After a weekend with very few surprises, the Rochester Knighthawks stayed atop the Lacrosse-Network.com Experts Poll rankings, recording the same number of points as last week.

Rochester, in its second week as the Experts' choice, earned 137 points and seven first-place votes, edging Central Division rival Buffalo (134 points, four first-place votes).

Defending champion Toronto remains in third place. The Rock tallied 125 points this week, but lost one first-place vote to Buffalo (it still has one).

Philadelphia is still fourth, with 96 points, but faced a strong challenge from Colorado (93 points) in an Experts Poll race which has tightened as fast as their Eastern Division battle.

Vancouver again is sixth, with 89 points, well ahead of seventh-place Calgary (77 points), which slipped two spots after losing to the Mammoth.

Albany (63 points) and Columbus (50) held their ground as they hang on to faint playoff hopes, while New Jersey again led the usual cellar-dwelling trio, with 30 points.

Ottawa finished eleventh, at 28 points, while New York brought up the rear with 14 points.

Our panel of twelve experts (one from each NLL city) includes a wide range of top lacrosse minds, including Outsider's Guide writers, players, and coaches. Scoring is on a 12-11-10-etc. basis, so that the maximum score a team can earn is 144 points and the minimum is twelve points.

The complete rankings from this week's Experts Poll, with comments (win-loss record through Sunday is in parentheses):

WEEK FIFTEEN                                       Pts  Prv
 1. Rochester Knighthawks (11-4)                   137    1
    Playing the way they should
 2. Buffalo Bandits (12-3)                         134    2
    Can they finally clinch the top seed?
 3. Toronto Rock (11-4)                            125    3
    Must shake off rust, but nothing to play for
 4. Philadelphia Wings (8-7)                        96    4
    Now's a good time to bust out of slump
 5. Colorado Mammoth (8-7)                          93    7
    Hoping to get suspension relief via appeal
 6. Vancouver Ravens (8-6)                          89    6
    Left for dead, now close to playoff berth
 7. Calgary Roughnecks (8-7)                        77    5
    Suddenly not in control of destiny anymore
 8. Albany Attack (7-8)                             63    8
    Lurking on fringe of playoff race
 9. Columbus Landsharks (7-8)                       50    9
    5-1 start long gone as Sharks live on a prayer
10. New Jersey Storm (3-11)                         30   10
    Another disastrous season comes to an end
11. Ottawa Rebel (4-11)                             28   11
    Did Terry's fury make Rebel better?
12. New York Saints (2-13)                          14   12
    If they hurry, Augusta has a few openings