Below are some of the smaller items which made news in the National Lacrosse League between December 2004 and March 2005, including trades, rumors, odd facts and injury updates.

29 March 2005:
      Apparently, the trading deadline wasn't the end of the line for teams looking to improve themselves from the outside. The NLL allowed free agent signings to continue until yesterday afternoon, and many teams have taken advantage. The Buffalo Bandits signed defenseman Kyle Jamieson to the practice squad, days after cutting him. The Calgary Roughnecks placed defenseman Travis Gillespie on injured reserve and signed defensemen Kyle Neufeld and Jordan Sundher. The Colorado Mammoth signed forward Jeff Sonke and defenseman Jon Torpey to the practice squad. The Minnesota Swarm signed forward Tony Henderson. The Philadelphia Wings signed defenseman Mike Pape. The Rochester Knighthawks resigned Brian Croswell (just days after releasing him), demoting forward Dennis Juleff to the practice squad and releasing T.J. Rogers in the process. The San Jose Stealth signed forwards Ross Johnson and Kevin Olson, promoted forward Scott Ranger to the active roster, and places forward Mike Regan on injured reserve. Teams may now move players only within their organization, such as to/from the practice roster.

 

20 March 2005:
      The Calgary Roughnecks were first to punch their playoff ticket for 2005, clinching a berth Saturday night after closing out a home-and-home sweep of the San Jose Stealth. While the Riggers won't be able to build on their success this weekend (by clinching a home playoff game, etc.), they might learn for sure who their two Western Division postseason foes will be. Ironically, that requires losing to the Arizona Sting on Friday. An Arizona victory eliminates San Jose, and the Stealth can knock out the Anaheim Storm by sweeping their home-and-home series this weekend. That would leave three teams (Calgary, Arizona, and the Colorado Mammoth) for three spots.
      In the Eastern Division, the only matter which can be decided this weekend is the possible elimination of the Minnesota Swarm, whose only chance of a playoff berth requires winning out. The Rochester Knighthawks get the first two turns with the swatter, Friday and Saturday. The top three spots are as tight as can be, with the Buffalo Bandits (8-4) and Toronto Rock (7-3) in a virtual tie and Rochester (7-4) a half-game back. As for the Philadelphia Wings, their best shot is to win out; that's the only scenario in which they don't need help from other teams.

 

15 March 2005:
      Bell ExpressVu will offer pay-per-view coverage of out-of-town NLL games the rest of the season. The five-game package allows Canadian viewers to watch (for $9.99 Canadian per game) selected Rogers Sportsnet games which will not air in their region. The coverage kicks off this Friday with Arizona at Toronto (7:30 PM, with pay-per-view available for those in the West and Pacific regions) and San Jose at Calgary (9:30 PM - pay-per-view available in the East, Ontario and Pacific regions). Other games available on ExpressVu pay-per-view include Buffalo at Calgary (9 April, 9:30 PM), Philadelphia at Toronto (10 April, 4:00 PM), and Toronto at Calgary (17 April, 4:00 PM).
      The Buffalo Bandits will honor forward John Tavares prior to Friday night's home game against Minnesota. In just the last month, Tavares became the second player ever to record 500 goals and 1000 points in a career (only Gary Gait had accomplished either feat) and the first ever to dish out 500 assists. The triple milestone already earned Tavares a plaque from the NLL, awarded at last month's All Star Game. No word on what the Bandits have planned, but fans are advised to arrive a few minutes before the scheduled 7:30 PM start time.
      The Calgary Roughnecks will also be giving props Friday night, offering free admission to all emergency services personnel, including police officers, fire fighters, paramedics, and even members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. "There's a number of players in the National Lacrosse league who are either policemen or firefighters," Roughnecks owner Brad Banister said, "and we therefore naturally feel an affinity towards emergency services personnel. In fact, we have three of those very guys -- firefighters Craig Gelsvik and Chris Gill, and sheriff Rich Catton -- who play for the Roughnecks." Prior to the game, there will be a moment of silence for the four Mounties who died in the recent Mayerthorpe shootout. Those qualifying for free admission are asked to visit the Roughnecks office (206 - 11 Avenue SE, Calgary) with proof of identification to collect their tickets.

 

13 March 2005:
      Rochester Knighthawks coach Paul Day sat three regulars for last night's win at Philadelphia, but while forwards Mat Giles and Stephen Hoar were healthy scratches, defenseman Mike Hasen was not. The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reports that after last week's game against Toronto, Hasen had heart palpitations and high blood pressure. Hasen, the Knighthawks' captain, continues to undergo tests but has not been cleared by doctors to resume playing. Prior to this, Hasen had not missed a game since 1999, a streak of more than 90 regular season and playoff games.

 

10 March 2005:
      The Arizona Sting will conduct two youth lacrosse clinics on Saturday, 26 March at Glendale Arena. The first session, from 9:00 to 11:00 AM Mountain, is for those ages 5 to 10, with the second session (11:30 AM to 1:30 PM) for those 10 to 16. Sting head coach Bob Hamley will coach the clinics, which are for players of all skill levels and which will include instruction on shooting, defense, and basic concepts of lacrosse. Cost is $59.00, and includes a Sting t-shirt, a water bottle, and tickets to the 9 April game against Colorado. Call 623.563.7825 to register; space is limited to 40 players per session.
      The National Lacrosse League, which apparently can't get enough of its end-of-season awards thrill, announced today that it is adding the Tom Borrelli Award, to be given to the league’s most outstanding newspaper writer. The award is named for the Buffalo News' longtime Bandits beat writer. Being chosen as the award's namesake is "the greatest honor I’ve received in my 25 years as a journalist," Borrelli said. "I’ve covered every sport in my career, and the game of lacrosse is the most enjoyable to cover by far. The players, coaches and everyone involved with this game are the best fraternity of people you could ask for."
      As feared, Minnesota Swarm goaltender Nick Patterson has a torn MCL in his knee and today was placed on injured reserve. His season is likely done following a collision in the first quarter of Saturday's game at Philadelphia, in which a Wing forward was pushed into Patterson. Mike Attwood, the Swarm's sixth-round choice in last fall's entry draft, has been signed and will be Matt Disher's backup in goal. In other news, the Swarm signed forward Travis Hill and released forward Trent Smalley (two games, no points); no reason was given.
      One week after Ted Dowling joined up for the stretch run, Mike Regan is returning to the San Jose Stealth. A New York bond trader by day, Regan was unable to commute to the West Coast for games and practices during the first half of the season. Regan, one of several remaining original members of the team (from its days as the Albany Attack), recorded 73 points (44 goals, 29 assists) for the Stealth in 2004.

 

9 March 2005:
      The Anaheim Storm traded All Star defenseman Chris Seller to the Arizona Sting today for defenseman Bill Greer and two conditional entry draft picks (one in 2005, one in 2006; the specific conditions were not announced). Seller appeared in all eight Storm games this season, recording four goals and six assists. Greer, who has dressed for six games, has two goals and four assists in 2005.

 

6 March 2005:
      The Toronto Rock will host the 2006 NLL All Star Game at Air Canada Centre, if league commissioner Jim Jennings gets his way. "My choice is Toronto," Jennings told the Toronto Sun while attending Friday's game between the Buffalo Bandits and the Rock. "I've pitched Toronto and now the board has to approve it." If Toronto is chosen, it would be the first Eastern Division city to host the game since the league established the East-West format in 2004 (it has since been held in Denver and Calgary).
      Speaking of the All Star Game, this year's tilt drew a reasonable 0.8 overnight rating, meaning that roughly 875,000 people watched the game on NBC. Commissioner Jim Jennings had been hoping for a 1.0 rating (ratings are, quite simply, the percentage of the 109.6 million American households with a television tuned to the program), but he should be satisified with the audience delivered, considering that there was very little advance publicity of the telecast outside lacrosse circles.

 

4 March 2005:
      With his college hockey team's season over, Brad Self has returned to the Colorado Mammoth and will play tonight at Anaheim. Self, who scored five goals and dished out 24 assists in nine games (also playing under the "I'll be back after hockey" plan), is with the Tusks now that the St. Mary's University (Halifax, NS) Huskies were knocked out of the Canadian national university championships in the semifinal round. To make room for Self on the active roster, defenseman Jon Torpey was moved to the practice squad.
      Elsewhere on the Reporting For Duty front, Ted Dowling has agreed to end his brief retirement and join the San Jose Stealth for the second half of the season. Dowling, who hung up his stick after helping Calgary to last year's championship, was acquired in the offseason for a conditional draft pick (a 2006 third-rounder right now, it becomes a second-rounder if he plays at all and a first-rounder if he appears in at least five games this season), in the event that he chose to come back. Dowling led the Roughnecks with 38 goals last season, production which the moribund Stealth offense (fourteen goals in its last two games) could certainly use right about now.

 

24 February 2005:
      The National Lacrosse League today announced that Toronto Rock forward Jim Veltman and Colorado Mammoth forward Gary Gait will serve as captains of the East and West teams, respectively, in Saturday's All Star Game. For the East, Buffalo forward John Tavares and Rochester defenseman Andrew Turner will serve as the alternate captains, with Calgary forward Tracey Kelusky and San Jose defenseman Jim Moss doing likewise for the West. Of the six, only Veltman was not elected as a starter.
      NLL also announced today the All Star Game MVP will receive a flat-screen television, courtesy of Future Shop and Toshiba, and that fan balloting (via text messaging on wire phones) will decide the award. In addition, all members of the winning team will receive a DVD player, also courtesy of Future Shop and Toshiba.

 

22 February 2005:
      NBC announced today that veteran hockey announcer Mike Emrick and Canadian lacrosse analyst Brian Shanahan will call the action of Saturday's All Star Game from the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary. Emrick, the longtime voice of the NHL's New Jersey Devils, was set to be the primary play-by-play voice for NBC's NHL coverage this season, if there had been one. Shanahan, as our Canadian readers well know, is a fixture on Rogers Sportsnet's NLL telecasts. They'll be joined by bench reporter Mark Morgan.
      In other All Star Game news, Colorado Mammoth defenseman Jay Jalbert, fresh off a hat trick at San Jose, will replace injured Arizona Sting defenseman Scott Self on the Western Division team. Jalbert is second among NLL defensemen in both goals (eight) and points (fifteen). In addition, Toronto Rock head coach Terry Sanderson, who was to be the East's assistant coach, will miss the game due to a family commitment; Ed Comeau, who preceded Sanderson as Rock head coach and who is now an assistant coach with the Rochester Knighthawks, will fill in.

 

17 February 2005:
      With the National Hockey League season officially cancelled, better game dates are starting to open up in arenas around the NLL, and the Colorado Mammoth is first to take advantage. The Mammoth announced schedule changes today involving three of its remaining four home games. The Sunday, 13 March game against Calgary has been moved from 1:00 PM (Mountain) to noon; and the Sunday, 20 March and Sunday, 3 April games (both against Anaheim) will now be held the respective previous nights, each at 7:00 PM. The 20 March game had been slated for 10:00 AM local time, as part of a Pepsi Center tripleheader involving the AFL's Colorado Crush and NBA's Denver Nuggets.

 

16 February 2005:
      As part of a promotion with the Colorado Lottery, the Colorado Mammoth will give away a free ticket for next Thursday night's home game against San Jose to the first 900 fans who redeem a Colorado Lottery scratchoff ticket at the Pepsi Center box office that day. Limit four tickets per person. Fans must be 18 or older to redeem lottery tickets.
      In case you missed The Price is Right last Friday, Philadelphia Wings goaltender Dallas Eliuk was not the big winner on the program (shucks!) but did walk away with a few nice prizes. Eliuk made his way onto the stage by bidding closest to the actual retail price of a world-map lithograph ($604, as opposed to the actual $658) and moved on to play "The Bargain Game," in which he was asked to pick the bigger bargain from among dinnerware and an exercise machine, given two discount prices. He guessed right, and won both, but his luck ran out on the big wheel. Spinning first, Eliuk landed on 75 cents and appeared headed for a tiebreaking spinoff when the next player also hit 75 cents -- until, as Eliuk told the Philadelphia Daily News, "the third person walked up and spun a dollar." And so ends Eliuk's game show career.

 

2 February 2005:
      The National Lacrosse League's television exposure just keeps on growing. The league announced today that CNBC Europe and CNBC Asia will both air the 2005 All Star Game and Champion's Cup Final in their respective markets, reaching an estimated 50 million homes across the Eastern Hemisphere. Those two games will air live in the United States on the National Broadcasting Company, sister network to the CNBC family. No word on air times for the CNBCs -- live coverage would be in the evening in Europe, but very early morning in Asia.
      The Buffalo Bandits, who are definitely not short of offensive talent, traded forward Jonas Derks to the Arizona Sting yesterday for second-round picks in the 2005 and 2007 Entry Drafts. Derks appeared in three of the Bandits' five games this season, tallying three goals and five assists. The Bandits acquired him two years in a trade with New York.
      Colorado Mammoth goaltender Erik Miller, the last of the American field-bred goaltenders remaining in NLL, announced his retirement today, so that he can focus on his career in the medical sales industry. Miller, who had been with the team since its days in Baltimore (three home cities ago), posted a record of 14-11, a 13.40 goals-against average, and a 74.0 save percentage for his career. He was the Mammoth's starting goaltender in 2003, its first year in Denver, but lost the job to Gord Nash last season and hadn't appeared at all in 2005.
      To replace Erik Miller, the Colorado Mammoth today traded a 2005 second-round draft pick to the Minnesota Swarm for goaltender John McLellan (0-1, 9.26 goals-against average in 2005), who plays summer lacrosse for the Peterborough Lakers (OLA Major) -- coached by Mammoth skipper Jamie Batley. Minnesota then filled McLellan's roster spot by signing defenseman Andrew Martin, who played for Swarm GM Marty O'Neill and assistant coach Adam Mueller in Philadelphia the past three seasons. Martin, released by the Wings in Deecember, has three goals, fifteen assists, 81 penalty minutes, and 243 loose ball recoveries in his career.

 

31 January 2005:
      The National Lacrosse League announced six date changes and five time changes for upcoming games. Because of the All Star Game being moved to Saturday, 26 February, the Philadelphia-Buffalo and Colorado-Anaheim games slated for that night have been rescheduled for Friday, 25 February and Friday, 4 March, respectively. The Toronto-Philadelphia snowout will be made up on Saturday, 2 March. Two Anaheim home games have been shifted, with Toronto's visit going from Saturday, 12 March to Sunday, 13 March and San Jose's visit changing from Saturday, 2 April to Saturday, 26 March. In addition, the Rochester-San Jose slated for Saturday, 9 April has been moved up a day to Friday, 8 April. All of the changes are reflected on our schedule page.
      With Kasey Beirnes lost to an ankle injury, the Arizona Sting has turned to Philadelphia castoff Tony Henderson. In three seasons with the Wings (2002-2004), Henderson scored 42 goals and dished out 29 assists. He began his career with a brief stint as a member of the 1998 Syracuse Smash.
      The Colorado Mammoth has signed a multi-year radio deal with three Denver-area stations -- KCKK 1600 AM, KBJD 1650 AM, and KKFN 950 AM. The stations are all owned by Jefferson-Pilot. KCKK will air six games this season, while the other stations will cover three games each. KCKK and KBJD have relatively local broadcast areas, while KKFN covers most of eastern Colorado on clear nights. KKFN's games are Sunday, 13 February (vs. Arizona); Sunday, 13 March (vs. Calgary); and Sunday, 3 April (vs. Anaheim).

 

28 January 2005:
      The St. Paul City Council voted yesterday to guarantee the Minnesota Swarm more than $350,000 (US) in parking revenue over the next three years. It's actually a companion deal to what the NHL's Minnesota Wild already receive (the Swarm and Wild are both owned by Minnesota Sports and Entertainment), namely the sharing of revenue from two city-owned parking lots near Xcel Energy Center. Under the terms of the twenty-year deal, the Swarm gets $11,700 per game (the $350,000 total value assumes ten home dates per year), but payments will decrease beginning in the fourth year if attendance falls below 6,300 spectators per game.

 

24 January 2005:
      Online balloting has begun for the 2005 NLL All Star Game, to be held on 26 February 2005, with the fans' vote counting one-third toward the selection of the starting lineups. All players currently on a 23-man roster are included on the ballot, which is located at www.nll.com/asg.shtml.
      Calgary Roughnecks forward Kaleb Toth scored a large charitable donation Saturday night by accepting a dare from a local radio host. "Matt O'Neil from Jack FM dared me to hold up a Jack sign after my first goal and he'd give me $500 for a charity of my choice," Toth told the Calgary Sun after recording a hat trick in the game. "As soon as I scored my first goal [four minutes into the third quarter], I just ran to the bench, grabbed the sign and put it up and $500 will be going to the Children's Hospital."

 

14 January 2005:
      InsideLacrosse.com reported today that, as rumored for quite some time, that NLL has reached a broadcast television deal with NBC, to air the All Star Game (Saturday, 26 February, 2:00 PM Eastern) and Champion's Cup Final (Saturday, 14 May, 3:30 PM Eastern) live from coast to coast. An official announcement is expected next week. It would be the first broadcast network TV deal for the league and, if Inside Lacrosse's dates are correct, would require changing the date of the All Star Game from 27 February and the subsequent rescheduling of two regular-season games. Considering that NBC has up to thirteen weekend afternoon slots committed to the NHL (and which would open up if the hockey season is cancelled), could more NLL games be heading to the Peacock network? Perhaps, although there's been no indication that NLL has discussed it with NBC.
      The Arizona Sting today traded forward Cam Sedgwick to the San Jose Stealth for defenseman Darryl Gibson and a conditional exchange of entry draft picks (exact picks not disclosed). Gibson, a standout defenseman, has one assist and seven penalty minutes on the young season, while Sedgwick has not played since being drafted from now-dark Vancouver. The trade had been in the works for a while, as Arizona is eager to add a defenseman with Rob Kirkby out of action with a broken wrist. In a related move, the Sting released defenseman Jamie Plunkett.
      The John Preece experiment apparently is over in T.O., as the Toronto Rock has released the young goaltender (who was slated to back up Bob Watson this season) and promoted veteran netminder Phil Wetherup from the practice squad. Preece could replace Wetherup on the practice squad if he doesn't get picked up by another team.

 

13 January 2005:
      The Minnesota Swarm have borrowed heavily from their hockey-playing cousins (the Minnesota Wild) in assembling a broadcast team for the Swarm's three games this season on Fox Sports Net North. Wild play-by-play man Matt McConnell will handle the same role for the Swarm, with Wild color analyst Mike Greenlay serving as sideline reporter and halftime host for the lacrosse telecasts. Additionally, the Swarm is bringing in TV veteran Howard Green as color analyst, although he's got lacrosse play-by-play in his background -- he used to be the radio voice of the Boston Blazers. FSN North will broadcast Swarm home games on 21 January (vs. Buffalo), 28 January (vs. Anaheim) and 11 February (vs. Toronto), airing on tape delay immediately following University of Minnesota hockey.

 

12 January 2005:
      "Dallas Eliuk, come on down! You're the next contestant on..." Yeah, if there was ever doubt of what NLL players might do with a free day in southern California, several members of the Philadelphia Wings erased it by showing up for Monday afternoon's taping of longtime CBS game show The Price Is Right, and Eliuk was picked as a contestant. No advance word on how he did (that'd violate the usual game show rules), aside from a note from Wings PR that Eliuk "won several prizes" (which, technically, is true of every TPIR contestant). Eliuk's episode will be shown on Friday, 11 February; the show airs at 11:00 AM Eastern (10:00 AM Central, etc.) in most cities.

 

8 January 2005:
      The Rochester Knighthawks have traded forward Chris MacKay to the Arizona Sting for a 2006 second-round draft pick. MacKay, a first-round entry draft pick of Vancouver's this fall, was acquired by the Knighthawks in the Ravens' dispersal draft. Last summer, in the Western Lacrosse Association, MacKay scored twelve goals and dished out 24 assists for the Victoria Shamrocks.

 

6 January 2005:
      Altitude has added five Colorado Mammoth road games to its broadcast schedule, beginning with the 29 January game at San Jose. Other telecasts are 4 February at Calgary, 18 February at San Jose, 1 April at Minnesota, and 15 April at Rochester; all but the game at Rochester will air live. The network will even air five late-season games not involving the Mammoth. The downside? Altitude will now show only four Mammoth home games, instead of the originally-planned eight (remaining on the schedule: 8 January, Arizona; 22 January, Buffalo; 13 March, Calgary; 3 April, Anaheim).
      Four Philadelphia Wings games will air on Comcast Sportsnet Philadelphia, starting with tomorrow night's season opener at Arizona, which will air on a one-hour tape delay. Home games against Rochester on 18 February and 12 March will air live, and the team is promising tape-delay coverage, on 2 April, of a game at Toronto -- but the Wings won't be in Toronto until 10 April. Look for that to get corrected.

 

3 January 2005:
      No official word yet, but WGR 550 AM will air the Buffalo Bandits' games this season. WGR, a 5000 Watt all-sports station, bills itself as the home of the Buffalo Sabres, but considering the NHL's seemingly-hopeless lockout, it doesn't look like there will be any Sabres games for WGR to air. The first Bandits radio broadcast will be Friday night's home opener against Toronto, live at 7:30 PM. WGR does not offer streaming audio, but count on the Bandits to handle that themselves.

 

1 January 2005:
      "Firsts" from the Minnesota Swarm's debut game this evening at Rochester: First goal, Craig Conn (1:45, first quarter; also first power-play goal). First assists, Sean Pollock and Jon Harasym (Conn's goal at 1:45 of first quarter). First shorthanded goal, Eric Pacey (4:48, first quarter). First penalty, Trent Smalley (Holding, 4:15, first quarter). First hat trick, Harasym (completed at 8:38 of second quarter; Conn also accomplished the feat tonight). And, of course, first victory -- 12-11 over the Knighthawks, making Minnesota the first team to win its debut game since Montreal did it in November 2001.

 

31 December 2004:
      The Toronto Rock closed out the exhibition season by defeating the Philadelphia Wings, 16-13, last night in front of a sold-out crowd of 4200 at the Barrie Molson Centre in Barrie, Ontario. Blaine Manning and Rusty Kruger had hat tricks for Toronto, while Bob Watson (40 saves on 53 shots) was strong in net. Philadelphia's Marc Morley, Brian Bendig and Jake Bergey each scored twice, with Dallas Eliuk (21 saves, 7 goals allowed) and Nick Schroeder (29 saves, 9 goals allowed) evenly splitting the duties in goal. Both teams open the regular season next Friday (Toronto at Buffalo, Philadelphia at Arizona).

 

24 December 2004:
      The Minnesota Swarm's first three home games will air on same-day delay on Fox Sports North, airing immediately after coverage of University of Minnesota men's hockey coverage (approximately 9:30 PM Central). The televised games are against Buffalo on 21 January, against Anaheim on 28 January, and against Toronto on 11 February. All three games will be rebroadcast the following Monday at noon Central time.
      In other Minnesota Swarm news, the team announced earlier this week that a Swarm television show will air throughout the season on ESPN2 and Comcast Cable. Eight episodes will be produced, airing several times per week throughout Comcast's Twin Cities/Western Wisconsin network and at 10:30 AM (Central) Saturday mornings on ESPN2 on portions of the Twin Cities-area Charter, Time Warner and US Cable systems.
      The Rochester Knighthawks also have a television deal to report, as they're returning to WRWB-TV for a third season. Right now, only five home games are on tap, although there are efforts underway to add some road games. WRWB will air games live on 29 January (Toronto), 12 February (Philadelphia), 19 March (Buffalo) and 26 March (Minnesota), all at 7:30 PM Eastern. Also, the 19 February game against Buffalo will air at 10:00 PM the same night, on tape delay.

 

21 December 2004:
      The Colorado Mammoth yesterday signed free agent defenseman Pat Coyle, continuing the parade of lacrosse talent from Vancouver to Denver. The briefly-a-Raven Coyle, who landed in Vancouver via an August trade, follows former Black Birds Mark Miyashita and Dan Stroup to the reigning Western Division regular-season season champion (13-3 a year ago). An eight-year veteran, Coyle has four NLL championships (all with Toronto) and ranks third alltime in penalty minutes, with 330. In a related move, Colorado released forward Curtis Smith to keep its roster at 23 players.
      In other Colorado Mammoth news, Walt Christianson has rejoined the coaching staff, five months after resigning to become the head coach of the Vancouver Ravens. Unfortunately for Christianson, he never got the opportunity to lead the Black Birds into action before they suspended operations. "Once we were told that Vancouver would not have a team this season, we realized that Walt might be available and we wanted him back," Mammoth general manager Steve Govett said. "Walt is a terrific coach and motivator and his expertise and knowledge of the game will only help us achieve our goal." Christianson will resume his role as the Mammoth's defensive coordinator.

 

18 December 2004:
      The Arizona Sting overcame a 12-9 deficit early in the fourth quarter Friday night to defeat the Minnesota Swarm, 16-13, in a preseason game at Glendale Arena. Cory Bomberry (five goals, two assists) and Lindsay Plunkett (four goals) led the way for Arizona offensively, while Minnesota's Kerry Susheski, Ryan Cousins, and Ryder Bateman each scored twice. A crowd of 10,305 turned out for the free exhibition, the final preseason game for both squads.

 

17 December 2004:
      The Colorado Mammoth today signed free agent forward Dan Stroup, who wisely had not signed a contract to play for Vancouver in 2005. As a result, he was not subject to Wednesday's dispersal draft and was able to join any team. In Denver, he joins a loaded offense which includes Gary Gait, Gavin Prout, and a host of others. Last season, Stroup scored 23 goals and served up 28 assists for a total of 51 points, leading the Ravens in all three categories.
      In the first of what should be several post-dispersal draft trades, the Rochester Knighthawks today dealt Peter Morgan to the Anaheim Storm for a second-round pick in the 2005 entry draft. Morgan, the 15th pick in Wednesday's draft, tallied 21 goals and seventeen assists for the Ravens in 2004, and compiled a total of 61 goals and 65 assists in three seasons in Vancouver.

 

15 December 2004:
      The Toronto Rock will host the Philadelphia Wings in an exhibition game the the Molson Centre in Barrie, Ontario, on Thursday, 30 December at 7:30 PM. Both teams are undefeated in preseason play, as the Wings swept a pair of scrimmages against Anaheim and the Rock defeated Vancouver in what might become the last Northern Cup ever played. Tickets are $14.00 (Canadian) and are available via ticketmaster.ca.

 

12 December 2004:
      The Minnesota Swarm bounced back magnificently from Friday's 16-6 drubbing, rallying past the Colorado Mammoth, 12-10, Saturday night at Loveland, CO. Trailing 9-8 after three quarters, Minnesota ran off three straight goals to begin the fourth. Brock Boyle scored three goals for the Swarm, as did Brian Langtry for the Mammoth. Minnesota will play one more exhibition game, Friday night at Arizona; Colorado's next game is its regular-season opener on New Year's Day.

 

11 December 2004:
      A crowd of 14,082 -- the most ever to watch an NLL preseason game -- filled the Xcel Energy Center last night for the Minnesota Swarm's debut game, a 16-6 loss to the visiting Colorado Mammoth. Jay Jalbert had a game-high seven points (two goals, five assists) for Colorado, with Brian Langtry contributing four goals. Kyle Arbuckle (one goal, two assists) and Michael Longboat (two goals) paced the Swarm, which heads west tonight for another meeting with the Mammoth, at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, CO.

 

9 December 2004:
      You may have heard that the Minnesota Swarm is expecting a crowd of 15,000 for Friday night's exhibition game (against Colorado) at Xcel Energy Center. It's not some wild dream, either. The Swarm already has distributed 20,000 free tickets for the game, according to a report in yesterday's St. Paul Pioneer Press, and is still planning to keep some more tickets available for walk-ups. Not that anyone should expect every free ducat to be used, but the place would break apart at the seams if it happened -- Xcel Energy Center has only 18,064 seats. If these numbers are even close to accurate, it's fair to bank on a big crowd for NLL's debut in Minnesota, and that's an encouraging sign.

 

7 December 2004:
      The Buffalo Bandits will host two open practices this weekend, hosting season ticket holders on Saturday (1:00 to 4:00 PM), at HSBC Arena, and the general public on Sunday (Noon to 5:00 PM), at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena on the Six Nations Reservation in Ontario. Saturday's highlights include an on-field autograph session, a sale on Bandits merchandise at The Sabres Store at the arena, and a chance to shoot on one of the Bandits' goaltenders. On Sunday, there will be another autograph session and young fans can play in friendly games alongside Bandit players.
      Calgary Roughnecks defenseman Taylor Wray will miss the first month of the season after breaking his leg, putting a further dent in the Riggers' backline. Wray, the reigning Rookie of the Year, is the second defenseman from last season's championship team to be lost, following Rob Kirkby (traded to Arizona). Grant Hamilton could also be on the way out, as we hear that work duties are taking up more and more of his time.

 

6 December 2004:
      This just might be the sign we've been waiting from from the Twin Cities -- the Minnesota Swarm has halted distribution of free tickets to Friday night's exhibition game at the Xcel Energy Center, citing overwhelming demand. (the opponent that night, the Colorado Mammoth, knows a thing or two about drawing big crowds) A limited number of tickets will be available at the box office Friday evening, but aside from that, if you don't have tickets already, don't bother trying. What constitutes an "overwhelming" demand, we're not sure, but it's bound to be good.

 

5 December 2004:
      The Arizona Sting broke a 6-6 halftime tie with a third-quarter shutout and five fourth-quarter goals Friday night, defeating the San Jose Stealth 12-8 at Glendale Arena. Kasey Beirnes lead the Sting with two goals and two assists; Brad Dairon paced the Stealth with three goals. As in other preseason games, the third quarter was played with a 25-second shot clock -- with Arizona tough guy Troy Bonterre (of all people!) scoring the only goal of the period, on a breakaway.
      In a rematch of their 20 November scrimmage, the Philadelphia Wings again defeated the Anaheim Storm last night, this time by a 13-10 score. Raweras Mitchell, in Anaheim's camp as a free agent invitee, topped all scorers with four goals, with Scott Stewart recording a hat trick. For Philadelphia, Tom Marechek, Ryan Ward, and Keevin Galbraith each scored twice. Like the first Storm/Wings meeting, last night's game was played at the United Sports Training Center in Downingtown, PA.

 

3 December 2004:
      The Philadelphia Wings, in the midst of overturning their roster, traded forward Spencer Martin to the San Jose Stealth today for forward Brian Beisel. Martin was the Wings' seventh-leading scorer last season, recording eleven goals and twenty assists in eleven games. Beisel tallied five goals and eleven assists for the Stealth last season.
      Those same Philadelphia Wings quickly dealt Beisel to the Toronto Rock for forward Andrew Burkholder and a second-round pick in the 2005 NLL Entry Draft. Burkholder, a product of the Spartan Warriors (OLA Junior B) was the Rock's third-round pick in this year's draft. "Burkholder was someone that we had looked closely at drafting, but were unable to get with the picks that we had," Wings coach/GM Lindsay Sanderson said. "He's a great offensive threat and will fit into our system well."
      In other trading action today, the San Jose Stealth sent defenseman Chris White to the Buffalo Bandits for a first-round pick in next year's entry draft, allowing the reigning NLL finalists to patch a back-line hole created when Chris Langdale was placed on the holdout list yesterday. White recorded six points (three goals, three assists) and 47 loose ball recoveries in sixteen games for the Stealth in 2004.

 

1 December 2004:
      The Toronto Rock traded defenseman Pat Jones to the Anaheim Storm earlier this week, receiving a 2006 third-round draft pick in exchange. In two seasons with the Rock, Jones appeared in fifteen games, recording an assist, 56 loose ball recoveries and a 53.3 percent (136-119) success rate on faceoffs. Jones also was a member of the 1998 Ontario Raiders (which became the Rock the following year) but did not appear in any games.
      The NLL released a terse statement today on the future of the Vancouver Ravens. "We are in the process of reviewing financials and other paperwork as part of the due diligence for the viability of the Vancouver Ravens to continue operations for the upcoming 2005 season," commissioner Jim Jennings wrote. "We are planning to conclude our due diligence on the Ravens no later than Tuesday, [7 December]. This is the only comment we will make on the situation until our due diligence is completed."