Week 19 Results: Lost to Philadelphia 15-13
Week 20 Opponent: at Philadelphia (6-10)
Previous Ranking: 7th
No team missed a greater opportunity than Georgia this past weekend. Playing a Philadelphia team that had lost eight straight games, the Swarm jumped out to an early lead but faltered defensively down the stretch. After outscoring the Wings 5-1 in the first quarter, Georgia conceded six goals in the second before doing so again in the fourth. At times, it appears that Georgia relies too heavily on Lyle Thompson, while also hoping that Brett Dobson plays well between the pipes. If Georgia misses the playoffs, the 6-0 run that the Swarm allowed Philadelphia to rip off between the third and fourth quarters will be the sequence the team remembers most clearly. The good news for Swarm fans is that their favorite team has demonstrated a short memory on multiple occasions this season and has already rebounded once from a series of devastating losses. The Swarm need to split, if not sweep their final two games on the road against Philadelphia and at home against Buffalo to round out the regular season.
Week 19 Results: Lost to Halifax 13-10
Week 20 Opponent: at Albany (6-10)
Previous Ranking: 6th
San Diego was positioned to surge into the playoffs and perhaps host a first-round playoff game, but has instead lost back-to-back road games against Rochester and Halifax. While both losses are understandable, the timing is frustrating for Patrick Merrill’s team as they try to make a playoff push. After winning five of six, the Seals have lost two in a row and now have to play a home-and-home versus Albany to round out the regular season. The defense was porous in the first half of the team’s loss to Halifax this weekend, but tightened up for most of the second half, giving the group a chance to win. Offensively, the Seals were simply out of rhythm and fell victim to great goaltending on a handful of occasions. Ben McIntosh has started to score at a better clip after a mid-season lull, which is encouraging, but finding a way to integrate both McIntosh and Rob Hellyer into the attack next to Wesley Berg has been troublesome at times. At the end of the day, Chris Origlieri and young lefty forward Jake Govett may ultimately be the glue that holds the team together. San Diego absolutely must manage a split in the final two weeks, if not a clean sweep of the FireWolves.
Jesse King. Roughnecks vs Rush 04-04-2025 (Photo: Jeff Crawford)
Week 19 Results: Beat Saskatchewan 10-6
Week 20 Opponent: Bye Week
Previous Ranking: Unranked
Alongside Halifax, the Roughnecks have a valid claim to the weekend’s biggest statement with their 10-6 win over Saskatchewan. Calgary rode a career-high 57 saves from Nick Rose to the defensively dominant win. Curtis Dickson netted a hat trick to become the only Roughneck with multiple goals on Friday night in a balanced offensive effort. Dickson is knocking on the door of another 100-point season and has an outside chance to score 50 goals if he finishes the final two weeks with a bang. Calgary looked dead to rights after back-to-back defeats to Buffalo and San Diego, but suddenly has an inside track at one of the NLL’s final four playoff spots. Calgary wraps the regular season with a back-to-back after a week off this upcoming weekend. On April 18, the Roughnecks will travel to Las Vegas before returning to the Saddledome on April 19 to play the Mammoth in the regular-season finale. Wins in both, all but assuredly get the Roughnecks into the playoffs. A split leaves things up to tiebreakers and other results around the league.
Week 19 Results: Lost to Calgary 10-6
Week 20 Opponent: at Colorado (8-8)
Previous Ranking: 2nd
One week after the Rush exploded on offense, quieting most of our concerns, Saskatchewan’s forwards were stifled by Nick Rose and managed only six goals in a loss to Calgary in the Battle of the Prairies. Since their five-game winning streak from January 25 to February 21, the Rush have lost three of their last five, with only one defeat decided by two goals or less. Frank Scigliano continues to be an anchor for the Rush, but the group’s offense needs an uptick in production over the season’s final two weeks. The Rush are highly likely to clinch a first-round home playoff game. The talent and coaching are both in place, but it’s up to Saskatchewan’s roster to demonstrate that they intend to be a serious championship threat when they head to Colorado this upcoming Sunday before finishing at home against Ottawa.
Halifax, Nova Scotia – Apr 05: National Lacrosse League game between the Halifax Thunderbirds and San Diego Seals on April 5 2025 at the Scotiabank Center in Halifax, Nova Scotia. (Trevor MacMillan/Halifax Thunderbirds)
Week 19 Results: Beat San Diego 13-10
Week 20 Opponent: at Buffalo (12-4)
Previous Ranking: 5th
The T-Birds made likely the weekend’s loudest statement with a 13-10 win over San Diego at home. That, combined with Colorado’s loss, clinched them a playoff spot. The Thunderbirds withstood an early San Diego surge before ripping off a 4-0 run in the second quarter that ultimately carried the team to the finish line. After falling into a 6-4 deficit, Halifax outscored San Diego 9-4 to the finish line, led by an otherworldly performance from Randy Staats, who netted four goals. Warren Hill struggled, allowing five goals on the first eight shots that he faced, but Drew Hutchison made 39 saves on 44 shots in relief, including a series of acrobatic stops late in the second half. While it would be preferable for Halifax to have a settled and consistent goaltending situation, Hutchison’s effort in relief illustrated a degree of goaltending depth that is reminiscent of Rochester’s and highly encouraging. If Halifax plays the way it did against San Diego, this team could very seriously make a run at an NLL Championship. The Thunderbirds are for real, but need to make a statement when they head to Buffalo on Saturday.
Week 19 Results: Beat Ottawa 12-6
Week 20 Opponent: Bye Week
Previous Ranking: 3rd
Rochester has punched its ticket to the postseason! The Knighthawks’ second-half surge has been characterized by offensive explosiveness and big nights out the front door. Yet, the defense made a loud statement over the weekend, limiting Ottawa to six goals in a 12-6 Rochester rout. Connor Fields has already put up 119 points with one game remaining, as the Knighthawks are about to potentially guarantee themselves a first-round home game after clinching this weekend. After a week off to get healthy and rest up, the Knighthawks put their six-game winning streak on the line at home against Toronto on April 19. This team is highly dangerous, and it has enough goaltending depth paired with explosive scoring to beat any team in the league on any given night. Outside of Vancouver, Rochester is the league’s scariest team at the current moment.
Albany Firewolves at Vancouver Warriors @ Rogers Arena
Week 19 Results: Beat Albany 10-4
Week 20 Opponent: at Toronto (5-10)
Previous Ranking: 4th
In the last month, no team has made a stronger statement about its status as a serious championship contender than the Warriors. Since acquiring Christian Del Bianco at the trade deadline, the Warriors have won four straight games, seemingly improving every week. The most recent data point is a dominant 10-4 victory over Albany in which Del Bianco was simply sublime between the pipes and entirely reminiscent of his MVP-caliber self. Both remaining games on Vancouver’s regular-season schedule are highly winnable—traveling to Toronto on Friday before returning home to play Philadelphia in Week 21 to round things out. Not only do the Warriors look like a likely candidate to make the playoffs, they look like a likely candidate to host a first-round playoff game and very possibly make serious championship-level noise. While Del Bianco has only played four games and cannot reasonably be considered an MVP candidate, his teammate out the front door, Keegan Bal, deserves mention among the league’s best players. Bal has already eclipsed the 100-point threshold for the second time in his career and is on pace to breeze past his prior career-high total of 104 points, which he accomplished last year. As important as Bal has been, this team has been built out the back door and boasts one of the most formidable defenses in the league. No one wants to play Vancouver right now.
Brent Mitchell, Josh Byrne – Buffalo Bandits v Colorado Mammoth
Week 19 Results: Beat Colorado 15-10
Week 20 Opponent: vs Halifax (10-6)
Previous Ranking: 1st
Despite Buffalo’s 5-4 record since their 7-0 start, it’s hard to make a credible claim that the Bandits don’t deserve to be the NLL’s top team through 19 weeks. They’ve clinched a first-round home playoff game and look likely to clinch the top seed in this year’s NLL playoffs. Buffalo’s latest effort featured a 10-goal explosion in the second half to sink Colorado and avoid the team’s first three-game skid of the season. Are the Bandits unbeatable? No, absolutely not. But they are still the two-time reigning champions and boast two of the league’s top three scorers once again. Josh Byrne and Dhane Smith are tied with 118 points through 16 games, narrowly trailing Rochester’s Connor Fields, who has played one more game. Neither Bandit is likely to seriously threaten the league’s single-season points record this season, but the dynamic duo should still command a pre-emptive level of respect from any and all playoff opponents. Despite an injury to Chris Cloutier, the Bandits have once again compiled four different 30-goal scorers, highlighted by Ian MacKay’s career-high 33-goal season. The Bandits are the Bandits and would like to finish the season on a high note so that they can claim the top seed in the postseason. Next on the schedule is a home game against surging Halifax on Saturday in Banditland.
