By Craig Potter
Rochester loses to Denver, 12-10, as 7 teams battle for 4 playoff berths with 2 games left.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester Rattlers saw their Major League Lacrosse (MLL) playoff hopes fade as they no longer are in control of their own destiny.
The Rattlers lost to the Denver Outlaws, 12-10, on Thursday night at Wegmans Sports Complex at Aquinas Institute.
The New York Lizards lead the MLL standings with an 8-4 record, followed by the Chesapeake Bayhawks (8-5), Ohio Machine (7-5), Charlotte Hounds (7-5), Denver Outlaws (7-6), Rochester Rattlers (6-6), and Boston Cannons (6-6).
Only the top 4 teams will make the MLL playoffs as the league recently announced that the semifinals will be played in Minnesota and Connecticut.
The Rattlers travel to Florida on Saturday to take on the Launch, then close out the regular season next Thursday at Wegmans Sports Complex against the Atlanta Blaze.
The Rattlers started the game against the Outlaws with Ned Crotty, Jeremy Boltus, and Drew Simoneau all scoring in less than a minute in the first quarter for a 3-0 lead before the game was 3 minutes old.
However, Rochester went on an 18-minute scoring drought as the Outlaws forged ahead to stay, 6-3.
Ty Thompson broke the scoring drought for the Rattlers midway through the second quarter as Rochester trailed 6-4 at halftime.
Crotty tallied a power play goal 5:28 into the third quarter, then the teams traded goals with Crotty completing his hat trick. DEnver led 7-6, which was as close as the Rattlers would get to regaining the lead.
Crotty also had an assist as he paced Rochester with 4 points. Penfield native Kyle Denhoff finished with 3 points on 1 goal and 2 assists.
Boltus and Thompson each collected 2 goals as John Ranagan accounted for the other goal. He also picked up an assist for 2 points.
Rattlers goalie John Galloway made 13 saves. Denver keeper Jack Kelly recorded 15 saves as each team fired 25 shots on goal.
*NOTES — Jordan Wolf, who leads the Rattlers with 48 points, did not play due to the injury he sustained in Saturday’s game against the New York Lizards…Jordan MacIntosh, who has 15 points in 8 games this season, also did not play due to injury…Jesse King, who has 30 points in 9 games, was not in the lineup as well…Dhane Smith, who made his debut with the Rattlers on Saturday and had 1 goal and 1 assist in the fourth quarter, was unavailable for the game…In addition to the Rattlers/Florida game on Saturday, other matches include: Charlotte at Denver, New York at Boston, and Ohio at Atlanta…Former Rochester Knighthawks favorite John Grant Jr. was traded by Denver to the Ohio Machine earlier in the week.
Links
Rochester Rattlers – rochesterrattlers.com
Videos
Ty Thompson goal – https://youtu.be/XbBqQkPrJ3g