January 2015 Updates

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• 01/30/15 - A Tale of Two Halfs

  A Tale of Two Halfs but the Bandits' first half better than the Swarm's second half as the Bandits win their sixth straight over Minnesota in Buffalo. The Swarm's two game winning streak is over and they fall to .500 for the season. M. Thompson, Jackson, Schuss, MacIntosh and Crawford get two goals each. Both Matisz and Belisle get singles both of which are their first of the year. Belisle's goal is his first for the Swarm on a net occupied by a goaltender. Two goals by D. Hill and Matisz were overturned on Bandit challenges. The Bandits came out strong with lots of energy and were just able to hold off furious second half Swarm rally. Higgins was replaced in the second quarter by MacDonald but came back after Brodie gave up three quick ones and ended up saving 39 of 51 shots. The Swarm finally return home next Friday but they got a stern test as the three-time defending champion Rochester Knighthawks come to Ho-Chunk Nation Field at The Hive on Native American Night.

  	Minnesota Swarm (2-2 H 0-1 A 2-1)
  	Buffalo Bandits (3-2 H 2-0 A 1-2)

• 01/29/15 - Preview - Swarm at Bandits

  The Minnesota Swarm look for their first three game winning streak since 2013 in Buffalo, a place which has humbled many a Swarm team over the years. The Swarm have a great chance to steal a win against a good but not great Bandit team on the road with an offense that is consistently putting goals past the opponents netminder this season and a defense lifted to a better level of play with the insertion of Zach Higgins in net. Always a scrappy, tough matchup in Banditland in this series, the Swarm should prevail with a timely goal in the end to dispose of their orange and black nemesis.

  Prediction: Minnesota Swarm 12 Buffalo Bandits 11

  Minnesota Swarm (2-1 H 0-1 A 2-0)

  Buffalo Bandits (2-2 H 1-0 A 1-2)

  Friday, January 30, 2015 - 6:30 pm CST
  First Niagara Center
  Buffalo, New York

  
  
• 01/27/15 - Stats Reviewed and Updated by NLL for Swarm 19 at Black Wolves 13 1/24/15
  • Miles Thompson - drop 1A finished with 2g 4a, gets one assist credited as shorthanded - SEASON 8g 6a
  • Logan Schuss - goal scored was shorthanded - SEASON 1g 5a
  • Andrew Suitor - add 1A finished with 1g 2a - SEASON 3g 4a
  • Zach Higgins - drop 1a finished with 0g 1a - SEASON 0g 1a
  • Callum Crawford - add 1A finished with 3g 5a - SEASON 8g 13a
  • Bench Minor for Illegal Sub for Swarm deleted at 4:56 of 2nd (served by Corbyn Tao). Swarm finish with 9 PIM.

• 01/24/15 - The Swarm Now Have A .... Winning Streak

  The Swarm keep the pressure on in the second half to give the Black Wolves their first ever defeat. The Swarm have now won two in a row for the first time since 2013 and are over .500 for the first time since 2012. Shayne Jackson led the Swarm with 4g 3a, Callum Crawford with 3g 4a, Jordan MacIntosh breaks out with 3g 2a, Miles Thompson just had 2g but assisted on five. Alex Crepinsek had a career high 2g including his first GWG. Logan Schuss, Dean Hill, Corbyn Tao, Andrew Suitor each had singles with Jordan Houtby scoring his first ever NLL and Swarm goal. Zach Higgins plays entire game with 41 saves on 54 shots. Swarm has tie breaker over Black Wolves and now are in second place in the East with a 2-1 record. They travel for the last of three straight road games to Buffalo next Friday to play the Bandits.

  	Minnesota Swarm (2-1 H 0-1 A 2-0)
  	New England Black Wolves (2-1 H 2-1 A 0-0)

• 01/22/15 - In Lacrosse We Trust - Minnesota's Goaltending Conundrum

• 01/21/15 - Preview - Swarm at Black Wolves

  The Minnesota Swarm finally turn eastward to begin division play as the visit the undefeated New England Black Wolves this Saturday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena. Looking to build off the momentum of the comeback victory over Edmonton, the Swarm look for consistency this weekend led by the team's leading scorer Callum Crawford. The suprising and new Black Wolves are led by former Swarm goaltender Evan Kirk, who is the leading goaltender in this year's NLL so far.

  Prediction: Minnesota Swarm 16 New England Black Wolves 12

  Minnesota Swarm (1-1 H 0-1 A 1-0)

  New England Black Wolves (2-0 H 2-0 A 0-0)

  Saturday, January 24, 2015 - 6:00 pm CST
  Mohegan Sun Arena
  Uncasville, Connecticut

  
  
• 01/15/15 - Lacrosse Magazine - NLL Notes: Schuss, Thompson Headline Big Week for Minnesota

  According to the article, Logan Schuss has worked out his employment issues to free him up for the rest of the Swarm season. I am sure Schuss will start to light it up in New England next weekend after showing a bit of rust last weekend. It is definitely a pleasant change of circumstances for the Swarm coaching staff to know the left side of the offense gets a high octane boost back for the rest of the season since it looked like Schuss may very well have missed the entire season at first glance.

  One wonders what will happen when Shane MacDonald is healthy again after missing last weekend's game due to illness. He is on the PUP list right now and if he is activated to the active roster someone will need to be deactivated. Depending on his coaching committments at Division II St. Leo's, Nick Cotter may be unavailable at times this year but if he is available, it would be tough to leave him off the game day dress roster. With a stacked left side with Schuss, Shayne Jackson and Dean Hill, S. MacDonald may not get back in the lineup as soon as he would like.

• 01/14/15 - Stats Reviewed and Updated by NLL for Swarm at Rush 1/10/15
  • Logan Schuss - Add 1A
  • Jordan MacIntosh - Add 1SHA
  • Shayne Jackson - Add 1A
  • Ethan O'Connor - Add 1SHG
  • Nick Cotter - Add 1ENG
  • Dean Hill - Drop 1A
  • Callum Crawford - Add 2A

• 01/14/15 - In Lacrosse We Trust - Crawford Blog: Swarm Get First Win

• 01/13/15 - The Circle - Native Community Welcomes New Lacrosse Star

• 01/10/15 - Higgins and Swarm Defense Flip-Flop Rush

  Zach Higgins comes in down 9-3 in the third quarter in relief of Brodie MacDonald and saves 15 of 16 shots to help lead the Swarm on a 11-1 run to overtake the Edmonton Rush 14-10. Miles Thompson and Callum Crawford had three goals each to lead the offense. The Swarm pressure defense suffocated the Rush in the second half and Jordan MacIntosh took control at the faceoff X. Other Swarm goals were Shayne Jackson & Andrew Suitor with two each and singles for MacIntosh and Corbyn Tao with Ethan O'Connor and Nick Cotter (in his first Swarm game) getting their first Swarm goals.

  	Minnesota Swarm (1-1 H 0-1 A 1-0)
  	Edmonton Rush (0-2 H 0-1 A 0-1)

• 01/10/15 - Logan Schuss Makes 2015 Swarm Debut

  The Minnesota Swarm announced this afternoon that Logan Schuss will be making his 2015 Swarm debut tonight in Edmonton against the Rush. Schuss missed training camp and last week's game due to being unavailable due to work but something changed, at least for this game. It is not known whether Schuss will be available for the rest of season or just when he is available. This game in Edmonton and on a Saturday makes this an easier trip for Schuss, so maybe games in Vancouver and Colorado later this season will showcase Schuss while games out East may be more hit and miss. Like I said, there is no word yet on how permanent this.

  Since Schuss was on the hold out list, he had to be activated to the active roster meaning somebody had to be deactivated. That player will be Shane MacDonald, the fifth overall pick in the 2014 NLL Entry Draft. He was placed on the PUP list due to being sick and did not make the trip to Edmonton. In MacDonald's NLL and Swarm debut, he had two assists.

  How sharp and ready to go will Schuss be? Will he fit in quickly or will he have to earn like Andrew Suitor said last month? We will find out tonight but Schuss' return is definitely great news for the team and their fans.

• 01/09/15 - Preview - Swarm at Rush

  Two winless teams meet up and one will become a first-time winner this Saturday as the Minnesota Swarm travel to Edmonton to play the Rush at Rexall Place at 8:00 pm central. Look for a low-scoring game as the Rush had the league's best defense last year and even in their loss last week they only gave up nine goals. This week for the Swarm to spoil the Rush's home opener they have to consistently score throughout the game which has not happened in the recent past against the Rush.

  Prediction: Minnesota Swarm 10 Edmonton Rush 9

  Minnesota Swarm (0-1 H 0-1 A 0-0)

  Edmonton Rush (0-1 H 0-0 A 0-1)

  Saturday, January 10, 2015 - 8:00 pm CST
  Rexall Place
  Edmonton, Alberta

• 01/08/15 - 120 Sports.com - Can the Rush Stop the Swarm?

• 01/06/15 - In Lacrosse We Trust - Crawford Blog: Swarm Season Begins

• 01/04/15 - Minneapolis Star Tribune - Sunday Q&A: Swarm rookie Miles Thompson

• 01/04/15 - Note - Don't Open With Colorado

  Last night at Ho-Chunk Nation Field at The Hive, the Minnesota Swarm were showing the 8,974 hometown fans a fine show, up 10-9 after three quarters. The issue is that your typical NLL game lasts four quarters which was good for the Colorado Mammoth as they outscored the Swarm 11-3 to finish the opener for both teams, 20-13. The 20-13 score was nearly the same score the Swarm lost to the Mammoth in the 2012 opener (20-14) for both teams in Denver. Shayne Jackson led the Swarm with three goals and four assists while Miles Thompson made his NLL and Swarm debut with three goals and one assist.

  	Minnesota Swarm (0-1 H 0-1 A 0-0)
  	Colorado Mammoth (1-0 H 0-0 A 1-0)

• 01/02/15 - 120 Sports - NLL Week: Minnesota Swarm

• 01/01/15 - In Lacrosse We Trust - NLL Season Preview: Minnesota Swarm