Cannons Vs. Rattlers: Cannons Lose First Game in Overtime

The perfect season is over. The Boston Cannons have lost a game. Tonight they fell to the Rochester Rattlers, 17-16 in overtime, to fall to 4-1. They are still in first place, a half a game ahead of Denver and Chesapeake.

Some good did come from this game, as Ryan Boyle broke the record for all time assists in Major League Lacrosse history. He scored two assists on the night.

Kevin Buchanan scored five goals to lead the Cannons in the loss. Paul Rabil also had a hat trick, as did Mike Stone, his fourth straight on the season.

Jordan Burke played the entire game in net and gave up seventeen goals while making fourteen saves. John Galloway was in net for Rochester, and he made seventeen saves while giving up fifteen goals.

The Rattlers saw three goals from Matt Streibel and Ned Crotty, and they got two from Jordan MacIntosh and Jay Card. Rookie Kevin Drew from Syracuse also had a goal.

The attendance was just over 2,000 for this game, but it was on national TV on the CBS Sports Network, a great game for the national crowd to see.

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Cannons Vs. Rattlers: Rematch Friday Night on National TV

After a week off from MLL action, tomorrow night the undefeated Boston Cannons will face off with the Rochester Rattlers. Last time these teams faced each other, it was opening day and the Cannons won 15-3.

The Rattlers are a different team now, with Ned Crotty, one of the best players in the entire league back in action. The Cannons roster is also bolstered, with Matt Poskay, Kevin Buchanan and Brad Ross playing.

In the last game between these teams, Ari Sussman had four goals to steal the show. His playing time is less with so many elite players back, but he remains on the roster at the attack position.

Joe Walters and Joel White are also back for the Rattlers after their NLL counter part, the Rochester Knighthawks, won the Champions Cup. They add a boost to the Rochester lineup in their first game back with the Rattlers.

Some other new faces are with the Rattlers from the college ranks, like Carter Bender from Hartford, Kevin Drew from Syracuse, Roy Lang from Virginia and Mike Manley from Duke.

Rochester is 1-2 on the season, defeating the Chesapeake Bayhawks and falling to the Ohio Machine in their schedule. This time they are facing the Cannons at home, a big advantage compared to having to play in Boston. It is their first home game of the season, so the Cannons will have to face the crowd as well.

Game time is 7pm tomorrow night and the game can be seen live on TV on the CBS Sports Network.

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Paul Rabil Of Boston Cannons Featured On Episode Of ESPN's Sport Science

Cannons Vs. Outlaws: Cannons Only Undefeated Team Left

It was a battle in which only one team could remain on top. That team would be the Boston Cannons, who took a 17-10 win over the Denver Outlaws to remain the only undefeated team left in Major League Lacrosse.

Paul Rabil had his break out game for the Cannons, picking up eight points and taking the league lead for points on the season. Eight different Cannons players scored. They also saw hat tricks from Kevin Buchanan and Mike Stone. It was Buchanan’s second straight hat trick and the third straight for Stone.

Bill McGlone, a former Outlaw, also had a goal for the Cannons in his first game against his old team. Matt Poskay also picked up two as he continues to rack up the points.

The Cannons offense looks like the most dangerous in lacrosse, and looking at who they have on the field, it’s not too surprising. Denver had looked like the next best team in the league, but they couldn’t even stay in the game against the Cannons.

Chris Eck beat Justin Pennington and Stephen Robarge in face offs 18-12. The Cannons scored once on their two power plays while the Outlaws were not able to take advantage of any of their four man up opportunities. Boston had 31 shots on net while the Outlaws had 24.

Jordan Burke also made fourteen saves on the night for Boston as he continues to be an elite goaltender. He gave up ten goals on the night but the Cannons still have the best goals against in the entire league.

The Cannons next play in Rochester against the Rattlers, but have this week off as does the entire league of Major League Lacrosse for Memorial Day Weekend.

For more on lacrosse, check out our blog In Lax We Trust. Also listen to the MLL Post Game Show here.

Cannons Vs Outlaws: Battle of Undefeated Teams

The Boston Cannons and Denver Outlaws play in the biggest game of this early MLL season tonight, as the only two undefeated teams in the league face off. The game will be at Denver, giving the Outlaws a possible advantage.

The Cannons have their entire roster back after missing some stars early on, and their offense has been even more dangerous with them back. Matt Poskay, Kevin Buchanan and Brad Ross have lit it up since being back. Tonight they will get defender Mitch Belisle back after the Minnsota Swarm NLL season came to an end.

Denver is an interesting team, as they looked like they were rebuilding in the off season. They traded star players like Max Seibald, Billy Bitter and Drew Westervelt. Yet thus far this season they have wins over the Charlotte Hounds, Hamilton Nationals and Long Island Lizards.

The Outlaws have seen great goaltending from Jesse Schwartzman, while on the other end for the Cannons, Jordan Burke has also been as great as he was last season. It is hard to say who has the goalie advantage.

While the Cannons offense has been dynamic with their full roster in place, it has been guys like Ari Sussman and Mike Stone that have put them over the edge this season. I had Stone as my break out player of the year, and he had a hat trick last game. He is one of the fastest players in Major League Lacrosse, be sure to watch him again in this game.

It’s a battle of undefeateds, but one of them has to go down. Two elite teams facing off in a very important early season game, who do you think wins? Vote on the poll below and also share your thoughts with us in the comments.

Mike Stone Plays Big Role with 2012 Cannons

When you think of the Boston Cannons, you think of Paul Rabil, Matt Poskay, Ryan Boyle, Jordan Burke, and other cogs in the lineup for the championship season. Who you don’t think of is Mike Stone.

Stone has seven goals in three games this season, including a hat trick against the Hamilton Nationals this past week. Last season he had five goals overall in six games. “I’m having a blast playing this year.” said Stone. “I came into the season motivated to contribute, and I decided that more than anything I was going to play as hard as I can and enjoy the experience. The camaraderie on our team is great, and it is a ton of fun getting together each week and competing.”

Behind the efforts of Stone and others, the Cannons are 3-0, and tied for the best record in Major League Lacrosse with the Denver Outlaws, who the Cannons hit the road to play this week. “Denver has a very talented team and is going to be a difficult test for us.” Stone explained. "I think the best thing that we can do is continue to play as we have the first 3 games this season.

“It has been important for us to get this season off to a strong start. We have been focused on not allowing last year’s success get in the way of our success this year, and we have been able to do that so far despite missing some valuable pieces of our roster.”

One thing that has helped Stone and the Cannons is the entire offensive unit being back. “I think we have put together a strong offensive group each week, even while some of our guys were out with NLL/coaching commitments. We had some young guys step up and do very well. With all of our offensive players back on the roster, we’re going to continue to play the way we have so far this year.”

What do the Cannons need to do to win in Denver this week? “Take care of the ball, be unselfish, and play together.”

Cannons Vs Nationals: Cannons Remain Undefeated

The rematch of the Major League Lacrosse championship had the same result, with the Boston Cannons coming out on top. This time Boston won 18-9, with most of their roster back in action. The Cannons are now 3-0 on the season, tied for first place with the Denver Outlaws.

Boston led for the entire game except for in the first period when Hamilton tied it at 1-1. They scored seven in the fourth quarter to wrap it up. Kevin Buchanan, Ryan Boyle and Mike Stone each had three goals a piece to lead the Cannons.

Paul Rabil, Matt Poskay and Chris Eck also all had goals. Eck, the face off man, actually had two break away goals. For the Nationals, their offense came from three goals by Kevin Crowley, two from Jeremy Thompson, and singles from Dan Deckelbaum, Rhys Duch, Brodie Merrill and Adam Jones.

Scott Rodgers and Brice Queener each played thirty minutes in net for the Nationals. Queener made seven saves and gave up ten goals, while Rodgers made seven and gave up eight. Jordan Burke played all sixty minutes in net for the Cannons. He made nine saves and allowed nine goals.

The Cannons broke their attendance record last night with 11,277 in their championship rematch. The Cannons lead the league with 53 goals, three ahead of second place Denver. They have the second least goals against, behind Rochester. I wouldn’t want to have to play this team.

Cannons Vs Nationals: MLL Championship Rematch Tonight

The Boston Cannons can stay perfect on the season if they can beat the Hamilton Nationals tonight in a rematch from the MLL Championship. Hamilton fell to the Denver Outlaws last week and will be looking to rebound.

Boston will have nearly a full crew tonight, with Kevin Buchanan, Brad Ross and Pat Heim all back in action. Hamilton will have back plenty as well, with guys like Brodie Merrill and Kevin Crowley. However, they will be without Stephen Keogh who is playing in the NLL playoffs.

The goalie matchup will be Jordan Burke against the tandem of Scott Rodgers and Brice Queener. Not much has changed for either team since the championship, with Boston only losing Max Quinzani and the Nats losing rookie of the year Jeremy Boltus.

Hamilton is a fast team that likes to run, but Boston has gotten better at the transition aspect with fast players like Mike Stone and Ari Sussman having bigger roles. Those kind of role players will be the key tonight against a tough team looking for their first win.

Game time is tonight at 7pm and can be watched on ESPN3.com. This should be one of the best games in the early season, with plenty of storylines in store. Will Boston get their third win? How does Hamilton react with so many players back?

Cannons Vs. Hounds: Cannons Dominate Hounds on Score Sheet, Face Offs

If you’re not sold on the Boston Cannons yet, I don’t know why. They have now blown out two teams in a row. Sure, both the Rochester Rattlers and Charlotte Hounds have issues with their face offs and defense, but how can you deny such a dominating team?

Matt Poskay scored the first goal of the game fr the Cannons in his return back to MLL action. Brian Farrell, Mike Stone and Ryan Boyle scored the other Cannons first quarter goals. Brian Carroll and Justin Smith had the Charlotte first period goals.

Four Charlotte players scored two goals. Jovan Miller, Billy Bitter, Stephen Berger and Justin Smith, who is a former Cannon. Matt Poskay had five goals to lead the Cannons in their win. Mike Stone also had the hat trick for them, while they got two goal performances out of Thomas Burke, Ari Sussman, Paul Rabil and Brian Farrell.

After having a historic start against Rochester, Jordan Burke was once again outstanding in the crease. He made 14 saves on 26 shots on goal to help the Cannons to a 2-0 start. In the face off circle, the Cannons dominated at a 23-13 winning percentage, once again reinforcing the need for a Charlotte face off man.

Joe Marra had to leave the game after tweaking a hand injury he suffered in training camp, and Adam Ghitelman came into the game. They each made eight saves in the loss.

The Cannons host the Hamilton Nationals next week, who they faced in the Championship last season, while the Hounds will host the Ohio Machine.

For more lacrosse, check out the Major League Lacrosse Post Game Show on BlogTalkRadio.com/LacrosseRadio, and In Lax We Trust.

Cannons vs Hounds: Boston Takes on the 0-1 Hounds

So much hype for a team that fell 21-11 to a rebuilding team. The Charlotte Hounds are looking for their first win of their existence this week, and it will be no easy task for the Hounds as they travel to face the defending MLL champions.

They will take on a Boston Cannons team who held the Rochester Rattlers to three goals last week, the least amount in MLL history. Charlotte will have most of their players this week, but will have to do some soul searching on the defensive, goaltending and transition end of the ball.

They lost most of their face offs in the loss last week, an achilles heel for them that they will need to address. It will be tough for their defense and goaltending against a strong Cannons offense that will be getting Matt Poskay and Brad Ross tonight.

Jordan Burke had the best performance of his career and it will be hard, nearly impossible, to repeat that tonight. He will face a Hounds offense with names like Matt Danowski, Stephen Berger and Jovan Miller. These are some legit players for an expansion team.

All in all, this is a game the Cannons can and should win if they play like they did last week. But Charlotte does have the ability to sneak up and win this game if their goaltending can improve. It all depends on if the Hounds can stop the Cannons from scoring. Despite a good Boston defense, Charlotte will score their goals. But can they stop anyone?

Jake Beebe Happy for Opportunity with Boston Cannons

The hero on Saturday night's 15-3 win over the Rochester Rattlers was Ari Sussman, but also scoring four goals was Jake Beebe. Beebe, a Springfield native, was playing in his first ever Major League Lacrosse game.

"It was an incredible feeling." said Beebe on Tuesday afternoon. "I was so happy to have the opputunity to play, and i didnt want to let it go to waste."

Beebe saw some time with the North American Lacrosse League's Boston Rockhoppers this winter, but other than that this was his first ever pro lacrosse game. He had been on the Cannons practice roster last season when they won the MLL Championship.

Beebe rose in a game in which the Cannons did not have their best players active. "That was a big win for us." he said. "We played very well as a team and our defense was outstanding. Holding any MLL team to 3 goals is almost unheard of."

The Cannons this week will be taking on the expansion team Charlotte Hounds at home. "Look to play again as a team, and push as much transition as possible. I think that we are a team that is capable of pushing transition and capatalixing off of the odd man situations."

For more pro lacrosse coverage, read our blog, In Lax We Trust.

Cannons 15, Rattlers 3: Ari Sussman, Jake Beebe Lead Cannons To Blow Out Win

The Cannons defeated the Rattlers in a laugher Saturday night, 15-3.

Cannons Vs. Rattlers: Cannons Lead Big Going into Last Quarter

The Boston Cannons continue dominating against the hapless Rochester Rattlers, 13-3. Ari Sussman has four goals for the Cannons in his first game against his former team, where he played in one game last season.

It’s a laugher in Boston, with Rochester not even showing up to play in this one. The story is Sussman and Jake Beebe, both playing in their first games in Boston in what will be their rookie season.

Check back later for a full recap.

For more Boston Cannons and Major League Lacrosse coverage, visit In Lax We Trust.

Cannons Vs. Rattlers: Cannons Dominating At The Half

The Boston Cannons have scored the last nine goals and now lead at the half over the Rochester Rattlers, 9-2. Jake Beebe, playing in his first career MLL game, has the hat trick in just one half.

This is a game where the Cannons are without Brad Ross and Matt Poskay due to them coaching in NCAA games, and they are still able to put up this kind of production. It’s impressive for a team that is also without some other top players due to NLL games.

Back up goalie Bruce Bickford came into the game for a while, but Jordan Burke is back in. Keep watching for updates after the third quarter.

For more Boston Cannons and Major League Lacrosse coverage, visit In Lax We Trust.

Cannons Vs. Ratters: Cannons Lead 4-2 After One

The Boston Cannons lead the Rochester Rattlers after one quarter, 4-2. The Rattlers took a quick two goal lead, but the Cannons would score the next four after a big save from Jordan Burke.

Scoring the goals were Jake Beebe, Mike Stone and new comer Ari Sussman. Ryan Boyle also reached his 200th career assist.

Watch for updates of the second quarter at halftime as the Cannons look to win their first game of 2012 in their first ever title defense.

For more Boston Cannons and Major League Lacrosse coverage, visit In Lax We Trust.

Cannons Vs. Rattlers: Boston Faces Rochester In Season Opener

The Boston Cannons will play their first game of 2012 inside Harvard Stadium at 7:00 p.m. EST on Saturday evening (TV: Comcast SportsNet New England) against the Rochester Rattlers, who will be without star scorer Ned Crotty.

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