Seven Games Across Three Days has 14 of 15 Teams in Action; Seven Local Broadcasts Plus N.Y.-Toronto NLL Game of the Week on TSN, ESPNU
The National Lacrosse League’s (@NLL) week 5 features seven games, a season high to date, throughout the New Year’s weekend over three days. The league highlight features the New York Riptide vs. Toronto Rock (Saturday, 4 p.m. ET) matinee which is also the NLL Game of the Week on TSN and on ESPNU in the U.S. The 15 teams across the U.S. and Canada are part of seven local market outlets scheduled to broadcast live games beginning tonight. The NLL Saturday Showcase features the Vancouver Warriors at Colorado Mammoth (Saturday, 9 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. MT, ESPN+, TSN+, Altitude Sports) while the NLL New Year’s Eve Special has the undefeated Albany FireWolves visiting the Saskatchewan Rush (Sunday, 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT, ESPN+, TSN+, My4 Albany). NLL media ran a story this week about the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre, also known as the TRAC. The futuristic complex is the practice facility for the six-time NLL champions and hosts instructional and game day activities for youth programs. North America’s premier professional lacrosse league founded in 1986 saw a record 1,165,528 fans attend games in 2022-23. The ongoing 2023-2024 season promises to break that record with the addition of ESPN as a broadcast partner resulting in increased viewership and the surging the NLL popularity across North America.
TRAC
TRAC is an 80,000-square-foot building consisting of two indoor regulation size turf fields, a NCAA/FIFA certified outdoor turf field, able to schedule box, field and sixes lacrosse, football, soccer, rugby and field hockey, as well as other sports. Each of the turf playing surfaces are equipped with spectator seating. TRAC also features locker rooms, fitness spaces, corporate/hospitality event rooms and a Rock-themed pro shop.
“The TRAC is my baby. It is the best box lacrosse specific facility in the world. Nothing compares to it,” said TRAC and Rock owner, Jamie Dawick.
Ten Things To Know About NLL Week 5
- Resetarits Ranks: Philadelphia Wings forward Joe Resetarits remains one of the all-time great U.S.-born NLL players. He now needs six points to pass Casey Powell (674 points) to be the top scoring American in League history. Read more on his pursuit in this NLL.com feature by Adam Levi.
- Post Exclusive: The N.Y. Post’s Dexter Henry had this exclusive interview with New York Riptide standout and former #1 NLL Draft pick Jeff Teat (Brampton, Ont.) this week, where he discussed the expectations of that lofty selection, his record-setting rookie season, his 2024 MVP goals, team goals, and more.
- Hasen Century: Rochester’s thrilling 13-11 victory over Vancouver pushed the Knighthawks to 3-0 for the second straight season, and also marked the 100th victory behind the bench for Mike Hasen, who becomes the sixth coach in league history to reach the century mark. The win occurred nearly 13 years after Hasen’s first win as head coach in January 2011. Hasen now trails Tony Cordingley (107), with active coaches Ed Comeau of Georgia (124, second) and Paul Day of Philadelphia (113, fourth) also among the leaders.
- Mammoth Save Makes ESPN Top 10: This series of saves by Colorado’s Brett Dobson (Oshawa, Ont.) garnered the No. 9 spot on ESPN SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays on Saturday.
- Auld Lang Sask: The Albany FireWolves and Saskatchewan Rush get New Year’s Eve to themselves on the NLL schedule, and the SaskTel Centre will be the place to be on Sunday night to ring in 2024. The Rush celebrate with the Fan Experience Zone from noon until 5 p.m., followed by the pre-game show live from the concourse, halftime performance by the KC Aerials Group and more. Fans outside the Saskatoon area can tune into the game on TSN+, ESPN+ as well as over the air on My4 in Albany.
- Here Comes the Metric System: LAXMetrics, powered by the NLL, is an innovative data approach to better understand the League. This week, NLL.com’s Cooper Perkins looks at the prospect of an MVP run by Toronto Rock forward Mark Matthews.
- Go Local: Seven local outlets will have live coverage of six of the NLL’s games this weekend: Albany at Philadelphia (Friday, 6:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. AT, NBC Sports Philadelphia); Georgia at Buffalo (Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET, Peachtree Sports Network, CW23); Rochester at San Diego (Friday, 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT, Fox 5); Las Vegas at Calgary (Saturday, 9 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. MT, Silver State Sports & Entertainment Network (SSSEN)); Vancouver at Colorado (Saturday, 9 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. MT, Altitude Sports); and Albany at Saskatchewan (Sunday, 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT, My4)
- Power Up: NLL.com’s Adam Levichecks in with his weekly Power Rankings, keeping the Bandits at No. 1 and the Halifax Thunderbirds (2-0) at No. 2. Toronto’s (2-0) win at Panther City vaults the Rock to No. 3, ahead of Albany (3-0), which puts its unbeaten mark on the line at Saskatchewan on New Year’s Eve.
- NLL Players reaching milestones last week included:
- Colorado forward Eli McLaughlin (Surrey, B.C.) now has 500 points after a goal and assist vs. Georgia
- Panther City forward Will Malcom (New Westminster, B.C.) now has 201 points after a two-goal, three-assist effort vs. Toronto
- Vancouver goaltender Aaron Bold (Victoria, B.C.) became the eighth goaltender in league history to play 9000 minutes (now 9058)
- Player achievements within reach this week are:
- Buffalo forward Chase Fraser (Vancouver, B.C.) needs four goals to reach 100
- Buffalo forward Tehoka Nanticoke (Six Nations, Ont.) needs four points to reach 100
- Buffalo defenseman Steve Priolo (St. Catharines, Ont.) needs one point to reach 200
- Buffalo forward Dhane Smith (Kitchener, Ont.) needs six assists to pass Gavin Prout for 10th on the all-time list with 622
- Calgary goaltender Christian Del Bianco (Coquitlam, B.C.) needs 65 minutes played to become the 20th goaltender all-time with 5000
- Calgary forward Thomas Hoggarth (Lakefield, Ont.) needs four goals to reach 100
- Calgary forward Tyler Pace (Coquitlam, B.C.) needs six goals to reach 100
- Colorado forward Zed Williams (Silver Creek, N.Y.) needs two assists to reach 100
- Georgia forward Brendan Bomberry (Six Nations, Ont.) needs five assists to reach 100
- Georgia forward Andrew Kew (Oakville, Ont.) needs six goals to reach 100
- Halifax forward Ryan Benesch (Elmira, Ont.) needs 12 goals to pass Colin Doyle (depending on Dane Dobbie, see below) for fifth on the all-time goals list with 528
- Halifax defenseman Graeme Hossack (Port Perry, Ont.) needs four points to reach 100
- Halifax forward Randy Staats (Six Nations, Ont.) needs seven goals to reach 200
- Las Vegas forward Casey Jackson (Victoria, B.C.) needs one goal to reach 100
- Las Vegas forward Zack Greer (Whitby, Ont.) needs nine points to reach 600
- New York forward Connor Kearnan (Courtice, Ont.) needs seven assists to reach 100
- New York forward Jeff Teat (Brampton, Ont.) needs five goals to reach 100
- Philadelphia forward Joe Resetarits (Hamburg, N.Y.) needs 10 assists to reach 400 (in addition to the American-born scoring record, noted above)
- Saskatchewan forward Patrick Dodds (Victoria, B.C.) needs five assists to reach 100
- San Diego forward Wesley Berg (Coquitlam, B.C.) needs five goals to reach 200; four assists to reach 300; and nine points to reach 500
- San Diego forward Dane Dobbie (Elora, Ont.) needs 10 goals (depending on Ryan Benesch, see above) to pass Colin Doyle for fifth place on the all-time goals list with 528
- Toronto forward Dan Lintner (Courtice, Ont.) needs one game to reach 100
- Toronto forward Challen Rogers (Coquitlam, B.C.) needs four points to reach 200
- Vancouver goaltender Aaron Bold (Victoria, B.C.) needs one win to become the seventh goaltender all-time to win 90 games
Schedule – Week 5 (All Times Eastern)
Friday
- Philadelphia Wings (1-2) at Halifax Thunderbirds (2-0), 6:30 p.m., ESPN+, TSN+, NBC Sports Philadelphia (broadcast team: Dalladay, Gregoire, M. Jenner)
- Georgia Swarm (2-1) at Buffalo Bandits (1-1), 7:30 p.m., ESPN+, TSN+, Peachtree Sports, CW23 (Gurtler, Bermel, Buchanan)
- Rochester Knighthawks (3-0) at San Diego Seals (1-1), 10 p.m., ESPN+, TSN+, Fox5 (Perkins, Ossello, Michaels)
Saturday
- New York Riptide (0-2) at Toronto Rock (2-0), 4 p.m., TSN1, ESPNU (NLL Game of the Week on TSN) (Abbott, Gregoire, Docking)
- Las Vegas Desert Dogs (1-2) at Calgary Roughnecks (0-2), 9 p.m., ESPN+, TSN+, SSSEN (Farhall, Ballantine, McDonald)
- Vancouver Warriors (1-2) at Colorado Mammoth (0-2), 9 p.m., ESPN+, TSN+, Altitude Sports (NLL Saturday Showcase) (Lindahl, Shewchuk, Gallant)
Sunday
- Albany FireWolves (3-0) at Saskatchewan Rush (1-2), 8 p.m., ESPN+, TSN+, My4 (NLL New Year’s Eve Special) (Janzen, Fraser, Ahmad)
For the latest scores and developments in the National Lacrosse League, please visit: NLL.com and find the NLL on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok.
Sports Techie, the NLL recently unveiled its largest brand campaign ever, “Welcome to The Next Major League™” and introduced its comprehensive grassroots initiative, NLL UnBOXed™, that will expand the League’s footprint to more than 60 communities across North America by 2027.
Beginning in 2024, the Indigenous history of lacrosse will be showcased by the NLL via Marvel Super Hero™ theme nights featuring custom comic books and league stars.
Here is to a safe New Years Eve, fun New Years Day, and prosperous 2024 to all!
See you later sportstechie in Seattle, Atlanta and around the world!
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