April 23, 2008

by Tom Borrelli, Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online

For three teams in the East Division, the National Lacrosse League playoffs really do begin a week early.

The Philadelphia Wings (9-6), New York Titans (9-6) and defending champion Rochester Knighthawks (8-7) are all vying for the last two postseason invitations, and a victory by any of the trio will sew up a berth.

The Knighthawks, who have surrendered only 20 goals in winning their last three following a 5-7 start, meet the Titans Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. For either team, it's win and you're in.

"We're all pretty confident now," said Titans coach Adam Mueller, whose team is completing just its second season. "We know now that if we play our best, we have a shot to win every time out."

Philadelphia, the lone remaining original NLL franchise, hasn't been to the postseason party since 2002. If the Wings beat the Toronto Rock Sunday afternoon at the Air Canada Centre, the drought is over. In fact, the Wings won't even have to win that game if the Titans can manage to defeat the Knighthawks the night before.

"It's make or break," said Wings coach Dave Huntley.

One more for Rochester?

Nobody is willing to go on the record, but the feeling around the East is that none of the other contenders want anything to do with the Knighthawks come playoff time.

Left nearly for dead after an 11-8 road loss to the Colorado Mammoth on April 3, the Knighthawks have played themselves back into the race thanks to a stifling defense that has stymied the Rock, Buffalo Bandits and first-place Minnesota Swarm.

That has the Knighthawks in position to qualify for the playoffs for the 14th straight season. They've never been left out of the postseason field since entering the league in 1995.

"We know we'll have our hands full with New York," said Knighthawks coach Ed Comeau. "They play with confidence, and having confidence is a great thing. But we know the importance of this for our team and our franchise. It's not an easy task going on the road, but we expect to go there and play our best."

Goaltender Pat O'Toole, who had his ups and downs earlier this season, has stopped 104 of 124 shots in the last three games for a .839 save percentage. But he'll be facing perhaps the league's hottest team in the world's most famous arena.

"You look at the past couple of years, and their defense has been very consistent and very strong," Mueller said. "I wondered when they would step it up, and it turns out it has happened right before the playoffs."

The Titans defeated the Knighthawks, 14-11, at Blue Cross Arena on Feb. 23, outscoring Rochester, 13-4, in a stretch that started late in the first quarter and concluded early in the final period.

New York is 8-2 since a 1-4 start, and has captured its last three games at MSG. Goalie Matt Vinc made 75 saves in last weekend's back-to-back victories over the Chicago Shamrox (14-7) and the Wings (11-8) and was named the league's Defensive Player of the Week.

Tough venue for Wings

Philadelphia is one of four teams in the East with an opportunity to clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a win and some help this weekend. Minnesota, Buffalo and New York are the others.

But to have that chance, the Wings will need to win in Toronto - the site of one of their biggest triumphs and most miserable frustrations.

Philadelphia captured the 2001 Champion's Cup with a 9-8 victory in Toronto, but is just 1-9 on the road against the Rock in the regular season. The lone triumph was by a 10-8 count on Feb. 7, 2004.

Since then, the Wings have dropped five straight in the ACC. The franchise's ultimate indignity came on April 16, 1999, when the Rock bashed the Wings, 13-2, in the NLL playoff semifinals, as Philadelphia set a league record for offensive futility.

The Wings will also have to contend with the emotions of Rock captain Jim Veltman's final game. The league's all-time leader in loose balls and an eight-time champion, the 42-year-old Veltman will be part of the Toronto coaching staff next season.

"It's certainly very fitting for a guy like Jimmy," said Rock coach Glenn Clark. "The team will recognize what he's done for our organization and for the league. But it's also bittersweet. We would have liked to get into the playoffs and give Jimmy another chance at a championship."

The Rock (7-8) enters on a four-game losing streak, including an 11-9 defeat at Philadelphia on April 6. Five-time champion Toronto will miss the playoffs for the first time since the organization's expansion season of 1998, when the team was based in Hamilton and known as the Ontario Raiders.

But Toronto, which finished 6-10 last year despite making the playoffs, would love to avoid a second consecutive losing season.

Swarm controls own fate

Minnesota doesn't need slide rules or calculators. If the Swarm (9-5) can beat the Chicago Shamrox (5-9) twice this weekend - at home Friday night and at Hoffman Estates, Ill., on Saturday evening - it will enter the playoffs as the league's No. 1 seed and be the East Division's regular season champion.

"It is a great opportunity for us to finish first overall," said Swarm coach Duane Jacobs. "It will be huge for the franchise still being relatively new to the league. But it will take a very good team effort to get two wins from Chicago, that's for sure."

Despite bowing to Rochester last weekend for its first home defeat of the season, Minnesota has secured its third consecutive trip to the playoffs.

The teams have split their first two meetings, with Minnesota winning, 13-9, at home on March 14 and the Shamrox repaying the favor, 15-10, two weekends later at the Sears Centre.

"Our guys are hungry, and they know what's on the line for Minnesota," said Shamrox coach Jamie Batley. "Seven and nine doesn't look so bad. Certainly, 5-11 looks a little worse. We'll be coming hard this weekend."

Bandits hope for home game

After last Saturday's 13-9 win over Chicago, the Bandits (9-6) have sewn up their 14th playoff appearance in 17 NLL seasons.

But to host a first-round game, they'll probably need to defeat the playoff-bound Portland LumberJax (6-9) Saturday night at HSBC Arena.

"We're taking it as if it's a playoff game," said Bandits All-Star defenseman Chris White. "We need to win to get on a roll in order to peak when we're in the playoffs."

Portland head coach and general manager Derek Keenan - not Hall of Famer and current Bandits coach and GM Darris Kilgour, nor NLL career scorer leader John Tavares - was Buffalo's leading scorer during its 1992 championship season.

Keenan got his first victory over the Bandits as a coach last season when the Jax won, 11-10, in overtime at the Rose Garden. But he has lost by huge margins in both trips back to HSBC Arena as a coach - 20-9 with the Anaheim Storm in 2005 and 16-6 the next year with Portland.

Buffalo is 6-2 at HSBC Arena this season, and hasn't lost a game against a West Division foe since that game in Portland on Dec. 30, 2006. The Jax are 3-4 on the road, but have won their last two away from the Rose Garden.

"You just have to get into the playoffs, then anything can happen," said Keenan. "That was our goal at the start of the season. We're really just looking for consistency right now."

West is simple

Compared to the mess in the East, the West Division picture is a piece of cake.

Colorado (9-6), San Jose (8-7), Calgary (6-9) and Portland (6-9) have all sewn up playoff spots.

Whoever wins Saturday afternoon's game at the HP Pavilion between the Mammoth and Stealth will capture the top seed in the West. The teams have split a pair at Denver's Pepsi Center with the Mammoth winning, 11-6, on Jan. 26 and the Stealth prevailing, 12-8, on March 8.

"As a team, you probably couldn't ask for more," said Stealth coach Walt Christianson. "We don't have to watch TV and let somebody else do it for us. We have an opportunity to control our own destiny."

The Mammoth snapped out of its 2-6 funk with back-to-back wins over Edmonton last weekend. The Stealth is just 3-4 at home this season and 3-4 in its last seven games overall.

"It's pretty important for us," said Mammoth coach Bob McMahon. "It's tough to play anywhere on the road. We'd really like to get a home game, especially if it's for the championship in the West. Because it's very difficult to win when you're out on the road."

Calgary, which knocked Toronto out of the playoff chase with last Saturday's 12-11 overtime victory, has won two in a row after a miserable 2-7 stretch. If the Roughnecks can beat the last-place Edmonton Rush (4-11) at Rexall Place Saturday night, they'll sew up third place. If they lose, they'll still finish third if Portland bows at Buffalo.

"We've started to play a little bit better, and we're hoping to continue that," said Roughnecks general manager Kurt Silcott. "Beating Toronto was important just to prove to ourselves we could beat a team like that."

Edmonton defeated Calgary, 11-9, at the Rexall Place on April 5, but the Roughnecks retaliated, 18-7, a week later at the Pengrowth Saddledome.

Four losses during the last two weekends have eliminated the Rush, who had gotten back into the chase by winning four of five after an 0-6 start.

"We can't climb up or move down," said Rush coach and general manager Bob Hamley. "We're fighting for jobs on Saturday. I expect everyone to show up and prove to me that they belong in this organization."

Shamrox are up for sale

The Chicago Shamrox, who are completing their second NLL season, are on the market.

The current investment group that owns the Shamrox has retained sports specialty investment banking firm Park Lane, which will be responsible for seeking potential acquirers.

"We have decided not to entertain overtures to relocate, and are hopeful that we can find a Chicago-based group to continue what he have put our heart and soul into starting," said owner Kevin Loughery, Jr. "Based on pure geographical, rather than financial issues, we have made the difficult decision to sell our franchise due to the challenges associated with being out-of-town owners."

Loughery also said, "the hardest part will be walking away from the upside that is the NLL," where franchise values have escalated over 1,000 percent in the past six years.

Going into the final weekend of the regular season, the Shamrox rank 11th among 12 teams in home attendance. They attract an average of 4,814 to the 11,000-seat Sears Centre, outdrawing only San Jose, which averages 3,080.

Award winners

* New York's Pat Maddalena is the Overall and Offensive Player of the Week after scoring seven goals and adding 12 assists in the Titans' weekend sweep. He earned game MVP honors in both victories and had a hand in 19 of his team's 25 goals.

* New York's Jordan Hall has earned his third Rookie of the Week honor this season after scoring three goals with six assists and 11 loose balls last weekend.

* Buffalo's Mark Steenhuis did that one better with his fourth Transition Player of the Week award. He had three goals, an assist and seven loose balls against the Shamrox.