via NLL press release

Six Intra-Conference Matchups (Three East, Three West), Including Saskatchewan vs. Calgary NLL Game of the Week on TSN Friday

PHILADELPHIA, February 9, 2023 – The National Lacrosse League (@NLL), the world’s largest and most successful professional lacrosse league, features six contests this weekend: three East intra-conference games and three West, including “The Battle of the Prairies,” Saskatchewan at Calgary in Friday’s NLL Game of the Week on TSN (9 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. MT).

Here are 10 things to know about the NLL for Week 11:

• While the NLL’s “Every Child Matters” initiative concludes officially this weekend, the league and its teams will continue recognizing and honoring the indigenous history behind the game of lacrosse throughout the season.

• The Rochester Knighthawks will host their “Native American Heritage Night,” presented by Seneca Niagara Resort and Casino on Saturday. Through their partnership, the Knighthawks are offering discounted tickets to various groups in the Native Community. Players will wear the orange “Every Child Matters” warmup shirts and will auction some of them. Fans will also be able to purchase a replica at the team store with proceeds from the auction and retail benefiting Language Nest and Buffalo Seneca Youth Program.
• The Las Vegas Desert Dogs held their inaugural “Indigenous Heritage Night” on Saturday, which included recognitions and performances from groups presented in consultation with Native American tribes of Nevada. In addition, complimentary tickets and transportation to the game were provided to Indigenous and Native communities, in coordination with the Strong Roots Charitable Foundation and Indigenous community organizations throughout all of Nevada.
• The San Diego Seals also honored “Every Child Matters” with its themed night on Saturday.
• In the NLL’s continuing series of features in support of ECM, the latest is this inspiring piece on Cody Jamieson (Six Nations, Ont.) and other indigenous athletes discussing what the game of lacrosse means to them and the importance of mental health.
• Candace Maracle at CBC.ca ran a fine feature on the league’s efforts, speaking with Halifax goaltender Warren Hill (Six Nations, Ont.) and Justin Gilbert of Kuvua Designs, who designed the logo.
• NLL.com continues to have resources to learn more about residential schools at its public NLL Unites site.

• In addition to the NLL Game of the Week on TSN and full coverage across ESPN+ and TSN+, four games this week will be simulcast locally in the U.S.: Albany (WYNA My4); Colorado (Altitude Sports); Panther City (KXTA); and New York (MSG Network).
• Milford, Ohio native Jack Hannah, rookie forward for Las Vegas, produced his first career sock trick, collecting six goals and two assists in the Desert Dogs’ 13-8 triumph over defending champion Colorado. He became the eighth NLL rookie to achieve the feat (Paul Gait was the first in 1990, Riptide star Jeff Teat (Brampton, Ont.) was the last, in April 2022. Among American-born players, the most recent to record six or more goals in a game was Toronto’s Tom Schreiber (East Meadow, N.Y.) in January 2022.
• The Calgary Roughnecks will have double duty this weekend, hosting Saskatchewan on Friday (9 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. MT, ESPN+, NLL Game of the Week on TSN) and Colorado on Saturday (9 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. MT, ESPN+, TSN+). It’s the fifth time that a team will have played two games in a weekend so far this year; teams have won both once (Buffalo, Week 9), lost both once (Halifax, Week 7), and split twice (Panther City, Week 3; Colorado Week 10). In another schedule note, Week 11 is the midway point in the NLL’s 22-week regular season slate, though there are still 55% of the games to be played following Saturday’s action.
• The Desert Dogs this week announced a first of its kind Wayne Gretzky Jersey Giveaway at its game on Saturday, March 11 vs. Vancouver at Michelob ULTRA Arena. Featuring a “GRETZKY” nameplate with the Great One’s iconic No. 99 on the back, the giveaway is the first of its kind for Desert Dogs fans. In addition to hockey, Gretzky also grew up playing box lacrosse in his native Canada.
• The Panther City Lacrosse Club will be hosting their Sticks 4 Kids event at their home game on Saturday. They are requesting new or used lacrosse equipment which will be donated to new youth box lacrosse programs around DFW. Fans who donate could win autographed Panther City Lacrosse swag.
• Last week, the Philadelphia Wings hosted the Police Athletic League (PAL) for an on-field clinic at Wells Fargo Center. Wings players Ben McIntosh (Port Coquitlam, B.C. and a local Drexel product), George Downey (Palymyra, Pa.) and newest addition Mitch Jones (Delta, B.C.) provided pointers and tips and played games with the group. All participants also received tickets to the Wings game against the FireWolves on Saturday. And prior to the clinic, McIntosh, Jones, and Downey donated lacrosse sticks to help continue to grow the game of lacrosse and support the work of Leveling the Playing Field.
• Some milestones players eclipsed last week include:

• Albany defenseman Greg Downing (Auburn, N.Y.) has now played in 200 games
• Albany goaltender Doug Jamieson (Ohsweken, Ont.) now has 2,007 saves after stopping 36 vs. Philadelphia
• Calgary defenseman Jeff Cornwall (Coquitlam, B.C.) now has 600 loose ball recoveries after gobbling up seven vs. Halifax
• Calgary forward Jesse King (Victoria, B.C.) now has 300 career points after collecting four assists vs. Halifax
• Colorado forward Rhys Duch (Victoria, B.C.) passed Mark Steenhuis for 11th on the all-time points list with 1,024 after notching two goals and five assists vs. Georgia and a goal and three assists Las Vegas
• Colorado forward Connor Robinson (New Westminster, B.C.) now has 110 career points after totaling 11 vs. Georgia and Las Vegas.
• Georgia transition player Bryan Cole (Oakville, Ont.) now has 101 points after a two-goal, two-assist effort vs. Colorado
• Halifax forward Ryan Benesch (Elmira, Ont.) now has 1,203 loose ball recoveries after nabbing five vs. Calgary
• New York forward Jeff Teat (Brampton, Ont.) now has 106 assists after his seven helpers vs. Toronto
• Philadelphia defenseman Chad Tutton (Courtice, Ont.) now has 100 games played after competing vs. Albany
• Rochester forward Holden Cattoni (Calgary, Alb.) now has 303 loose ball recoveries after collecting four vs. Buffalo
• San Diego forward Austin Staats (Six Nations, Ont.) now has 100 assists after notching two vs. San Diego
• Toronto forward Tom Schreiber (East Meadow, N.Y.) now has 414 points after a huge three-goal, 13-assist night vs. New York
• Some milestones players may reach this week include:

• Calgary defenseman Curtis Manning (New Westminster, B.C.) needs four loose ball recoveries to reach 700
• Calgary forward Jesse King (Victoria, B.C.) needs three assists for 200
• Colorado forward Eli McLaughlin (Surrey, B.C.) needs four goals to reach 200
• Colorado forward Chris Wardle (Victoria, B.C.) needs four goals to reach 100
• Georgia forward Brendan Bomberry (Six Nations, Ont.) needs one points to reach 100
• Georgia forward Shayne Jackson (Bowmanville, Ont.) needs seven points to reach 700
• Halifax defenseman David Brock (Burlington, Ont.) needs two points to reach 100
• Halifax forward Cody Jamieson (Six Nations, Ont.) needs one loose ball recoveries to reach 700
• Halifax forward Clarke Petterson (Toronto) needs four assists to reach 100
• New York defenseman Damon Edwards (Toronto) needs one point for 100
• Panther City forward Callum Crawford (Ottawa, Ont.) needs nine loose ball recoveries for 1,000
• Philadelphia forward Matt Rambo (Glenside, Pa.) needs eight points to reach 200
• Rochester forward Ryan Smith (Burlington, Ont.) needs two points to reach 100
• Saskatchewan defenseman Ryan Dilks (Edmonton, Alb.) needs five points to reach 100
• Saskatchewan forward Ryan Keenan (Oshawa, Ont.) needs three assists to reach 200
• Saskatchewan forward Mark Matthews (Oshawa, Ont.) needs seven points to reach 900
• Saskatchewan defenseman Kyle Rubisch (Brampton, Ont.) needs six loose ball recoveries to become the 11^th player in league history to reach 1,500 in his career.
• Toronto forward Dan Dawson (Oakville, Ont.) needs one point to become the second player in NLL history to reach 1,500 in his career (John Tavares is the other)
• Toronto goaltender Nick Rose (Orangeville, Ont.) needs one game played to reach 200
• Vancouver forward Shawn Evans (Peterborough, Ont.) needs five assists to pass Colin Doyle for fourth place all-time with 858
• Vancouver defenseman Justin Salt (Coquitlam, B.C.) needs nine loose ball recoveries to reach 600

Schedule – Week 10 (All Times Eastern)

Friday

Rock (6-2) @ Swarm (0-5), 7:30pm, ESPN+, TSN+

Rush (4-2) @ Roughnecks (4-3), 9pm, ESPN+, NLL Game of the Week on TSN

Saturday

Thunderbirds (4-4) @ Knighthawks (6-2), 7pm, ESPN+, TSN+

FireWolves (2-4) @ Riptide (1-6), 7:30pm, ESPN+, TSN+, WNYA, MSGN

Warriors (1-7) @ Panther City (4-4), 8pm, ESPN+, TSN+, KXTA

Mammoth (4-3) @ Roughnecks (4-3*), 9pm, ESPN+, TSN+, Altitude

*pending Friday result

About the National Lacrosse League

The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is North America’s premier professional lacrosse league. Founded in 1986, the NLL ranks third in average attendance for pro indoor sports worldwide, behind only the NHL and NBA. The League is comprised of 15 franchises across the United States and Canada: Albany FireWolves, Buffalo Bandits, Calgary Roughnecks, Colorado Mammoth, Georgia Swarm, Halifax Thunderbirds, Las Vegas Desert Dogs, New York Riptide, Panther City Lacrosse Club (TX), Philadelphia Wings, Rochester Knighthawks, San Diego Seals, Saskatchewan Rush, Toronto Rock, and Vancouver Warriors.

For the latest scores and developments in the National Lacrosse League, please visit: NLL.com and find the NLL on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

# # #

Media inquiries contact:

Ryan Ireland, rireland@nll.com