The Saturday night matchup with the most on the line occurred with more than 15,000 box lacrosse lovers engulfing WestJet Field at Scotiabank Saddledome, where the hometown Calgary Roughnecks defeated the Colorado Mammoth 11-5 in this win-and-in collision of Mountain Time Zone behemoths.
The 2019 NLL champions keep the show rolling, while the 2022 champs go back to the drawing board and prepare for next season. Calgary’s accomplishment is particularly noteworthy considering their final weekend workload featured a Friday night win at Las Vegas, followed by the Saturday conquest in front of their raucous Alberta fans.
Colorado led 3-1 in the second, when the Roughnecks laid down the law, scoring four in a row and 10 of the final 12, cruising to a tranquil victory.
Calgary punches its ticket to the postseason—Curtis Dickson leads the charge with 4G, 3A.
Game Recap ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/uh355u96Vn
— NLL (@NLL) April 20, 2025
Curtis Dickson capped the best season of his career (108 points) with a four-goal, three-assist performance. Haiden Dickson and Tanner Cook further enhanced the Calgary deluge, as each man left two goals and one assist on the field.
Nick Rose was outstanding in goal, partitioning 48 of 53 rockets, amid being on the passing end of a nearly full field assist to C. Dickson, on his second score.
Dillon Ward played pretty well amongst the pads for Colorado, prohibiting 40 of 50 balls.
Calgary finishes 10-8, while the Denver club lowers the curtain at 8-10.
The Georgia Swarm scanned their QR code for the postseason, defeating the two-time defending champion Buffalo Bandits 14-11 at Gas South Arena.
Buffalo led 6-3 in the second, with Georgia finding nylon on three unbroken occasions, leveling the score 6-6. The Bandits held an 11-8 third stanza advantage when the Southerners put a half dozen uninterrupted balls between the pipes, flipping the switch and later claiming the impressive three-score celebration.
Led by Andrew Kew (4G,4A) the Swarm take down the Bandits 14-11 and punch their ticket to the postseason.
👀 GAME RECAP pic.twitter.com/aH0EloUd2t
— NLL (@NLL) April 20, 2025
Andrew Kew led the charge for the competitors from the northern suburbs of Atlanta, ending the night with four goals and four assists. Brendan Bomberry, Lyle Thompson, and Shayne Jackson were the opposite of innocent bystanders, as the trio collectively contributed six goals.
Regarding the reigning title holder side of the equation, Chase Fraser scored three, with the dynamic duo of Josh Byrne and Dhane Smith tabulating a total of 3 scores and 11 helpers. Smith ends the regular season with an NLL record 103 assists.
Buffalo wraps the 18-game schedule with a league-leading 13-5 record, while the dudes from Duluth enter the chase for a championship with a 9-9 mark to show for their efforts.
With just shy of 11,000 Western Canadians jamming downtown Vancouver’s Rogers Arena, Christian Del Bianco and the runaway train also known as the Warriors extended their season-concluding winning streak to six, when taking down the Philadelphia Wings 11-5. After beginning the 2024-2025 campaign 5-7, the Curt Malawsky led club finishes the regular season 11-7 and will be among the four NLL teams who hold the distinction of hosting an opening round playoff game.
A balanced attack and a steady Christian Del Bianco lead @VanWarriors over Philadelphia 11-5 to securing a home quarterfinal game.
GAME RECAP 👇 pic.twitter.com/8c0I4sbqoz
— NLL (@NLL) April 20, 2025
The aforementioned Del Bianco was tightfisted per usual, snuffing out 35 of 40 shots hurled in his path. CDB was pulled with 4:10 remaining in the fourth so Aden Walsh could get a little bit of run heading into the second season.
Leading 4-3 in the first, the British Columbians absolutely took the contest over, delivering the next six goals, ultimately harnessing the easy six-goal triumph.
Five Warrior players scored exactly two goals, with Marcus Klarich, Riley Loewen and Adam Charalambides combining on nine assists. By contrast, the now 7-11 Wings had not one single player connect on more than a single score.
Philadelphia’s once-promising season ends with yet another late April/May watching the playoffs from the outside looking in.
Toronto Rock @ Rochester Knighthawks 04/19/25 (Photos for NLL by Jonathan Tenca)
Coming off a 16-9 Friday night loss to the Halifax Thunderbirds, the underachieving Toronto Rock made the 152-mile trek to Rochester (245 Km) for a melee with the Knighthawks, who still had an opportunity to earn a first-round home playoff game. In a shocking development, the now 6-12 Rock snapped a three-game losing streak when taking down the Knighthawks 11-10, who had entered the proceedings running wild with a six-game winning mark of their own. Rochester completes the regular schedule with a 10-8 result.
The Rock finish the season strong! 💪
Boushy drops 3 goals and Holowchuk makes 55 saves to lead Toronto to an 11-10 victory over Rochester.
Game Recap ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/BZfw96FBAr
— NLL (@NLL) April 20, 2025
Chris Boushy was shot out of a cannon, assembling a first-quarter hat trick. The 27-year-old finished with three goals and four assists.
Toronto led 8-5 in the third, when the playoff-bound Western New Yorkers tied the festivities 8-8. The big city Canadians responded by dispensing three of the final five adjustments to the scoreboard, holding on for the single-goal success.
Challen Rogers scored four goals, while Josh Dawick did his part with two goals and three assists.
On the Rochester side, Connor Fields, Ryan Smith, and Thomas McConvey coalesced on six goals, as Ryan Lanchbury fused five assists to his buddies.
Troy Holowchuk was simply spectacular patrolling the goal for the Rock, impeding 55 of 65 flares from a team known for its scoring prowess. Rylan Hartley was strong in net for the Knighthawks, barring 41 of 52 potential trespassers.
Black Bears vs Rush 04-19-2025
Ottawa Black Bears superstar Jeff Teat opened his team’s battle with the Saskatchewan Rush by doing something spectacular. In a span of just 4:36, the Cornell alum composed a first-quarter hat trick. This is not a misprint. During what is approximately the average length of a song, the vulcanized rubber scoring machine found the back of the net on a ridiculous three instances.
Adding to this tale of wonder, it has to be noted that Teat amassed an absurd 64 points, throughout the last nine games of the season. This comes after posting a still very impressive 48 points, amid the first half of the 2024-2025 tour. The man cannot be stopped!
Despite narrowly missing the postseason, Jeff Teat has been on a HEATER his last 9 games. pic.twitter.com/JuOjwjlYN8
— NLL (@NLL) April 20, 2025
Sadly, Teat’s talents will not be a part of the upcoming postseason, as the organization from the Canadian capital concludes with an 8-10 record, losing 16-7 to the flourishing Rush, who end their 18-game stretch tied with the Bandits at the top of the standings. Despite sharing the same 13-5 resume, the Bandits finish as the top seed due to NLL tiebreakers.
Ottawa sprinted to a 4-0 advance. Down 6-5 in the third, the Rush displayed why they live at the top of the charts, acquiring 11 straight second-half scores, turning the formerly close game into an undisputed laugher.
Led by Robert Church (6G, 3A) the Rush take down the Black Bears 16-7; secure their 13th win of the season.
👀 GAME RECAP pic.twitter.com/dD3M86q4ip
— NLL (@NLL) April 20, 2025
Robert Church was otherworldly for the hosts, gaining six goals and three assists, five of which came throughout the 11-goal parade. Zach Manns, Austin Shanks, and Jake Boudreau crafted two scores per player, giving the crowd of 7,500 a whole lot to look forward to beginning next week.
