By Craig Potter
The NLL single-season scoring record holder scores his first 2 MLL points with Rochester.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The long anticipated debut of Dhane Smith in a Rochester Rattlers uniform finally happened on Saturday night, before the largest crowd to attend a Rattlers game in over 3 years, at the Wegmans Sports Complex at Aquinas Institute.
Smith’s first points came in the fourth quarter. He assisted on Jesse Kings’ power play goal that made the score 13-11 in favor of the New York Lizards.
Smith netted his first goal a few minutes later that cut the deficit to one at 14-13.
Rochester ended up taking the lead, 15-14, (after trailing 13-5 midway through the third quarter) on King’s third goal of the match, but the Rattlers lost in overtime, 16-15.
“I think Dhane did well,” said Rattlers coach Tim Soudan. “He did well enough dodging that they put a pole on him.
“It’s a different game for him so that were some aspects of the game that he looked a little bit confused…but that’s all stuff we can teach him. He scored a huge goal (to bring the Rattlers within one at 14-13) in the end.”
Soudan added, “I really like him. I think he’s got great vision. He’s a guy you have to pay attention to or else he’s going to run by you and score.”
How does the outdoor game differ from the indoor game?
“It’s a little bit slower down here and a little bit more room, so it’s a little bit tougher,” he said. “Lacrosse is lacrosse. I had to get into it, the first half was a little bit different, but the guys helped me out.
“It’s going to take a little bit of time getting used to it, but I’m looking forward to it.”
Smith, 24, 6-foot-3, 195 lbs., led the Buffalo Bandits to the Champion’s Cup final this past winter in the National Lacrosse League, and established a single-season scoring record with 137 points. He also set the Bandits’ single-season record for goals with 72 goals in his fourth season with Buffalo.
“It was unbelievable coaching, teammates; everybody helped me,” Smith said. “It was a long process. It was a tough season and we came up a little bit short (to the Saskatchewan Rush) at the end of the day, but it was an incredible season to go that far in.
“Luckily, I was able to have a great season as well.”
In 2015, the Kitchner, Ontario native scored 39 goals and had 68 assists for 107 points in the 18-game regular season.
Smith sustained a foot injury which kept him sidelined until Saturday. He joined the team three weeks ago as he began working himself into game condition and acclimating to the pro outdoor game.
3 games remaining
The Rattlers have 3 games remaining in the regular season, including Thursday night against the Denver Outlaws at the Wegmans Sports Complex. They travel to the Florida Launch on Saturday and close out the regular season at home on Thursday, Aug. 4, against the Atlanta Blaze.
Rochester (6-5) is in a dog-fight with the Chesapeake Bayhawks (8-4), Charlotte Hounds and New York Lizards, both at 7-4, and the Ohio Machine (7-5) for one of the the four playoff berths.
“We’re in the mix,” Soudan said.
The Rattlers lost Jordan Wolf to a leg injury in the second quarter. His status for the remainder of the season was not immediately known.
The NLL recently announced that the semifinal games will be played in Minnesota and Connecticut.
Links
Rochester Rattlers – rochesterrattlers.com
Videos
Dhane Smith goal – https://youtu.be/2gbLZocKunY
Dhane Smith interview – https://youtu.be/iAv-Fep577U
Jeremy Boltus goal – https://youtu.be/S7F5-HnRTTU
John Ranagan goal – https://youtu.be/1AEOu78F3eQ
Jesse King goal – https://youtu.be/-H6iGcb_JN0
Coach Tim Soudan interview – https://youtu.be/pIPWT0ooiU0