via NLL press release, by Ryan Ireland

Regular Season Concludes with Playoff Berth at Stake in Winner-Take-All Halifax at Georgia Matchup; Several Other Seeds to be Settled; ESPNU, NLL Game of the Week on TSN Saturday

PHILADELPHIA, April 27, 2023 – The winner-take-all battle for the eighth and final playoff spot headlines six Week 22 matchups as the National Lacrosse League (@NLL), the world’s largest and most successful professional lacrosse league, concludes “The March to May” and the regular season on Saturday, with several seedings still up for grabs. Halifax (9-8) visits Georgia (8-9) (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+, TSN+) in that key contest, with the winner earning the East #3 or #4 seed pending other results and the loser missing out on the playoffs.

The ESPNU game is a titanic West battle between last year’s champion Colorado (9-8) and West Conference regular season champion, San Diego (13-4), who played in one of the most competitive games this season just two weeks ago. Playoff seedings, matchups and television coverage will be announced following Saturday’s contests.

Here are 10 things to know about the NLL for Week 22:

• “The March to May” clinching/elimination scenarios based on Week 21 results:

• Buffalo and San Diego have clinched the #1 seed in each conference, respectively.
  • the Bandits would take the overall #1 seed with a win at Albany OR San Diego loss vs. Colorado.
  • the Seals would take the overall #1 seed with a win vs. Colorado AND Buffalo loss at Albany.
• As noted above, the winner of Halifax vs Georgia earns a playoff berth.
• Rochester has clinched a playoff berth.
• Philadelphia has been eliminated from playoff consideration.
• Panther City has regained West seed #3 after Colorado’s loss to Saskatchewan.

• The Georgia Swarm is hosting their Native Heritage Night for their final home game of the regular season. Along with theme inspired uniforms, eight Indigenous players on the Swarm will have their native names on the back of their jerseys (Lyle Thompson, Kason Tarbell, Teioshontathe McComber, Brendan Bomberry, Zach Miller, Seth Oakes, Jeremy Thompson, and Jerry Staats). The night will also feature special pregame and halftime performances from Native groups and a night-long celebration of Indigenous People’s Culture.
• The NLL scoring races are coming right down to the wire, with some records within reach as well. New York’s Jeff Teat (Brampton, Ont.) has 51 goals, one more than Saskatchewan’s Robert Church (Coquitlam, B.C.) and Rochester’s Connor Fields (East Amherst, N.Y.) (and three ahead of Toronto’s Tom Schreiber (East Meadow, N.Y.), whose team has completed the regular season). With 75 assists, Teat is tied with Buffalo’s Dhane Smith (Kitchener, Ont.) with 126 points, both 11 short of the all-time single-season mark of 137 set by Smith in his 2016 MVP season.
• ESPN SportsCenter picked two NLL plays for separate Top 10 Plays this weekend, including this Marshall Powless (Ohsweken, Ont.) dive from behind the net (No. 8) and Chase Fraser’s (Vancouver, B.C.) stunner (No. 3).
• The NLL has an influx of young stars who aim to take the league by storm for years to come. But for every new crop of talent, there are the ageless veterans who continue to leave their mark on the game. The league produced this feature which ran during last week’s broadcast, asking players in their 30s and 40s, “What is your secret?”
• Panther City Lacrosse Club clinched a playoff berth in just its second year in the league (vying with Rochester for biggest turnaround from last year), and as Fort Worth Weekly noted this week, it’s already made history in the region.
• Speaking of clubs making an impact in their regions, the Buffalo News had this piece lauding how the Bandits have become a local staple with affordable, world class entertainment.
• In addition to the national games on TSN and ESPNU, three games this week will be simulcast locally in the U.S. across four networks: Albany (WYNA My4); Las Vegas (KVMY Ch. 21); Rochester (CW Rochester) and Philadelphia (WPSG CW57).
• Some milestones players eclipsed last week include:

• Albany defenseman Colton Watkinson (Burlington, Ont.) now has 302 loose ball recoveries after grabbing five vs. Philadelphia
• Buffalo forward Chris Cloutier (Kitchener, Ont.) now has 100 assists after distributing two vs. Toronto
• Buffalo forward Dhane Smith (Kitchener, Ont.) became the 12th player all-time to reach 600 in his career when he recorded five vs. Toronto
• Buffalo defenseman Matt Spanger (Toronto, Ont.) needs one loose ball recovery to reach 300
• Buffalo goaltender Matt Vinc (St. Catharines, Ont.) needs one game dressed to pass Josh Sanderson for sixth all-time in league history with 269
• Calgary goaltender Christian Del Bianco (Coquitlam, B.C.) has set the all-time single-season record with 1080 minutes played, breaking his own record set in 2019 (Rochester’s Ryan Hartley can pass that this week, see below)
• Colorado forward Tyson Gibson (Maple, Ont.) now has 104 points after notching a goal and four assists vs. Saskatchewan
• Colorado defenseman Josh Sullivan (Red Deer, Alb.) has now played in 100 games
• Georgia defenseman/transition player Jeremy Thompson (Syracuse, N.Y.) became the third player in league history to reach 2200 (Jay Thorimbert & Geoff Snider) when he won 12 vs. Rochester
• Halifax defenseman/transition player Jake Withers (Peterborough, Ont.) now has 906 loose ball recoveries after notching 18 vs. New York
• Philadelphia forward Mitch Jones (Delta, B.C.) now has 504 points after scoring a goal and dishing out seven assists vs. Albany
• Rochester forward Connor Fields (East Amherst, N.Y.) now has 313 loose ball recoveries after nabbing 14 vs. Georgia
• San Diego forward Wes Berg (Coquitlam, B.C.) has now played in 100 games
• Saskatchewan defenseman Matt Beers (Coquitlam, B.C.) now has 1000 loose ball recoveries after gobbling up six vs. Colorado
• Saskatchewan forward Mark Matthews (Oshawa, Ont.) became the 13th player all-time to reach 600 assists (right after Dhane Smith did) when he handed out six vs. Colorado
• Saskatchewan defenseman Kyle Rubisch (Brampton, Ont.) pass Steve Toll for tenth on the all-time loose ball recoveries list with 1564 when he scooped up nine vs. Colorado
• Some milestones players may reach this week include:

• Albany goaltender Doug Jamieson (Ohsweken, Ont.) needs one game dressed to reach 100
• Albany defenseman John LaFontaine (Whitby, Ont.) needs one point to reach 100
• Buffalo forward Josh Byrne (New Westminster, B.C.) needs one assist to reach 200
• Buffalo defenseman Ethan O’Connor (Milton, Ont.) needs three loose ball recoveries to reach 600
• Buffalo defenseman Steve Priolo (St. Catharines, Ont.) needs one point to reach 200 and one game played to reach 200
• Buffalo forward Dhane Smith (Kitchener, Ont.) needs three assists to break his own all-time single-season record of 94 set last season and 12 points to break his own all-time single-season mark of 137 set last year (New York’s Jeff Teat needs 12 also, noted below)
• Colorado forward Ryan Lee (Newmarket, Ont.) needs three goals to reach 100
• Colorado defenseman Robert Hope (Peterborough, Ont.) needs four loose ball recoveries to reach 1000
• Colorado goaltender Dillon Ward (Orangeville, Ont.) needs one win to pass Dallas Eliuk for eighth on the all-time list with 70
• Colorado forward Chris Wardle (Victoria, B.C.) needs one goal to reach 100
• Colorado forward Zed Williams (Silver Creek, N.Y.) needs one goal to reach 100, five assists to reach 100 and six points to reach 200
• Halifax forward Ryan Benesch (Elmira, Ont.) needs six assists to pass Shawn Williams for eighth on the all-time list with 709
• Halifax defenseman/transition player Jake Withers (Peterborough, Ont.) needs 26 faceoff wins to set the single-season record, passing Trevor Baptiste (Denville, N.J.) who had 362 in 2019
• Las Vegas defenseman/transition player Brandon Clelland (Georgetown, Ont.) needs four faceoff wins to reach 800
• Las Vegas forward Zack Greer (Whitby, Ont.) needs two loose ball recoveries to reach 600
• New York forward Tyler Digby (New Westminster, B.C.) needs one loose ball recovery to reach 400
• New York forward Jeff Teat needs 12 points to break the all-time single-season record of 137 set by Dhane Smith in 2016 (Smith needs 12 as well, noted above)
• Philadelphia forward Mitch Jones (Delta, B.C.) needs three assists to reach 300
• Philadelphia forward Joe Resetarits (Hamburg, N.Y.) needs one loose ball recovery to reach 600
• Philadelphia forward Blaze Riorden (Fairport, N.Y.) needs four goals to reach 100
• Rochester forward Curtis Knight (Oshawa, Ont.) needs five assists to reach 300
• Rochester goaltender Rylan Hartley (Toronto, Ont.) needs 58 minutes played to set the all-time single-season record with 1080, set last week by Calgary’s Christian Del Bianco (Coquitlam, B.C.)
• Saskatchewan forward Rhys Duch (Victoria, B.C.) needs eight assists to pass Gavin Prout for 10th place on the all-time list with 622
• Vancouver forward Shawn Evans (Peterborough, Ont.) needs four points to pass Josh Sanderson for fifth on the all-time list with 1358; and seven loose ball recoveries to become the 12th player in league history with 1500
• Vancouver defenseman Brett Mydske (New Westminster, B.C.) needs one point to reach 100

Schedule – Week 22 (All Times Eastern)

Saturday

Bandits (13-4) @ FireWolves (3-14), 7pm, ESPN+, TSN+, WNYA My4

Thunderbirds (9-8) @ Swarm (8-9), 7pm, ESPN+, TSN+

Wings (8-9) @ Knighthawks (10-7), 7pm, ESPN+, TSN+, WPSG CW51, CW Rochester

Mammoth (9-8) @ Seals (13-4), 10pm, ESPNU, TSN+

Riptide (4-13) @ Warriors (4-13), 10pm, NLL Game of the Week on TSN, ESPN+

Rush (7-10) @ Desert Dogs (5-12), 10:30pm, ESPN+, TSN+, KVMY CH. 21

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