Minnesota Swarm (6-9 H 2-5 A 4-4)

vs
New York Titans (9-6 H 5-3 A 4-3)

Saturday, April 18, 2009 - 7:00 pm CST
Xcel Energy Center
St. Paul, Minnesota

Live Statistics

Minnesota Swarm Game Center

TV/Internet/Radio Coverage:

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Regular Season History:

The Swarm have done well in their history against the Titans but in the biggest game in this rivalry, the Titans came out on top. That happened in last year's playoffs when the Titans beat the Swarm at the X in first round of the playoffs by a score of 11-8 behind Casey Powell's (39g 39a) fourth quarter theatrics.

Rosters:

Regular Season Statistics:

2009 NLL Standings

Former Titans With The Swarm:

Former Swarm With The Titans:

• Keith Cromwell (0g 0a)

The Minnesota Swarm have lost four of their last five after last weekend's shellacking by the Portland LumberJax at the X by a score of 19-14. Sean Pollock (24g 35a) led the Swarm with four goals and two assists as they tried to come back from a 11-6 halftime deficit. The LumberJax clinched a home playoff game with the victory.

The New York Titans won their second straight game with an impressive 12-9 win at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ over the East Division leading Buffalo Bandits. Powell led the Titans with four goals and five assists in the victory. The Titans had already clinched a playoff spot entering last wweekend.

Our favorite local professional indoor lacrosse team, the Minnesota Swarm are in the midst of their most disappointing season in franchise history. For each of their first four years, the Swarm have finished with a better record than the year before. The last three years they have made the playoffs. This season, they will have a losing record for the first time since their inaugural 2005 season and they may or may not make the postseason. So with the playoff question still unanswered, the Swarm will host the New York Titans at the X in their 2009 regular season finale on Saturday at 7:00 pm.

This weekend for the Swarm really begins tonight as the playoff aspirations will be partly decided in Denver, Colorado. At 8:00 pm Central, the Colorado Mammoth will be hosting the Edmonton Rush. If Colorado wins that game, the Swarm along with the Rush are eliminated from the playoffs. If Edmonton wins, the Swarm are still alive and can clinch the last playoff spot in the West with a victory on Saturday night. A loss on Saturday for the Swarm after a Rush win on Friday, will send the Rush to the playoffs. If indeed the Swarm make the playoffs, they will travel to Calgary to play the Roughnecks on Sunday, May 3 at 4:00 pm Central. That goes for the Rush and Mammoth too, if they make it. Colorado has lost four straigtht with their last win coming against the Swarm. The Ruah are the only team the Swarm have beat in their last five games.

In
1. y-Calgary 11-4 (8-2 in Division}
2. x-Portland 9-6 (7-5)
3. x-San Jose 7-8 (6-6)
4. Colorado 6-9 (5-7)
   Out
5. SWARM 6-9 (3-6)
6. Edmonton 5-10 (4-7)

The Titans are led by Powell, who is averaging six points per game this season. He is in the running for NLL MVP this year, even with missing three games due to injury. He took over last year's playoff game against the Swarm with two goals and an assist in the fourth quarter to win it for the Titans. He has alot of help on offense with lefthanded snipers Pat Maddalena (26g 45a) and Brendan Mundorf (25g 31a). In addition, Jordan Hall (23g 52a), who finished second to Craig Point in the NLL Rookie of the Year race last season, has even had a better 2009 season and Mike McLellan (28g 21a) is second on the team in goals.

The Titans defensively are led by Jarett Park (4g 5a) who has 132 loose balls. Rookie Stephen Peyser(1g 14a) has had an impressive NLL debut and will be a thorn in the Swarm's side on face offs. Also, if the game gets rowdy, don't be surprised if Rory Smith (0g 1a) is in the middle of any fisticuffs for the Titans.

It is a tale of two goaltending situations coming into the weekend. For New York, it has been Matt Vinc's (8-6 11.42 GAA .774 Save %) job since the middle of 2007. He has started 41 straight games including two playoff games. At only 26, many consider him to be the top young goaltender in the league. In contrast, the Swarm's goaltending situation changes with the wind. Last weekend, Kevin Croswell (3-3 11.05 GAA .774 Save %) got the start in net but did not fare well and did not make it to the second half as Nick Patterson (3-6 13.69 GAA .713 Save %) finished the game. Over the year, the Swarm never have been able to settle on one goaltender to carry them through while Vinc has been the bedrock for the last two and half years for the Titans.

Last weekend, the Swarm had trouble finishing their shots, especially early. They took quite a lot but even after scoring fourteen they still had 34 of 89 miss the net. That's over one out of every three shots. Even on the power play, the frustration of not getting shots on net was an issue. Early in the fourth quarter on the power play, Kevin Buchanan (20g 22a) hit the post one or two times on the same possession. Swarm Assistant Coach Mike Lines saw this and told Kevin Ross (17g 22a) not to shoot in the same spot when the Swarm got the ball back. Ross went out on the next possession with the intention to do just like Lines said but darn it if he did not hit the same exact spot as Buchanan.

Dan Marohl (18g 25a) returned to the line up this past weekend after missing three games. He gave the Swarm a much needed boost offensively with his two Air Marohl goals. Josh Funk (2g 0a) has been hot with goals in two straight games. Funk has shown quite a bit of energy on defense and has done well keeping his defender from beating him in his three games of play this season.

Depending on what happens tonight in Denver, may determine who plays on Saturday for the Swarm. Keeping in mind that the Titans are trying to secure at least a home playoff game and can even still win the East Division, the Swarm can still play the spoiler if eliminated tonight. Either way, this game may be the last shot for many of the Swarm players to make their last impression to Swarm management. With the way the season has went, changes probably are expected and probably could involve some long time Swarm players. After listening to some Swarm players after last weekend's game, I felt many wanted to redeem themselves after what happened against Portland. They want to leave the fans with a good memory in what appears to be the last Swarm home game until January 2010.

Expect the Swarm to be ready for this game unlike last weekend. I predict a strong start to this game but they will have to withstand a Titan rally or two that will make it close at the end. I look for a big game for Ryan Ward (20g 33a), who could really use one to end the season with his recent struggles. The defense will have their hands full with Powell, Maddalena, etc. but if we can get a strong goaltending performance from the starter, believe me both are due for one, they should be able to prevail, playoffs or no playoffs.

Like I mentioned earlier, this is probably the last home game for eight months.� The Swarm will probably be on the road for the entire playoffs considering the seed they will get.� Eight months is a long time in this sense and every year I have supported the team, the off season seems longer and longer.� It felt longer after 2006 than it did in 2005.� In 2007 it definitely dragged longer than 2006 and after 2008 I thought 2009 would never arrive.� It will be even more miserably longer after 2009.� So this Saturday, lets send the Swarm to the playoffs in style.� Don�t take your cheers with you home after Saturday.�Let them all scream out of your mouth on Saturday. Let the players and coaches know how much you support them.� Lets make Saturday night memorable, Swarm fans.�

Prediction: Minnesota Swarm 14 New York Titans 12

Next Games After This Match Up

• Minnesota vs TBA
• New York vs TBA