears With A Win In Week 9
The Ottawa Black Bears are playing some great lacrosse right now. Heading into their Week 9 matchup against the Vancouver Warriors, the Black Bears are 4-2. Including their New York Riptide days, this is their best six-game start in franchise history.
The team is currently riding a two-game win streak, and with a win this weekend, the could make this their second-longest win streak in franchise history. Last season, the Riptide won a franchise-best four games in a row. But they would go on to finish the season 8-10 and miss the playoffs via tiebreaker.
With this start to their season, the organization has put themselves in a fantastic position to make their first playoff appearance. Think about it this way: assuming a record of 9-9 would be good enough to get the Black Bears into the playoffs, they could go 5-7 for the rest of the season and still make franchise history.
Setting the bar that low is not the goal. This team wants the wins to keep coming. If they can keep their winning streak alive this weekend and make it three in a row, they could tie their franchise-best win streak of 4 games in Week 10 against the Calgary Roughnecks.
2 – The Number of Calgary Roughnecks’ Overtime Wins This Season
There are a handful of NLL teams that should have a cardiologist on call this season, and the Roughnecks are one of them.
In Week 8 action, the Roughnecks won 12-11 at home in overtime against the Georgia Swarm. Much like their previous wins this season, it was a comeback OT win. Against the Swarm, the Roughnecks stormed back from down 10-7 in the third quarter setting the stage for Haiden Dickson to win the game in OT.
They have now gone to overtime in 2 of their 5 games this season, putting them on pace for 7 overtime games this season. Unsurprisingly, this would be the most OT games in one season in franchise history – the most OT games they’ve played in one season is 5 (2016). Here is some more context on where their OT victories stand.
The Roughnecks have an OT win at home and an OT win on the road this year. If they were to win one more OT game at home this season, it would be the first time they would have multiple OT home wins since 2013. If they were to win another match on the road in OT, it would be the first time since 2016 that they would have had multiple OT road wins.
That’s it for this week! Check back next Thursday for more!