via NLL press release

NLL Game of the Week on TSN Saturday Pits Saskatchewan and Vancouver; PCLC’s Donville Tries His Hand at Blogging

PHILADELPHIA, February 23, 2023 – The National Lacrosse League (@NLL), the world’s largest and most successful professional lacrosse league, posts five games on this weekend’s schedule. Saskatchewan and Vancouver both get their second straight featured broadcasts, this time as the NLL Game of the Week at SaskTel Centre on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT. Last Friday, the Rush scored a win at West Conference leading San Diego on ESPN2, while the Warriors fell at home to Calgary on the NLL Game of the Week on TSN.

Here are 10 things to know about the NLL for Week 13:

• In NLL Community News:

• The Georgia Swarm Coach’s Leadership Academy is set for Saturday at Gas South Arena in Duluth, Ga., with a program titled “7 Keys to Building a Championship Culture” from 3:45-5 P.M., prior to the evening’s Georgia Swarm contest vs. Albany FrieWolves at 7:00 P.M. The free program is ran by nationally recognized motivational speaker Jeremy Boone, which also includes Swarm management, players, and coaches as speakers. Registration with tickets to the game are limited to 125 and available here.
• The Thunderbirds edged the Riptide, 13-12, in a thrilling Sunday contest, but it wasn’t their biggest win of the day. Before the game, the team recognized young fan Ethan, who performed the ceremonial ball drop as the IWK Foundation Radiothon Warrior Ambassador. The 12-year-old, diagnosed with Type I diabetes, spent some time with the team, joining them on the bench for warmups. Ethan is in his fourth year in the IWK program and helped call attention to custom shirts designed by six-year old Brantley Wright to help raise funds. IWK Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that raises funds to support the urgent priority needs of IWK Health in Halifax.
• The Rochester Knighthawks are holding a blood drive at Blue Cross Arena today until 5 p.m. All donors will receive a complimentary Knighthawks ticket as a thank you. Donors can sign up at https://khawks.co/3I9mEB4. The team will also team with C.U.R.E. Childhood Cancer Association to host C.U.R.E. Cancer Knight, presented by Marc & Roberta Johnson of Cornerstone Wealth Management, on Saturday for its game against New York.
• Up in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Rush players are helping out with the distribution of food and clothing to Humboldt Community Soup Kitchen clients. “We were contacted by the Saskatchewan Rush, and they offered to send some of their players to help us out with the event,” Kari Cenciosi with the Soup Kitchen told DiscoverHumboldt.

• Whitby, Ontario, native Derek Suddons was inducted into that city’s Sports Hall of Fame, following 29 years in the sport which included 274 NLL regular season and 20 playoff games over 18 years for five teams. The induction ceremony will take place on April 29 at at Royal Ashburn Golf Club.
• In addition to the NLL Game of the Week on TSN and full coverage across ESPN+, three games this week will be simulcast locally in the U.S. across four networks: Albany (WYNA My4); Las Vegas (KVMY Ch. 21); Colorado (Altitude Sports); and Panther City (Bally Sports SW).
• New York forward Jeff Teat (Brampton, Ont.) has been all that and then some in his young NLL career. The 2020 overall #1 NLL Entry Draft pick accounted for nine of his team’s 12 goals, netting a sock trick and assisting on three others vs. Halifax on Sunday and now leads the league with 34 goals, three more than Tom Schreiber (East Meadow, N.Y.). Teat, Schreiber and NLL points leader Dhane Smith (Kitchener, Ont.) are leading midseason NLL MVP candidates.
• Panther City Lacrosse Club rookie Jonathan Donville may have a career in media in his future… make that his present, as the forward from Oakville, Ont., has been writing a series of blogs chronicling his first year in Fort Worth. His latest entry, entitled “Last Week Was Awesome” combines some game news with even more impactful off-the-floor activities. A great read each week, fans can look for it on Fridays.
• This weekend will see three of the four Thompson brother’s competing in the Albany FireWolves versus Georgia Swarm game Saturday Night. Jerome “Hiana” Thompson is a forward for the FireWolves while his brothers Jeremy and Lyle play for Georgia. Their fourth brother, Miles, who also is on Georgia’s roster, is on the season ending injured reserve list.
• The NLL continued its celebration of Black History Month with a feature on Riptide defenseman Damon Edwards, for whom giving back to the community of Pickering, Ont., is a priority.
• The Upstate Collegiate Box Lacrosse League (UCBLL) opened registration this week. The league, with teams in Rochester and Buffalo, is open to current high school seniors to college seniors. UCBLL teams are coached by current and former National Lacrosse League players, including Ethan O’Connor (Milton, Ont.) and Dalton Sulver (Kingwood, Texas) of the Buffalo Bandits, and Dan Coates (St. Catharines, Ont.) and Ryland Rees (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) of the Rochester Knighthawks. The UCBLL has seen six of its players selected in the NLL Entry Draft, including Spencer Bell, Austin Blumbergs, Ryan Sharkey, and Christian Watts this past September.
• Some milestones players eclipsed last week include:

• Albany goaltender Doug Jamieson (Ohsweken, Ont.) now has 3025 career minutes played after 60 in net vs. Las Vegas
• Calgary defenseman/transition player Zach Currier (Peterborough, Ont.) now has 102 career points after recording two goals and an assist vs. Vancouver
• Calgary forward Tyler Pace (Coquitlam, B.C.) now has 203 points after a one-goal, four-assist effort vs. Vancouver
• Georgia forward Shayne Jackson (Bowmanville, Ont.) needs now has 701 points after a goal and three assists vs. Toronto
• Georgia defenseman/transition player Jeremy Thompson (Syracuse, N.Y.) passed Steve Toll for eighth place in league history with 1,565 loose ball recoveries after nabbing 10 vs. Toronto
• Halifax forward Clarke Petterson (Toronto) now has 103 assists after recording four vs. New York
• Las Vegas forward Rob Hellyer (Lions Head, Ont.) now has 600 loose ball recoveries after nabbing five vs Albany
• Panther City goaltender Nick Damude (Fonthill, Ont.) now has 1,002 saves after stopping 39 vs. Colorado
• Saskatchewan forward Ryan Keenan (Oshawa, Ont.) now has 203 assists after recording five vs. San Diego
• Saskatchewan forward Mark Matthews (Oshawa, Ont.) now has 902 points after his three-goal, three-assist effort vs. San Diego
• Toronto defenseman TD Ierlan (Victor, N.Y.) now has 412 faceoff wins after taking 19 of 28 vs. Georgia
• Vancouver defenseman Tyler Codron now has 405 loose ball recoveries after collecting 11 vs. Calgary
• Vancouver forward Shawn Evans (Peterborough, Ont.) passed Brandon Miller for 8th place with 262 games played. Buffalo’s Matt Vinc is one behind at 261.
• Some milestones players may reach this week include:

• Colorado forward Rhys Duch (Victoria, B.C.) needs one game played to reach 200
• Colorado forward Chris Wardle (Victoria, B.C.) needs three goals to reach 100
• Georgia defenseman/transition player Jeremy Thompson (Syracuse, N.Y.) needs 25 faceoff wins to pass Jamie Hanford for third place in league history with 2,092
• Las Vegas forward Jacob Ruest (Cornwall, Ont.) needs one loose ball recovery to reach 400
• Panther City forward Callum Crawford (Ottawa, Ont.) needs one loose ball recovery for 1,000
• Rochester forward Turner Evans (Peterborough, Ont.) needs one loose ball recovery to reach 300
• Rochester defenseman Matt Gilray (Oshawa, Ont.) needs four loose ball recoveries to reach 300
• Saskatchewan defenseman Matt Beers (Coquitlam, B.C.) needs two assists to reach 100
• Saskatchewan defenseman/transition player Mike Messenger (Surrey, B.C.) needs eight loose ball recoveries to reach 600 in his career
• Vancouver forward Keegan Bal (Coquitlam, B.C.) needs two points to reach 300

Schedule – Week 13 (All Times Eastern)

Friday

Panther City (6-4) @ Mammoth (4-5), 9pm, ESPN+, TSN+, Altitude, Bally Sports SW

Roughnecks (7-3) @ Desert Dogs (3-5), 10:30pm, ESPN+, TSN+, KVMY

Saturday

Riptide (2-7) @ Knighthawks (7-2), 7pm, ESPN+, TSN+

FireWolves (2-6) @ Swarm (0-7), 7pm, ESPN+, TSN+, WNYA

Warriors (1-9) @ Rush (5-3), 8pm, ESPN+, NLL Game of the Week on TSN

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.

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Media inquiries contact:

Ryan Ireland, rireland@nll.com