By TRT Staff nationalacrosseleague.ca
The season remains unique as several teams made upward movement in standings, while others levelled themselves. This season continues to take shape as the final countdown to the 2024 NLL Trade Deadline approach.
The league’s top teams continued to shine while nearly every other team is continues to fight to finish the season in a playoff position.
Current rankings in standings for Week 16 place the Toronto Rock still in first place, followed by the Albany FireWolves, San Diego Seals, Georgia Swarm, Halifax Thunderbirds, Buffalo Bandits who jumped two spots, Panther City Lacrosse Club, New York Riptide, Rochester Knighthawks, Calgary Roughnecks, Saskatchewan Rush, Philadelphia Wings, Las Vegas Dessert Dogs, Colorado Mammoth, and the Vancouver Warriors.
Unsurprisingly again this week, the Toronto Rock secured a win over the Colorado Mammoth, 12-7.
The Toronto Rock continue to be the team to beat of the NLL this season. Their Week 15 win saw the Rock shut the Mammoth out in both of late quarters and outscore them 9-0 over 30 minutes. Yes, the Rock have elite stars at every position, but what’s so impressive about this team is how they’ve managed to stay so dominate despite so many injuries and absences throughout the year. The Rock have solidified themselves as the top contenders to win the 2024 NLL Cup. Their next match will set them up against the Bandits.
This week, the Albany FireWolves showed a bit of back-and-forth as they earned a 13-8 win vover the Vancouver Warriors, but sustained a 18-12 loss to the Rochester Knighthawks.
The FireWolves are still hot, but they were humbled a little bit in their second game of a back-to-back in Week 15. Doug Jamieson deserves to be in the Goaltender of the Year conversation, and the team’s success has been the product of a complete team effort for the entire year. From Jamieson in net, to the defense in front of him, to Joe Nardella at the face-off dot and the unselfish offense up front, the FireWolves are solidly aiming at contending for the NLL Cup. They will move to rematch the Knighthawks.
The San Diego seals secured a 13-8 win over the Halifax Thunderbirds. The Seals bounced back from their tough Week 14 loss against the Rock with the win. The Seals took this past weekend’s games into their hands for the last three quarters, with an impressive performance. They allowed only four goals over the final 45 minutes of play. The Seals look to match up with the Calgary Roughnecks next.
In fourth place, the Georgia Swarm took a 13-12 over-time win against the Calgary Roughnecks. This marks their second win in a row, and now head into their final four games of the season at home. All four of the teams they face are currently non-playoff teams. They are 6-2 this season in games decided by two goals or less, including 2-1 in overtime games. This makes them another shoe-in and possible cup contender. They’ll be playing the Philadelphia Wings this weekend.
Behind the Thunderbirds rests the newly sixth-placed Bandits, who earned an over-time win themselves 15-14 over the Saskatchewan Rush. The Bandits needed to win their Week 15 matchup to avoid losing four in a row, and they succeeded. They found a way to grind out a win, as they could’ve fallen out of a play-off spot with a loss. With a handful of teams nipping at their heels, including some within a game of them in the standings, they’ll need to approach their remaining games with vigour. They have a high-stakes game approaching against the Rock this weekend, which could spell out an exciting comeback or a humbling rematch.
