2022-23 NLL ‘Pickems – Week 12

All season long the All Lacrosse All The Time Crew will put together their picks for the upcoming week of NLL games.

Week Eleven Totals:

Shawn…………………4-2
Ryan……………………3-3
“Muffler” Mike…….4-2
Gary…………………….5-1

Year to Date:

Gary…………………..41-19
Shawn……………….39-21
Ryan………………….34-26
“Muffler” Mike…..30-30

Week Twelve:

“Muffler” Mike Kostiuk:

CGY @ VAN

Calgary. I spent most of the first half of the season underestimating the Roughnecks. No more.

SASK @ SD

San Diego. Lots of star power here – the Seals hang on and put the Rush in a more difficult situation for their playoff push

GA @ TOR

Toronto. The Swarm will make it interesting once again but will remain winless.

LV @ ALB

Las Vegas. Its no secret that Albany struggles at home. The Desert Dogs put a serious damper on the FireWolves’ postseason hopes.

PHI @ BUF

Buffalo. With or without Josh Byrne, the Bandits are the class of the East and have too much for an up and down Philly team to handle.

COL @ PCLC

Panther City. Next three weeks could be considered must-wins for PC, as they determine Divisional tiebreakers.

NY @ HFX

Halifax. At stake: a chance to create a clear divide between contenders and pretenders in the East, and to keep your team above that divide. No pressure, Thunderbirds…

Shawn Slaght:

Calgary vs Vancouver

Pick – Calgary

Probably the easiest pick of the week. Calgary is absolutely rolling right now and they don’t look like they are slowing down. The acquisition of Josh Currier was brilliant. Vancouver is starting to show some life, but really they are playing for next year.

Saskatchewan vs San Diego

Pick – Saskatchewan

I’m going with the underdog because the Rush have to be seething for two reasons: 1) they cannot be happy with their lacklustre performance in Calgary and 2) the overtime loss the last time these two teams met has got to be eating at them. The Seals have question marks in goal and I think the Rush’s offence is going to have a good night.

Georgia vs Toronto

Pick – Toronto

I hate this pick for the fact that I think we are seeing Georgia improve each and every game despite being winless. They’ll get in the win column sooner rather than later, but not again the juggernaut that is the Toronto Rock.

Las Vegas vs Albany

Pick – Albany

These are two teams that are hard to get a beat on. Albany has been painfully inconsistent. Some games they look great, some games they look horrible. Las Vegas continues to improve, but they are still going through the growing pains of being an expansion squad.

Philadelphia vs Buffalo

Pick – Buffalo

Picking up Mitch Jones was huge for the Wings and really solidified the left side of that offence. The question is can they keep that momentum going. You know what your getting in Buffalo. They are a contender night in and night out.

Colorado vs Panther City

Pick – Panther City

In any other circumstances I’d be going with the Mammoth, but I think the injury bug is catching up to them. Losing Joey Cupido for the season really limits their transition game. They are ripe for the picking for Panther City.

New York vs Halifax

Pick – New York

How the mighty have fallen. After losing their last two games, Halifax is reeling. I’m liking what I’m seeing out of New York recently. Handing the team over to Jeff Teat is paying dividends for the Riptide.

Gary Groob:

Calgary vs. Vancouver

Calgary wins.

Calgary is playing for the now, while Vancouver is now playing for the future.  The Roughnecks are one of the hottest teams in the league.  This shouldn’t stay close for very long.

Saskatchewan vs. San Diego

San Diego wins.

This is a game I have had circled on my schedule for some time. I really want to see what this Seals team is made of, and the Rush are a good team that could easily pull off an upset. Prove you deserve the adjulations, San Diego!

Georgia vs. Toronto

Toronto wins.

Sometimes a close call is all a team needs to snap it out of a funk. The last meeting between these two teams was an eyelash away from being a Swarm victory, and maybe it should’ve been. When Toronto uses all it’s weapons, there are very few teams that can keep up, but if they continue to shoot from the outside only, we WILL be talking about the Swarm upset of Toronto.

Las Vegas vs. Albany

Albany wins.

The FireWolves have had a really rough year. Look for Doug Jamieson to pull out all the stops in net. This will be an exciting game that the home fans will finally have something to cheer for!

Philadelphia vs. Buffalo

Buffalo wins.

The Bandits have so many weapons AND Matt Vinc in net! Philadelphia has been inconsistent, as has their goaltending. The only way Philly pulls this game out is to have a flawless performance.

Colorado vs. PCLC

Panther City wins.

I love the make-up of this Panther City team!  There is a crazy amount of young talent, with solid goaltending.  What can hurt the team is a younger defense prone to occasional lapses.  Colorado will take advantage of any opportunities afforded to them.

New York vs. Halifax

Halifax wins.

This is a must win for Halifax to keep themselves in the middle of the playoff picture. Although they have had some inconsistent performances, the talent is still there. Jeff Teat will get his points, but the Thunderbirds need to make sure no one else is gathering points as well.

Ryan McMichael:

Calgary vs Vancouver

Calgary

Saskatchewan vs. San Diego

San Diego

Georgia vs. Toronto

Toronto

Las Vegas vs. Albany

Las Vegas

Philadelphia vs. Buffalo

Buffalo

Colorado vs. PCLC

Colorado

New York vs. Halifax

Halifax

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