There were nine games this past weekend and every game had playoff implications for one or both teams playing and in some cases, a couple of other teams as well. That, by itself, is the first Awesome of the week. But there’s more!
Category Archives: Las Vegas Desert Dogs
2024 NLL Week 17 report
What a week! Entirely home team wins except in Philly, four OT games, a few big comebacks, a last-place team almost beating a second-place team, a player tying a legend for a goals record, and another player almost tying another one. Let’s get to it!
2024 NLL Week 16 report
We’re getting close to the end of the season now. The Rock have clinched a playoff spot, though the other teams are still a week or two away from either clinching or being eliminated. The NLL Stats playoff scenario calculator (aka “Could Happen…”) is live on nllstats.com now, so feel free to go play around with that to see what scenarios are possible. For example, it’s possible for there to be a nine-way tie for first place, which means that one of the teams tied for first will miss the playoffs.
Game review: Toronto @ Las Vegas
This past weekend, I added one to the list of NLL arenas I have visited, though I have to say that number is still pretty small (Toronto, Hamilton, Buffalo, Rochester, and now Vegas) compared to other people I know. My family and I (and a bunch of friends – 17 total) travelled to Las Vegas last Wednesday night and went to the Rock / Desert Dogs game on Friday. As I’ve mentioned before, my friend Mike is Shawn Williams’ uncle, and so when we found that the Rock were going to Vegas, Mike asked Shawn if he could get tickets for us, which he did. Thanks Shawn!
We also saw a show at Sphere, did a virtual flyover of Iceland, did a hike through the incredible Valley of Fire, and according to my phone, walked about 52 km (32 miles) in three days. But you’re not here to read about my travel adventures, so let’s get to the actual game report.
2024 NLL Week 11
Six games this past week, and only one that was won by more than two goals. And other than the last eight minutes or so, that one was one of the closest games of the season. Lots of awesome to go around this week, starting with one of the most awesome stories of the year.
2024 NLL Week 10
The parity in the NLL gave us a bunch of exciting games this weekend and few games you might call upsets. But if you bet on lacrosse, you might be more inclined to phrase it as “parity reared its ugly head this weekend”. The old cliche of “any team can beat any other team on any given night” continues to hold true. In addition to some great games, we had a few milestones reached, and in the Not Awesome category, I make a suggestion that the NLL should implement, and it would likely only require them to upgrade many or all of the NLL arenas and cost them an insane amount of money!
2024 NLL Week 9
Wow, what a week! Exciting games, a couple of upsets, a loss by a previously-undefeated team, and some record-setting performances. Let’s get right into it.
2024 NLL Week 2
Another weekend of exciting games, including all the teams that didn’t play in week one, so every team has played now. The two teams that met in the Championship last season both lost to teams that were a combined 11-25 last season, the Knighthawks and FireWolves continue their hot start, the Desert Dogs grab victory from the jaws of defeat, and the Rock, Swarm, and Seals begin their seasons with wins.
2024 NLL Week 1
The 2023-2024 NLL season (I tend to shorten that to just the 2024 season since the majority of it will be played in 2024 and it’s just easier) started this past weekend with some pretty exciting games. The T-Birds dominated the Rush, Panther City got by the new-look Warriors, after a dismal 2023 season the Firewolves open their season with a win against Las Vegas, the Knighthawks came from behind to beat the Roughnecks, and the Wings managed to prevent the Riptide from doing the same. Let’s have a look at what rocked and what didn’t in week one.
NLL 2024: Who’s in, who’s out
Here it is: an almost-complete summary of all the roster changes for each team, all in one place. As of this writing, the season begins in less than 24 hours and I have not seen rosters announced by the Seals or Swarm. I will update this article as soon as I see that information.
Note that these are the changes as of the final roster from last season, so a player might be listed as “In” even if he played for that team during 2023. And a player who’s injured but still part of that team will be listed as “out”. Not all teams have announced who’s on their IR, PUP, or holdout lists so take an empty list with a grain of salt. Also most teams don’t have (or didn’t announce) a “Protected” list, but a few did.
Albany FireWolves
In: Sam Firth, Nathan Grenon, Tye Kurtz, Travis Longboat, Joe Nardella, Jackson Nishimura, Alex Simmons, Tanner Thomson, Jeff Trainor, Nicholas Volkov, Zach Young
Out: Jonah Boehm, Jake Fox, Corson Kealey, Connor Kelly, John LaFontaine, Ty Logan, Brett Manney, John Piatelli, Justin Scott, Haina Thompson, Thomas Vaesen
IR:
PUP: Will Johansen
Holdout: Charlie Kitchen
Practice Roster: Jonah Boehm, Cam Badour, Andrew Kidd, John Piatelli
Buffalo Bandits
In: Steve Orleman, Brandon Robinson, Dylan Robinson, Justin Robinson, Cam Wyers
Out: Max Adler, Adam Bomberry, Sam La Roue, Ethan O’Connor, Bryce Sweeting
IR:
PUP: Zack Belter, Adam Bomberry, Frank Brown, Bryce Sweeting
Holdout: Devyn Mayea, Alex Tulett, Doug Buchan
Practice Roster: Evan Constantopoulos, Alex Kew, Sam La Roue, Christian Watts
Protected: Justin Guterding, Max Adler
Calgary Roughnecks
In: Thomas Hoggarth, Justin Inacio, Tyler Pace, Head coach Josh Sanderson, Ethan Ticehurst, Thomas Vela
Out: Zach Herreweyers, Head coach Curt Malawsky, Curtis Manning, Dylan McIntosh, Kyle Waters, Chris Willman
IR: Robert Hudson, Clay Scanlan, Logan Schuss
PUP: Derek Lloyd
Holdout:
Practice Roster: Steve Fryer, Riley Isaacs, Bennett Smith
Colorado Mammoth
In: Paul Dawson, Brett Draper, Connor Kelly, Sean Kriwokon, Ben McDonald
Out: Jalen Chaster, John Lintz, Garrett McIntosh, Brett McIntyre, Dillon Ward, Connor Watson
IR: Jalen Chaster
PUP: Dillon Ward
Holdout:
Practice Roster: Brett McIntyre
Georgia Swarm
In: Liam Byrnes, Chet, Comizio, Jeff Henrick, Dustin Hill, Brady Kearnan, Luke Keenan
Out: Robert Hudson, Ryan Lanchbury, McComber Teioshontathe, Ethan Riggs, Jerry Staats, Craig Wende
IR: Kaleb Benedict, Ethan Riggs, Miles Thompson
PUP:
Holdout:
Practice Roster: Kaleb Benedict, Matt Campbell
Halifax Thunderbirds
In: Cole Kirst, Caelan Mander, Austin Shanks, Nonkon Thompson
Out: Chris Boushy, David Brock, Eric Fannell
IR:
PUP: Cody Jamieson, Randy Staats
Holdout:
Practice Roster: Briley Maxwell, Jordan Trottier, Andrew Vradenburg, Aaron Woods
Las Vegas Desert Dogs
In: Charlie Bertrand, Zach Cole, Jonathan Gagliardi, Casey Jackson, Blake McDonald, Jake Saunders, Adrian Sorichetti, Thomas Vaesen, Dylan Watson, Sean Westley
Out: Conrad Chapman, Emerson Clark, Brandon Clelland, Nick Ellerton, Sam Firth, Marshal King, Jon Phillips, Jackson Suboch
IR:
PUP:
Holdout:
Practice Roster: Josh Jackson, Carter Zavitz
New York Riptide
In: Matt Anderson, Matt Bennett, Damon Edwards, Will Johnston, Corson Kealey, Jack Kelly, John LaFontaine, Austin Madronic, Kiel Matisz, Brent Noseworthy, Mitch Wilde
Out: Mike Burke, Curtis Conley, Chad Cummings, Tyler Davis, Tyler Digby, Scott Dominey, Jordi Jones-Smith, Dan Lomas, Brett Noseworthy, Steve Orleman, Max Wayne
IR: Zack Deaken, Callum Jones, Kevin Orleman
PUP:
Holdout: JT Giles Harris
Practice Roster: Tyler Davis, Colton Lidstone, Max Wayne
Panther City LC
In: Brandon Goodwin, Jason Knox, Brent Mitchell, Cole Pickup, Ryan Sheridan, Ty Thompson
Out: Tyler Burton, Patrick Dodds, Nathan Grenon, Ryan McLean, Cam Wengreniuk
IR: Brooker Muir
PUP:
Holdout:
Practice Roster: Will Cecile, Elijah Gash, Liam Osbourne
Philadelphia Wings
In: Mitch Armstrong, Holden Cattoni, Taggart Clark, Scott Dominey, Jackson Ganton, Deacan Knott, Mike McCannell, Ryan Wagner
Out: Trevor Baptiste, Liam Byrnes, Alex Crepinsek, George Downey, Blake Gibson-McDonald, Angus Goodleaf, Hunter Lemieux, Kiel Matisz
IR:
PUP:
Holdout:
Practice Roster: Jack Jasinski, Kevin Lynch, Curtis Romanchych
Rochester Knighthawks
In: Brad Gillies, Dan Lomas, Ben Macdonnell, Thomas McConvey, Ethan O’Connor, Ryan Smith, Kyle Waters, Thomas Whitty
Out: Matthew Bennett, Holden Cattoni, Paul Dawson, Parker Pipher, Ethan Schott, Jordan Stouros, Thomas Hoggarth, Thomas Vela
IR: Greg Harnett
PUP: Connor Farrell, Stephen Keogh
Holdout:
Practice Roster: Pent Eistrat, Cory Highfield, Taylor Jensen
San Diego Seals
In:
Out:
IR:
PUP:
Holdout:
Practice Roster: Matthew Abbott, Liam Phillips, Thomas Semple, Dallas Wade
Saskatchewan Rush
In: Keegan Bell, Patrick Dodds, Adam Jay, Nathaniel Kozevnikov, Zach Manns, Frank Scigliano, Mike Triolo, Cam Wengreniuk
Out: Matt Beers, Ryan Dilks, Marty Dinsdale, Rhys Duch, Dan Lintner, Mark Matthews, Eric Penney, Kyle Rubisch
IR:
PUP:
Holdout:
Practice Roster: Jake Bowen, Thomas Kiazyk, Nick Preston, Jeremy Searle
Toronto Rock
In: Chris Boushy, Sheldon Burns, Josh Dawick, Tyler Hendryks, Dan Lintner, Justin Martin, Mark Matthews
Out: Dan Dawson, Greg Downing, Latrell Harris, Adam Jay, Stephen Keogh, Zach Manns, Tom Schreiber
IR: Tom Schreiber
PUP: Jordan McKenna, Chase Sciavon
Holdout:
Practice Roster: Marley Angus, Sam Haines, Zack Kearney, Cam Milligan
Vancouver Warriors
In: Keegan Bal, Matt Beers, Reid Bowering, Kevin Crowley, Ryan Dilks, Owen Grant, Anthony Kalinich, Brayden Laity, John Lintz, Riley Loewen, Head Coach & GM Curt Malawsky, James Rahe, Jackson Suboch, Chris Willman
Out: Owen Barker, Tyler Codron, Head Coach & GM Troy Cordingley, Matt Delmonico, Shawn Evans, Dean Fairall, Jonathan Gagliardi, Brandon Goodwin, Connor Goodwin, Tyrell Hamer-Jackson, Tyson Kirkness, Jacob Motiuk, Chase Scanlon, Aidan Solomon
IR:
PUP:
Holdout:
Practice Roster: Tyson Kirkness, Connor O’Toole
Protected: Tyrell Hamer-Jackson