(Rochester, NY)… It is officially playoff season in summer box, and the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) regular season has only two weekends remaining. 18 Knighthawks are playing in the PLL, Major Series Lacrosse (MSL), the Can-Am Lacrosse League (CALL), and the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League (RMLL). Six remain in the MSL playoffs, one is playing in the CALL final, and one is already in the President’s Cup for the RMLL.
MSL:
The Peterborough Lakers secured third place in the MSL standings and a postseason matchup against the Oakville Rock. The Lakers clinched that spot on July 28, when Ryan Lanchbury scored the overtime game winner to finish a three-point night against the Six Nations Chiefs.
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Peterborough battles Oakville in a five-game series, spanning from Aug. 4-12. Lanchbury spoke after the game.
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Despite the loss, the Chiefs still hold the top seed in the MSL playoffs. They will play a five-game series with the Cobourg Kodiaks starting Aug. 4.
Three Knighthawks finished the MSL regular season with over 40 points. Lanchbury ranked 15th in the league with 42 points while Ryan Smith was just ahead of him at 13th with 44 points. Thomas McConvey topped the group with 48 points to tie him for 10th best in the league.
PLL:
The PLL took to Columbus, Ohio, last weekend for another neutral site weekend. Blaze Riorden opened the weekend with a 17-save night in the Chaos’ win over the Redwoods.
Game two on Friday had Knighthawks on both sides with Connor Fields and Mitchell Dunham’s Archers taking on Graydon Hogg’s Cannons. Fields had the best day on the stat sheet, putting up a hat trick on six shots; he scored almost half of Utah’s goals. The first of the three was pure Fields magic.
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Hogg also had a great day, notching a goal and an assist while shooting 100 percent. It was a beauty too, lifting the goal as he hit the top corner going low-to-high. It was the first of a three-goal run that spanned the third quarter. Boston came out with an 11-7 win.
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Jake Piseno and the Denver Outlaws pulled out a bit of a closer game than the Cannons and Archers. They defeated the Maryland Whipsnakes 14-13 after scoring the game-tying and go-ahead goals in the final minute and 15 seconds. Piseno’s impact was mostly defensive, scooping up five ground balls for the second-most on the team.
Senior “B”:
It’s championship time in Senior “B” as teams fight their way to a President’s Cup appearance at the end of the month.
The RMLL has a bit of an interesting shake-out, though, as they will not play in a final. The Edmonton Sr. Miners and Cam MacLeod will be hosting the President’s Cup. Because of that, they automatically make the tournament as the hosts, and the Rockyview Knights will take the RMLL bid to the tournament.
As for the CALL, Taylor Jensen and the Tonawanda Braves currently trail 1-0 in a seven-game series with the Newtown Golden Eagles. It was a close 10-9 game to open the series last week. Newtown came out to a hot 3-0 start, but the Braves woke up as the game progressed. They ended the second period tied at seven and took the lead 8-7 and 9-8, but the Golden Eagles notched the final two goals to take the win at home. Jensen finished the night with one assist, a primary helper for Tonawanda’s second goal of the game.
