The PLL returns from a bye week, which sucked, but it's great because the bye week is over and lacrosse is back! This week is the first week of the season that we get to see all eight PLL teams in action in same weekend. The land of 10,000 lakes gets a special treat with the PLL's Indigenous Heritage Weekend with speical jerseys and they look CLEAN.
The Archers get a couple MAJOR upgrades and none more significant that the Grim Reaper aka Bane aka Cyborg aka Graeme Hossack. It don't matter what you call him just make sure to call him Champ AND defensive player of the year. I cannot overstate the impact Hossack's return will have for the Archers. Everyone's job gets easier with Hossack back in the lineup and all offensive players moivng forward should keep their heads on a swivel when they face the Archers. Seriously, this is a big deal. Challen Rogers is back another key piece of the Arhcers' Championship team from last season. The odd men out this week for the Archers are LSM Troy Hettinger and M Ryan Aughavin.
"The Canadians are coming! The Canadians are coming!" Well actually they're already here, rookie Canadians Payton Cormier and Jake Stevens make their debuts with the Atlas after missing out due to Visa issues earlier this season. The Atlas are 4-0 and show no signs of slowing down and they face the Whipsnakes who are still missing two of their best offensive weapons in Tucker Dordevic and Brad Smith, things could get ugly in this matchup. Titanic level matchup at the Faceoff spot between Trevor Baptiste and Joe Nardella. Dylan Molloy and Ronan Jacoby are the odd men out for the Atlas this weekend in Minnesota.
The last time we saw the Cannons it was the 'Zac Tucci Game' in Philadelphia. They ruined the Waterdogs' homecoming and Zac Tucci put the nail in the coffin of his former team. This week a few new faces join the Cannons roster, well one new old face in Jonathan Donville and one new new face in Mike Robinson. Chris Aslanian returns to the active roster after two weeks of missing games. No Alex Vardaro, JD Colarusso, Pat and Matt Kavanagh for the Cannons this week. It should be a physical and explosvie game between the two teams on a Friday night.
The Chaos have some new faces in the line up this weekend, but the face that matters most, Blaze Riorden, just had another week to get healthier, which is trouble for the Waterdogs. Those new faces include defenseman Jack Posey and midfielder Brayden Mayea. I saw Posey play in person, and he was a bad man for Penn State. Will Bowen gets the bump from down low to LSM, which seems like an odd choice since Bowen is the designated voice for the Chaos defense. I believe the rest of the Chaos team can help the rookie through the game. The Chaos offense is still working to get firing on all cylinders, but it's certainly not all bad. Tye Kurtz and CJ Costabile are missing from the roster this weekend. Nick Rowlett is facing rookie faceoff man Alec Stathakis in his first ever PLL game. The Chaos will look to dominate that section of the game.
First gotta get this off my chest, the Outlaws' Indigenous Heritage Jerseys are the best of the weekend! It's been two weeks since we last saw the Outlaws play and what a performance it was from the team. More specifically what a performance from Number 1 Overall Pick Brennan O'Neill who dropped 9 points including the game winner in overtime. The Outlaws will look to improve on the previous performance. Jack Myers and Mike Messenger are not on the roster this weekend and there's still no Logan Wisnauskas due to injury. Alex Smith and Dylan Gergar make thier first apperance of the season, 39 and 40 rockin' the Buffalo on their chest.
A rough start to the season for the Redwoods as they are 0-2, this was not unexpected, with all the departures in the off season we knew there would be growing pains. No changes for the defense of the Redwoods, but Chris Fake is listed as doubtful on the injury report, so Ryan Kennedy could make an apperance in Minnesota. Ron John (great name) makes an apperance for the first time in the PLL. Romar Dennis is back for the 'Woods. Isaiah Davis-Allen, and Cole Kirst miss out on this weekend's action in the third best Indigenous Heritage Jerseys. Week 2 the defense was good, week 3 the offense was good, is this weekend the one where 'Woods put it all together and get the first win of the season? I hope so, it's tough watchin these games as Redwood supporter. The Chris count is at four this weekend.
The Waterdogs did not dress a faceoff athlete in their first three games and the lacrosse community let thier voices be heard. Maybe Bill Tiereny listened or maybe he just had enough data points to change his plan of attack, whatever the cause this week the Waterdogs dress rookie faceoff athlete Alec Stathakis. Of all the matchups for your first game this might be the best case scenario for the rook; his opponent Nick Rowlett is facing off at 40% this season. Stathakis has multiple former teammates on the field and his former Denver Head Coach on the sideline. The Waterdogs get upgraded to the Wild Wolves and their logo looks fantastic! Rookie defensman Marcus Hudgins had a great showing the last two games in philly even in the losses. The addition of Stathakis means an offensive player misses out and this week it's rookie Matt Brandau, the other player missing is midfielder Thomas McConvey. Jack Hannah returns, shooters shooter and Jack's a shooter. Currier gets to go back to his former elite-havoc-causer-self from the faceoff wings plus offense, defense, and transtion.
The Whipsnakes got the first win of the season against the Waterdogs in overtime in Philly. This week they have a tough matchup agaisnt the Atlas, who are 4-0 and don't look like the Whipsnakes' venom is going to hurt them. Stephen Zupicich, returns to the roster, while Jackson Morrill, Brett Kennedy, and Garrett Leadmon are not included this weekend. Levi Anderson and Adam Poitras make their PLL debuts this weekend. Joe Nardella and Trevor Baptiste are walking into a heavy weight matchup at the faceoff spot. Look for Matt Dunn to drop a couple more glorious transtion goals. I have no idea what will happen in this game, but it should be a good one.
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