Changes to Schedule Made

Please check the Schedule for updates and changes.  Please note that we have two Saturday game dates at UW-Superior.  Also note that one of those Saturday's, February 23 has games at 10:00 and 11:00 a.m. and no middle school games.  There are also two make-up games for the High School+ Division games that were postponed due to weather.  Any additional weather related events will likely result in cancellation as right now we have no other dates available for turf or fieldhouse time.  Let's hope we don't have any more winter storms on gameday.

Again, please check the schedule regularly.

Week 2 Features All Teams in Action

Bryce Holak #4, sniping a shot top shelf

Teams didn't have a winter storm to deal with in Week 2 and we had a full slate of games set for Sunday.  Games were more competitive and scoring was lower in Week 2.

Our first game saw a rematch between two middle school division teams, MS1 and MS2.  This game turned out to be much closer as each team had a more complete roster.  MS2 once again came out on top by a much closer score of 14-8.  MS2 was once again led by Caden Erickson with 4 goals and Andrew Greene with 3 goals.  Wyatt Carlson, Kyle Gates, and 6th grader Sam Starzecki all chipped in with 2 goals apiece.  Goalie Nick Madden even got in on the action scoring on an exciting coast-to-coast goal.  MS1 was led by Eamonn Mackinaw, the only 8th grader playing for the team, who tallied 4 goals.  Jackson Hill put in 2 goals, while Will Smyth and Clay Simmons each added one goal apiece.  High schooler Seamus Mackinaw nicely volunteered to fill in at goalie for MS1 playing goalie with an attack stick and still making several amazing saves.  MS1, the only team composed almost entirely of 6th graders, is showing marked improvement in only the second game of the season.

The Grizzlies Nic Zerfas from Grand Rapids winning a faceoff

In the second game of the night, we had a matchup of 2 teams who didn't play on opening night.  The Flying Dutchmen from Grand Rapids flew down to Duluth and tallied an 8-5 victory over The Saints, a team composed of several St. Scholastica students along with a number of free agent players from Duluth area high schools.  The Dutchmen were led by Jarett Rubesh with 3 goals, Trevor Hopkins and Christian Higginbotham each with 2 goals, and Carl Kaase with one goal and 2 assists.  Grant Gunderson stopped 8 shots.  For the Saints, Blaise Parrott led the way with 3 goals while Blake Cedarleaf and Matthew Maile added a goal apiece.  Goalie Dylan Isola stopped 7 shots.

Game 3 featured the other two teams that couldn't play on opening night due to the weather.  Brainerd travelled all the way over to Duluth to take on the Grand Rapids based Grizzlies.  In another close game, the Grizzlies prevailed with an 11-8 win.  Brad Sandeen led the Grizzlies with 4 goals while Chase Hunter added 2 goals and an assist, Nic Zerfas and Jackson Schwartz tallied 2 goals apiece and Kirk Watson added a goal.  Zack Brist chipped in with an assist.  For Brainerd, three players led a balanced attack with 2 goals apiece - Dustin Aune, Bodin Nichols and Mitchell Kalenberg.  Benjamin Brodmarkle and John McGillis each added a goal.  Nichols, Brodmarkle and Kalenberg also contributed with an assist each and Jason Andrew stopped 7 shots in goal.

Beau Holappa of the Jaxx looking to pass while Treven Smalley defends

Game 4 was the highest scoring affair of the night, with the high-flying Jaxx team taking on ReLaxin, a team composed of several UMD students and including 3 current UMD players filling in for the night.  The Jaxx fell in a closely contested matchup that saw them lead for much of the game before falling by a score of 16-13.  For ReLaxin, two of the UMD players tallied a total of 6 goals and the UMD goalie stopped 9 shots.  Mike Feldstein led the way for ReLaxin with 4 goals and an assist, while Alex Theimann put in 3 goals and Shayne Thomas and Adam Herold-Plakut each scored one.  Cooper Carlson led the way for the Jaxx with 3 goals and an assist, while a balanced attack saw Bryce Holak tally 2 goals and 2 assists, Dan O' Connell score 2 goals and add an assist, Jesse Larson add 2 goals and an assist, Aaron Kilpo tally 2 goals, and Ian Mooers and Beau Holappa chip in with a goal apiece.  Goalie Noah Schramm played well, stopping 8 shots on the night.

In the final game of the night, the old guys team of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly took on The Illuninati.  In the end, The Uglies picked up their first win of the season 13-8 over The Illuminati.  Once again old man Holak stepped up with 3 goals while sharpshooter Scott Wishart, head coach of the Duluth Chargers team, put in 3 beautiful goals with 2 assists.  Frank Rush and Alex Rogers, also coaches for the Chargers, chipped in with 2 goals and an assist and 1 goal and 2 assists respectively.  Big Daddy Al Holappa, father of Jaxx player Beau, scorched a burner top shelf for his first career goal - congrats Big Daddy Al!  Jay Zierden, father of Jaxx player Zack, played stellar defense all night with several rushes upfield, narrowly missing his first career goal as well.  Having never played lacrosse before, he's a natural with the long pole.  Of course, Brother Pat O' Connell, father of Jaxx player Dan, once again stood tall in goal for the Uglies stopping 8 shots and now leads the league in saves.

At the end of week 2, there is not a team in the league with more than 1 win on the season.  It looks like Season II of the NILL might go down to the wire in 2013.  Stay tuned for all of the action!

Check out our Stats page for updated statistics and our Photos and Video page for photos and a cool GoPro video of Week 2 action.

Standings, Scores, Stats, Photos and Videos Updated from Week 2

Scores and standings, stats, photos and videos have been updated from week 2 of season 2. Check out the cool GoPro video that Graham Gallop put together. Nice shot of him getting decked at 0:24. Keep the videos coming and we'll post them!

Scores and Stats Have Been Updated

Scores and Stats have been updated after week 1.

NILL Opening Night Disrupted By Storm

The 2012-2013 NILL season opener was disrupted by the first major winter storm of the season.  Due to the storm, 3 games were cancelled and will be re-scheduled.

The games that were played saw some high scoring and relatively lopsided affairs.  Everyone had fun though and we're looking forward to our games coming up this Friday.

The Illuninati were the high scorers of the night putting up 22 goals and were led by Britton Harris with 8, Frank Napoli with 5 and Cooper Carlson with 4 goals and 2 assists in their 22-12 win over ReLaxin.  ReLaxin was led my Shayne Thomas with 4 goals.  Eli Caliendo stopped 8 shots for the Illuninati.

In the featured match-up of the night, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly team made up primarily of the Fathers of many of the Jaxx players, fell ignominiously to the Jaxx team 18-7.  Missing a couple of the coaches (who somehow didn't get the message about the game time change) that provide much of the teams firepower, the Uglies had to rely on old man Holak for 3 goals and Jeff Wright with 2 goals along with a couple goals from fill in players.  The Jaxx were led by Jesse Larson with 5 goals, Zack Zierden with 4 goals and Bryce Holak and Cooper Carlson with 3 goals each.  Pat O'Connell stood tall in the net with his cowboy hat hanging over his shoulder, stopping 9 shots on the night while Noah Schramm made 7 saves.

In the only Middle School game of the night, MS1 took on MS2.  With a team made up entirely of 6th graders, MS1 fell to a MS2 team dominated by 7th and 8th graders by a 21-10 score.  While the score was lopsided, both teams played well with each team finding some good looks and scoring some nice goals.  MS2 was led by 8th graders Caden Erickson and Wyatt Carlson with 8 and 6 goals respectively.  They also got 3 goals from Andrew Green and 2 goals from Nick Madden.  MS1 was led by 6th grader Jackson Hill with 4 goals and 6th grader James Holak with 3 goals.  Clay Simmons, Hans Larson, and Max Berns all chipped in with 1 goal each.

Looking forward to this Friday when all of our High School+ Division teams will be in action.

Today's Games for Out of Town Teams Cancelled

With today's winter storm, unfortunately we will be CANCELLING ALL GAMES INVOLVING OUT OF TOWN TEAMS.

The games involving MS3 vs. MS1, St. Scholastica vs. Brainerd and Flying Dutchmen vs. Grand Rapids2 will be cancelled.

At the present time, we are planning to go ahead with our games involving local teams.  However, to try to get people home sooner, WE WILL BE MOVING ALL GAMES UP into the slots of the games that were cancelled.

NEW STORM AFFECTED SCHEDULE FOR DECEMBER 9:

3:00 p.m.  MS1 vs. MS2
4:00 p.m.  The Good, The Bad and The Ugly vs. Jaxx
5:00 p.m.  The Illuminati vs. ReLaxin
6:00 p.m.  cancelled
7:00 p.m.  cancelled
8:00 p.m.  cancelled

The game betweem MS1 and MS2 will be at the same time.  The game between The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Jaxx will be moved from 7:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.  The game between The Illuminati and ReLaxin is moved from 8:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.  Please note these time changes and let your teammates know if they are not on this e-mail list. 

If we can still get 3 of our games in today, it will make rescheduling much easier.  Indoor time is at a premium in Duluth.

Stay tuned if anything changes for local teams.  I will send out another e-mail if anything changes.

NILL Opening Day is Here!

Opening day for the 2012-2013 season of the NILL is here!  Below is the schedule for our opening day games.  Be on the lookout for a detailed e-mail addressing opening day information.  Hopefully the heavy snow will hold off and teams can travel safely to Duluth for opening day of NILL Season II!

2012-2013 NILL Schedule Released!

Go to our Schedule Page to see the 2012-2013 NILL schedule. 

Online Payment Page

If you're already registered, and would just like to make an online payment go to the Payment Page - http://northcoastindoorlax.blogspot.com/p/online-payment.html

2012-2013 NILL Game Dates

2012-2013 NILL Game Dates:

Game 1 - Sunday December 9
Game 2 - Friday December 14
(off for holidays)
Games 3 & 4 - Sunday January 6 (doubleheaders)
Game 5 - Friday January 11
Games 6 & 7 - Sunday January 13 (doubelheaders)
Game 8 - Sunday January 27 - @ UW-Superior Fieldhouse (tentative)
Game 9 - Friday February 8
Game 10 - Sunday February 24 - @ UW-Superior Fieldhouse (tentative)
Game 11 - Sunday March 3 - @ UW-Superior Fieldhouse (tentative)
Game 12 - Sunday March 10 - @ UW-Superior Fieldhouse (tentative)
Playoffs - Sunday March 17

Basic League Details

What: NorthCoast Indoor Lacrosse League - 7 v.7 indoor lacrosse
Where: Pioneer Park at the DECC - Duluth, MN
When: League play starts Sunday December 9, 2012
Who: High School+ Division for all experienced lacrosse players 9th grade and up and Middle School Division for players 5-8 grade.
Cost: $85 registration fee - covers turf time, pinnie/jersey, game balls and goalie equipment
Registration: Go to online Registration page

Registration Page Has Been Updated

Registration for the 2012-2013 NILL season is now open!  Go online and register now.  Or, you can print off the form and send along with a check.

2012-2013 NILL Season to Begin December 9

The 2012-2013 NILL season in scheduled to begin December 9. Please stay tuned for updated registration information and league schedule. Start getting your teams together now!

2012 NILL Playoff Photos Finally Posted

Finally posted the 2012 Playoff photos.  They've been posted on our Facebook page, just forgot to get them posted here.  Still planning to do a little video as well.  Good luck to everyone in your Spring seasons!

2012 NILL Champions Crowned

The 2012 NorthCoast Indoor Lacrosse League wrapped up last Sunday with an upset, some exciting play and an undefeated champion. It was a great way to finish a fun season of lacrosse in northern Minnesota.

Both Team 1 - Honey Badgers and Team 3 - Wieczorek moved on in the first round of the playoffs as the result of forfeits. Unfortunately, the Grand Rapids teams could not make the trip down due to several players missing because of vacation, injury or other reasons. Though they were unable to field teams for the final week of play, their presence in the league this season made the NILL that much better and more fun to play.

The first game of round two pitted the young and feisty Honey Badgers (the Honey Badgers just didn't care, they wanted to play some lacrosse, Honey Badger don't give a sh**! :-) team against the undefeated powerhouse Free Agents who secured the #1 seed in the tournament. The Honey Badgers scored early and played with the Free Agents for awhile until the more experienced team finally warmed up. Once warm, the Free Agents put on a clinic, easily outpacing the Honey Badgers and moving on to the championship game with a convincing 17-7 victory.

Scott Wishart led the way for the Free Agents with 6 goals and an assist.  Bobby Moore scored 4 goals and added an assist, Brandon Nispel and Alex Rogers each had 3 goals and an assist, Xander Hasan added a goal and Brandon Gilseth had an assist for the Free Agents in game 1.

For the Honey Badgers, who saw their season end with the loss, Bryce Holak led the way with 2 goals and an assist, Zack Zierden added two goals, and Dan O'Connell, Jesse Larson and Andy Holak all added a goal.

2012 regular season scoring leader Matt Reeves (L)

Game 2 was the best game of the night, providing an unexpected upset.  Team 3 - Wieczorek played extremely well in a 10-9 upset of #2 seeded Team 2 - Halver.  Team 3 jumped out to an early lead behind goals from Brody Carlson and Silas Wieczorek.  Team 2 kept it close, but by late in the second half, the score was 10-6 in favor of Team 3.  In the last few minutes of the game, Team 2 battled back to cut the lead to one, at 10-9.  One last possession for Team 2 but it was too late and the clock ticked down to 0:00.  The comeback fell just short, and Team 3 moved on to the championship game to face the undefeated Free Agents.

Team 3 was led by Brody Carlson and his 4 goals and one assist.  In support, Silas Wieczorek, Jimmy Bendas and Josh Beery each scored 2 goals apiece.  Team 2 was led by Zach Galo with 3 goals, Steven Halver with 2 goals and an assist, Mitch Smerz and Britton Harris with 2 goals each, and Tyler Kolquist with 2 assists.

2012 NILL Champions - Free Agents

In the first NILL Championship game the Free Agents (8-0) matched up against Team 3 - Wieczorek (3-4-1), coming off a very well played game and looking good.  The final started somewhat sluggishly for each team, but Team 3 played a better first half and took a 5-4 lead into halftime.  In the second half, the Free Agents wore down Team 3 and started to stretch the lead.  With a lead of 7 at one point in the second half and several unanswered goals for the Free Agents, Team 3 got hot near the end, but it was too late and the Free Agents were crowned the first NILL champions with a 14-9 victory over Team 3.

Brandon Nispel led the way in the championship game with 4 goals.  Scott Wishart added 3 goals and 5 assists, Brandon Gilseth had 2 goals and 2 assists, Bobby Moore had a goal and an assist, and Xander Hasan, Mike Feldstein, Alex Rogers, and Matt Kampmeyer each scored a goal for the champs.

NILL Runners Up - Team 3 - Wieczorek

Brody Carlson again led Team 3 with 3 goals and 2 assists while Jimmy Bendas added 2 goals and 3 assists, Silas Wieczorek scored a goal and added an assist, and Kyle Limoseth, Josh Beery and Ian Wieczorek all added a goal.

It was a great first season for the NILL with excellent lacrosse, clean play for the most part and clear improvement from the first game to the last for the high school players.  If the turf is again available for next season, we would like to start the league in December and add a couple games to the season.  Also, we are considering a summer 7 v.7 league with a very similar format to the indoor league, but played outdoors.  8-10 game season plus playoffs, one game per week.  Let me know if you'd be interested in a summer league like this.  Thanks to all who participated!

NILL Playoff Notes

We're heading into our playoff weekend this Sunday and we have notes regarding our playoff schedule and format. 

Please note the game times for our first playoff games on Sunday.  Playoff game one between #6 seed Team 5 and #3 seed Team 3 is at 10:00 a.m. and the second game between #5 seed Team 4 and #4 seed Team 1 is at 11:00 a.m.  
 Additional playoff notes:

For playoffs, you will not be able to add new fill in players to your roster.  The rules state that you may add fill-in players permanently to your roster by the 4th game of the season.  Most importantly, you will not be allowed to have fill-in players from other NILL teams participate on your team during the playoffs.  Only players currently listed on your team will be allowed to participate on your team during the playoffs.

IF you have a player that suffered a season ending injury that occurred AFTER the 4th game of the season, you may add another player to your roster for the playoffs.  This issue has come up for the Honey Badgers.  The regular Honey Badgers goalie suffered a torn ACL and will not be able to play during the playoffs.  The Honey Badgers would like to add one of the current players Fathers to play goalie for the playoffs.  He has never played lacrosse or goalie in his life but gave it a try last week and had a lot of fun.  If anyone has an objection to the addition of this emergency goalie due to a season ending injury to the regular goalie, please let me know.

Also, for the playoffs, overtime rules are a bit different.  During league playoffs, if after one 3 minute overtime period neither team scores during the sudden victory overtime, a sudden victory Braveheart will be played until the game is decided. First team that scores during the Braveheart period, wins. In Braveheart, each team will have one field player and one goalie.

Let's get ready for the playoffs and the final games of the NILL season.

IMPORTANT - Playoff Schedule Change

Please note, there is an important schedule change for our early playoff games on Sunday.  Our first game #6 seed Team 5 taking on #3 seed Team 3 is at 10:00 a.m. and #5 seed Team 4 taking on #4 seed Team 1 at 11:00 a.m.  These game times are an hour earlier than reported on our website previously.

Exciting Games Close out First NILL Regular Season

Our last weekend of games proved to be one of the most exciting of the inaugural NILL season.  We had our first tie of the season and more than one game decided by one goal.

In our first game of the night, Team 3 - Wieczorek and Team 4 - Grand Rapids battled to a 13-13 tie.  Three goals were scored, one to tie the game, one to give Team 3 the lead and another to tie it back up by Team 4, within the span of several seconds to end the game.  Neither team could tally a goal in the overtime period and the game ended in the first tie of the season.  It was an exciting back and forth game.

Brody Carlson led the way for Team 3, keeping them in the game with 6 goals.  He finished the night with 9 goals.  Kyle Limoseth added 4 goals and an assist on the night, while Ian Wieczorek scored 3 goals and added 2 assists, Silas Wieczorek scored 2 goals, Kyle Hansen had 1 goal and 2 assists, Josh Beery scored 1 goal and added 1 assist,  and Jimmy Bendas put in one goal.  Goalie T.J. Vallie stopped 15 shots on the night.

For Team 4 - Grand Rapids, Joey Keating had the hot hand in game one tallying 5 goals and finishing with 6 on the night while contributing an assist.  Tanner Kemppainen scored 4 goals on the night, Ben Dunnell added 3 goals and an assist, Jackson Schwartz scored 2 goals, Zach Brist added 2 goals and Doug Jensen contributed a goal.  Goalie Tyler Altringer made 13 saves on the night.

Game 2 saw the young Honey Badgers team pick up the close win by a 7-5 score over Team 5 - Grand Rapids.   This was another exciting back and forth game.  The Honey Badgers, despite missing star goaltender Mike Vuchetich, out for the season with a torn ACL, finished the day with two wins.  In game 1, old man Andy Holak led the way with 3 goals.  On the day, Dan O'Connell led the team with 5 goals and 2 assists, Bryce Holak finished with 4 goals and 1 assist, Zack Zierden led the team in game 2 and finished the day with 4 goals, and Jesse Larson and Beau Holappa each contributed an assist and some nifty passing.  On defense, Alex Hnatko and August Cadotte led the way with 3 caused turnovers each and 7 and 6 ground balls respectively.  It should be noted that the Honey Badgers finished the season with the second fewest goals given up in the league due in large part to their young defenseman and stellar goalie play.

Honey Badger emergency goalie Pat O'Connell

Speaking of goalies, the Honey Badgers finished the night with a new tender in the cage.  Pat O'Connell, Father of Dan, manned the goal for the Honey Badgers in game 2 and stopped 10 shots with some great saves.  The elder O'Connell, having never played lacrosse or goalie in his life, played extremely well and will be serving as the Honey Badgers emergency goalie in the playoffs due to the season ending injury to team goalie Mike Vuchetich.

Team 5 - Grand Rapids was led by sharpshooter Christian Higginbotham who netted 4 goals.  Zach Beyer and Nick Rae each added 3 goals and Kirk Watson and Brad Sandeen also each added a goal.  Kirk Watson continued his strong play on defense with 4 caused turnovers and picked up 6 ground balls.  Team 5's goalie played well finishing the night with 12 saves.

In one of the more exciting games of the night our two top teams faced off in game three and it came down to one goal with Team 6 - Free Agents prevailing by a score of 16-15 over Team 2 - Halver.  The Free Agents led the entire way, but Team 2 kept cutting the lead and keeping it close behind goals from Matt Reeves who led all scorers in the game with 7.  The Free Agents were led by Brandon Nispel who finished with 4 goals and 1 assist in the game.  On the day, the Free Agents were led in scoring by Brandon Gilseth who put in 6 goals and added 7 assists, while Bobby Moore scored 4 goals and added 7 assists, Scott Wishart added 4 goals and 3 assists, Steve Lokken scored 4 goals and contributed 2 assists, Alex Rogers added 2 goals, Matt Koppang scored a goal and had an assist and Gage Kuhlmey scored 1 goal.  The defense was led by strong play from both Matt Kampmeyer and Matt Koppang who each had 7 caused turnovers on the day.  The Free Agents finished with the #1 scoring defense, giving up the fewest goals in the league.  They also led the league in scoring, finishing just one goal ahead of high scoring Team 2 - Halver.

For Team 2 - Halver, NILL scoring leader Matt Reeves tallied 10 goals on the day and added 2 assists, while Cooper Carlson added 4 goals and an assist, Steven Halver scored 3 goals and added 2 assists, Zach Galo scored 2 goals and added an assist, Britton Harris put in 1 goal and contributed 4 assists with some nice passing, and Tyler Kolquist and Evan Jamar each added a goal and an assist.  Seamus Mackinaw led the defense with 8 caused turnovers.

Game 4 between Team 2 and Team 5 may have been one of the best of the night with both teams battling the entire game.  Despite some heated play which will need to be toned down next week, the game was well played and close with Team 2 coming out ahead by one goal by a score of 9-8.  Game 5 saw the Honey Badgers prevail over Team 4 in a game that was much closer than the score of 10-6 would indicate.  The final game of the night saw the Free Agents take a close 11-8 win over Team 3 who played very well.

It was a fun night of lacrosse.  Next week we start our playoffs with #6 seed Team 5 taking on #3 seed Team 3 at 10:00 a.m. and #5 seed Team 4 taking on #4 seed Team 1 at 11:00 a.m..  Winners of those games will take on #1 seeded Team 6 and #2 seeded Team 2 at 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. respectively.  Our championship game will be played at 6:00 p.m.  More information on playoffs will be in a separate post.

Back in Action Doubleheader Sunday Highlights

It was another great night of lacrosse last Sunday for our second week of doubleheader action.  Finally back from a long layoff due to DECC scheduling conflicts and an unanticipated cancellation of games the previous week caused by another DECC conflict, it was a long night with the last game ending at about 10:15 p.m. with a shortened 2nd half of only 17:00 minutes.  Due to the previous weeks games being canceled, next weeks slate of games will also be doubleheaders.

Team 6 - Free Agents remained undefeated despite missing several of their players.  With a solid corps of fill-in players, the Free Agents were able to defeat Team 1 - Honey Badgers and Team 5 - Grand Rapids.  In the first game, the young Honey Badgers kept it close at the start behind a hot hand by scoring star Dan O' Connell (7 goals in game 1) before faltering.  Final score 16-11 Free Agents.  In game 2, a 19-9 win over Team 5, Scott Wishart had a stellar game dishing to his teammates and coming up with 7 assists.  Wishart led the Free Agents with 8 goals and 11 assists on the day while Brandon Gilseth added 6 goals and 2 assists, Alex Rogers put 5 goals in the net while contributing 2 assists and Gage Kuhlmey added a goal and an assist.  The Free Agents are now 6-0 on the season.

Also winning both their games on the day, Team 2 - Halver outscored Team 3 - Wieczorek 21-15 in game 1 and came out ahead of Team 4 - Grand Rapids in game 2 by a score of 18-15.  Tyler Kolquist was the scoring leader in game one with 7 goals and an assist while Matt Reeves led the way in game 2, pouring in 9 goals and adding 2 assists.  For the day, Matt Reeves scored 14 goals and added 4 assists.  Steve Halver added 10 goals and 7 assists for a total of 17 points on the day, while Kolquist tallied 8 goals and 2 assists, Cooper Carlson scored 3 goals and hustled his way to 7 ground balls, Britton Harris scored 2 goals and added 6 assists and Zach Galo added 2 goals and 4 assists.  Seamus Mackinaw led the defense with 9 caused turnovers and 5 ground balls.

In the anticipated battle of Grand Rapids teams, Team 4 came out ahead 9-4.  Team 4 would finish the day 1-1.  Joey Keating was the scoring star for Team 4, leading all NILL scorers on the day with 15 goals, 10 coming in their second game of the day against Team 2.  Doug Jensen would add 3 goals and 2 assists on the day, while Tanner Kemppainen added 3 goals and 1 assist, Jackson Schwartz scored 2 goals and added 1 assist and Jake Grandia added 1 goal.  Schwartz led the defense with 4 caused turnovers and Graham Gallop had 3 caused turnovers and 9 ground balls.

Team 3 - Wiezcorek, missing all of their Wieczorek's (4 in all), would finish the day with a 1-1 record, losing to Team 2 in game 1 and beating the Honey Badgers in game 2.  Brody Carlson led the way in game 1, scoring 9 goals.  He would finish the day with 13 goals and 1 assist.  Jimmy Bendas added 4 goals and 2 assists while Kyle Limoseth scored 3 goals and added 2 assists, Kyle Hansen added 1 goal and 2 assists and Mike Nowicki scored a goal.  Nowicki led the defense with 3 caused turnovers.

Team 1 - Honey Badgers dropped both games but kept them close and continued to play well.  Game 2 had a shortened second half due to the late night.  Dan O'Connell poured in 7 goals in game one and led the Honey Badgers on the day with 7 goals and 1 assist.  Bryce Holak chipped in with 4 goals and 2 assists, Andy Holak scored 4 goals and added an assist, Zack Zierden added 3 goals and picked up 7 ground balls and Beau Holappa added a goal.  Alex Hnatko and August Cadotte each had 2 caused turnovers.

Team 5 - Grand Rapids also dropped both games but came back strong in game 2 with 9 goals against an unbeaten Free Agents team.  Christian Higginbotham scored all of Team 5's goals in game one and finished the day with 6 goals.  Brad Sandeen and Skylar Jensen chipped in with 2 goals on the day and Nick Rae added an assist.  Kirk Watson led the defense with 4 caused turnovers and scooped up 9 ground balls.

Standings, scores, and statistics are now updated on the website.  Next weeks doubleheader schedule looks like this:

Sunday March 18:  March Madness!

4:00 p.m.:  Team 3 - Wieczorek vs. Team 4 - Grand Rapids
5:00 p.m.:  Team 1 - Honey Badgers vs. Team 5 - Grand Rapids
6:00 p.m.:  Team 6 - Free Agents vs. Team 2 - Halver
7:00 p.m.:  Team 2 - Halver vs. Team 5 - Grand Rapids
8:00 p.m.:  Team 1 - Honey Badgers vs. Team 4 - Grand Rapids
9:00 p.m.:  Team 3 - Wieczorek vs. Team 6 - Free Agents

NILL Back in Action this Sunday

Finally after a long lay off due to DECC event conflicts, we're back in action again this Sunday.  Doubleheaders for all teams.  It should feel like opening day again!

There are still a few players that haven't paid their league fee.  If you haven't done so, please do this weekend if you'd like to continue playing this season and into the playoffs.

The schedule for this Sunday looks like this:

Sunday March 11:

4:00 p.m.:  Team 2 - Halver vs. Team 3 - Wieczorek
5:00 p.m.:  Team 5 - Grand Rapids vs. Team 4 - Grand Rapids
6:00 p.m.:  Team 6 - Free Agents vs. Team 1 - Honey Badgers
7:00 p.m.:  Team 4 - Grand Rapids vs. Team 2 - Halver
8:00 p.m.:  Team 5 - Grand Rapids vs. Team 6- Free Agents
9:00 p.m.:  Team 1 - Honey Badgers vs. Team 3 - Wieczorek

If you plan on having any new players fill-in this weekend, please have them wear a reversible jersey with dark and white and preferably a number.  We are out of extra NILL jerseys.

IMPORTANT NILL Schedule Change

The NILL received word on Thursday that we would have to reschedule our March 4 lacrosse games because the DECC will not be available that day.  There will be not turf in Pioneer Hall on March 4 as the DECC staff prepare for another event.  Every effort was made to try to find a way to play our games on March 4, but we were told it would be impossible for us to play in the DECC next Sunday.  This is very unfortunate because we've already been off for almost 3 weeks and I know how much everyone wants to get back to playing lacrosse.

Our only option to complete the season as planned will be to have back to back doubleheaders on March 11 and March 18.  Because the times were already booked on the 11th and 18th, we will also not be able to move our first games up two hours as we usually do on doubleheader weekends.  This means that our games will start at 4:00 p.m. as previously planned and our last game will not start until 9:00 p.m.  I know this is less than ideal, but we don't have very many other options available to us.  This is the first year the DECC has had turf and we knew there would be issues.  It's too bad it has negatively affected our league, but we have to roll with the punches.  Unfortunately our schedule has been place for two months, but apparently the DECC events take precedence over everything. 

Here's what the schedule looks like after rescheduling:

Sunday March 4:

**GAMES RESCHEDULED TO MARCH 11 - DECC SCHEDULING CONFLICT**

Sunday March 11:

4:00 p.m.:  Team 2 - Halver vs. Team 3 - Wieczorek
5:00 p.m.:  Team 5 - Grand Rapids vs. Team 4 - Grand Rapids
6:00 p.m.:  Team 6 - Free Agents vs. Team 1 - Honey Badgers
7:00 p.m.:  Team 4 - Grand Rapids vs. Team 2 - Halver
8:00 p.m.:  Team 5 - Grand Rapids vs. Team 6- Free Agents
9:00 p.m.:  Team 1 - Honey Badgers vs. Team 3 - Wieczorek

Sunday March 18:  March Madness!

4:00 p.m.:  Team 3 - Wieczorek vs. Team 4 - Grand Rapids
5:00 p.m.:  Team 1 - Honey Badgers vs. Team 5 - Grand Rapids
6:00 p.m.:  Team 6 - Free Agents vs. Team 2 - Halver
7:00 p.m.:  Team 2 - Halver vs. Team 5 - Grand Rapids
8:00 p.m.:  Team 1 - Honey Badgers vs. Team 4 - Grand Rapids
9:00 p.m.:  Team 3 - Wieczorek vs. Team 6 - Free Agents

Sunday March 25:  NILL Playoff Sunday

Seeds 1 and 2 receive first round bye

11:00 a.m.:  6 seed vs. 3 seed
12:00 p.m.:  5 seed vs. 4 seed
Final Four:
4:00 p.m.:  lowest seed vs. 1 seed
5:00 p.m.:  next seed vs. 2 seed
6:00 p.m.:  NILL Championship Game

Super Bowl Sunday Laxtravaganza Lives Up to its Name!

It was a super Sunday of lacrosse in the NILL for games 3 and 4.  With our first doubleheader slate of games falling on Super Bowl Sunday, it was imperative that we made sure the players were fed.  And oh were they!  Many, Many thanks to all of the families from Grand Rapids and the Duluth area that made the day so special.  Everyone stepped up and voluntarily brought an amazing array of food offerings for the players and their families.  The game was on behind the food table and everyone seemed to have a great time.  It was the "Super Bowl" of days for lacrosse in northern Minnesota!

Besides the food, there was some good lacrosse happening as well.  Sunday proved to be a day that saw our highest scores of the season.  Two winning teams hit the 20 goal mark and we had several scores in the teens (see the scores and standings page for more details).

Team 6 - Free Agents continued their winning ways, winning both games and finishing the day atop the standings with a 4-0 record.  Scott Wishart  led the way for the Free Agents with 8 goals and 3 assists on the day.  Brandon Gilseth chipped in with 7 goals and 3 assists while Mike Feldstein added 5 goals and an assist, Bobby Moore added 4 goals and 5 assists and Steve Lokken notched 4 goals and 3 assists.  Matt Koppang was a turnover machine, causing 10 turnovers and also picking up 11 ground balls.  Matt Kampmeyer also caused 4 turnovers, picked up 9 ground balls and added 2 goals.

Team 2 - Halver also won both of their games on the day.  Matt Reeves provided most of the firepower for Team 2 tallying 10 goals and adding 2 assists on the day.  Tyler Kolquist also had a big day with 6 goals and 1 assist, while Steven Halver added 5 goals and 3 assists, Cooper Carlson added 4 goals and Mitch Smerz chipped in 3 goals and 2 assists.  Seamus and Eamon Mackinaw led the way for the defense each with 2 caused turnovers.  New goalie Brian Lewis played well stopping 16 shots on the day.

Team 1 - Honey Badgers picked up their first win of the season.  The young Honey Badgers team played very well, showing off some nice passing and playing their best ball of the season while tallying a total of 28 goals on the day.  Zach Zierden led the way for the Honey Badgers with 8 goals and 1 assist on the day.  Bryce Holak stepped up with 6 goals and 3 assists, while Dan O' Connell added 5 goals and 3 assists, Jeff Wright chipped in with 5 goals and 4 assists, Andy Holak notched 3 goals and 3 assists and Jesse Larson contributed 1 goal in one game played.  Alex Hnatko and August Cadotte were the defensive stars for the Honey Badgers each with 3 caused turnovers and picking up 7 and 4 ground balls respectively.  Goalie Mike Vuchetich was stellar all day leading all goalies in saves on the day with 19.

Team 3 - Wieczorek split on the day picking up a win against Team 4 - Grand Rapids.  In the win, Team 3's Brody Carlson was on fire.  Carlson tallied 8 goals in the game and finished the day with 10 goals and an assist.  Ian Wieczorek added 3 goals and 2 assists, while Josh Beery and Kyle Limoseth each chipped in with 2 goals and Jimmy Bendas scored one goal and contributed 3 assists in one game played.  Hunter Wieczorek was once again the defensive wiz' for Team 3 with 5 caused turnovers and 9 ground balls.  Mike Nowicki also played stellar defense with 3 caused turnovers and 5 ground balls.

Team 4 - Grand Rapids was led by Christian Higginbotham with 4 goals and 1 assist on the day.  Kirk Watson played great defense all day with 5 caused turnovers and 9 ground balls while chipping in with 3 goals scored.  Zach Beyer and Brad Sandeen added 2 goals while Cody Maves and Zach Brist each chipped in with an assist. 

watching the final minutes of the Super Bowl

Doug Jensen was the scoring leader for Team 5 - Grand Rapids with 4 goals on the day.  Tanner Kemppainen added 3 goals while Jackson Schwartz tallied 2 goals and 2 assists, Zach Brist added 2 goals, Ben Dunnell scored 1 goal and added an assist, Zach Grandia scored a goal, and Graham Gallop contributed an assist while also making 9 saves in goal in the second game.

Lots of good lacrosse was played on Super Bowl Sunday.  Unfortunately, now we'll have to wait until March 4 for our next slate of doubleheader games.  The coming weeks will see the turf removed from Pioneer Hall and a procession of boat, sports and home shows taking place.  Once the NILL resumes play again in March, we will play each Sunday until our playoff Sunday on March 25.  Our next slate of games on March 4 look like this:

Sunday March 4:

2:00 p.m.:  Team 2 - Halver vs. Team 3 - Wieczorek
3:00 p.m.:  Team 5 - Grand Rapids vs. Team 4 - Grand Rapids
4:00 p.m.:  Team 6 - Free Agents vs. Team 1 - Honey Badgers
5:00 p.m.:  Team 4 - Grand Rapids vs. Team 2 - Halver
6:00 p.m.:  Team 5 - Grand Rapids vs. Team 6- Free Agents
7:00 p.m.:  Team 1 - Honey Badgers vs. Team 3 - Wieczorek

Find a gym, play some wall ball and we'll see you March 4 for more NILL action!

NILL Back in Action this Sunday

The NILL is back in action this Sunday for a Super Bowl Sunday Spectacular day of indoor lacrosse games at Pioneer Hall in the DECC.  It's also a doubleheader Sunday so all team will be playing two games this Sunday.  Games start at 2:00 p.m.  Schedule below:

Sunday February 5:  Super Bowl Sunday Spectacular!*

2:00 p.m. - Team 6 - Free Agents vs. Team 3 - Wieczorek
3:00 p.m. - Team 5 - Grand Rapids vs. Team 2 - Halver
4:00 p.m. - Team 4 - Grand Rapids vs. Team 1 - Honey Badgers
5:00 p.m. - Team 3 - Wieczorek vs. Team 5 - Grand Rapids
6:00 p.m. - Team 4 - Grand Rapids vs. Team 6 - Free Agents
7:00 p.m. - Team 1 - Honey Badgers vs. Team 2 - Halver

*Super Bowl Sunday we will have a TV in Pioneer Hall with the game on and we may ask players/parents to bring snacks and pot luck for a Super Bowl Sunday lacrosse bash. 

Week 2 Produces Exciting Games

Some exciting games were played during week 2 of the NILL season.  Games were close, and one game came down to a final goal within the last minute of the game.

Silas Wieczorek goes to the air for a shot on goal

Game 1 proved to be the most dramatic of the night with Team 3- Wieczorek taking on Team 4 - Grand Rapids.  The score was close throughout the game and was tied 7-7 going into the final minute.  The league commissioner was left scrambling to find the league rules to remember how he designed overtime anticipating our first overtime game of the season (note: overtime is decided by a 3 minute over time period with sudden victory.  If after the 3 minute overtime period the game is still tied during the regular season, the game ends in a tie.  For playoffs, if the game is still tied after the 3 minute overtime period, sudden victory Braveheart ensues until a team scores a goal.).  However, the Grand Rapids team solved the problem with a last second goal to end the game.  Team 4 - Grand Rapids took the victory by an 8-7 score. 

Ben Dunnell and Joey Keating once again led the way for Team 4 with 3 goals apiece.  Jackson Schwartz and Doug Jensen each chipped in with a goal.  Joey Keating was also a ground ball machine, scooping up 8. 

For Team 3, Kyle Limoseth led the way with 4 goals and now leads the league in scoring.  Tom Wieczorek played the role of garbage man, cleaning up loose balls in front of the net and putting them in, scoring 2 goals on the night.  Jimmy Bendas chipped in with 1 goal and 1 assist.  Defenseman Hunter Wieczorek forced 7 turnovers and now leads the league by a wide margin in that category.

In game 2, the young Honey Badger team took on Team 5 - Grand Rapids.  Once again, the game stayed close throughout.  The score was tied 2-2 at halftime with both teams having a little trouble finding the net.  In the second half, the scoring opened up a bit with Team 5 finally taking a lead midway through the second half.  Bryce Holak would respond with a goal soon after to cut the lead once again.  However it wasn't enough, and the young Honey Badgers would fall to Team 5 by a 7-5 score.

Christian Higginbotham and Zach Smith led the scoring for Team 5 each scoring 2 goals.  Kirk Watson, Zachary Beyer and Joey Keating (filling in from Team 4) each added a goal.  Kirk Watson played tough defense causing 3 turnovers and scooping up 8 ground balls.

Bryce Holak and Zack Zierden led the way for the Honey Badgers each scoring 2 goals.  Dan O'Connell added a goal.

The last game of the night featured two strong Duluth teams, Team 2 - Halver and Team 6 - Free Agents.  While the Free Agents maintained a lead for the entire game, Team 2 fought hard and kept the game close.  Just when it looked like Team 2 was out of it, they would answer with a goal or two to make the game exciting.  In the end, the Free Agents would take the victory 13-9.

The Free Agents were led by midfielder Brandon Nispel who notched 4 goals.  Steve Lokken, Bobby Moore, Brandon Gilseth and Scott Wishart each added two goals apiece.  Matt Koppang chipped in with one goal.

Tyler Kolquist and Zach Galo led the way for Team 2 with 2 goals apiece.  Steven Halver, Matt Reeves, Cooper Carlson, Mitch Smerz and Peter Donars each added a goal.

Play will resume on February 5, Super Bowl Sunday, following a conference and the gun and knife show that will tie up Pioneer Hall.  Super Bowl Sunday Spectacular should be fun, with the game on TV and snacks and dishes for the players and fans.

2012 Schedule Updated

Please go to our Schedule page to see the full 2012 NILL schedule.  Please note that we have games on Super Bowl Sunday and plan to make it a fun day of lacrosse and football watching.  We'll have a T.V. in Pioneer Hall to watch the game and we may ask players/parents to bring a snack or pot luck dish for a Super Bowl party that day.  Playoffs will be held on March 25 and we will have two early games that Sunday because the field is booked for soccer prior to our 4:00 p.m. game.

Standings and Stats Updated

League standings and stats have been updated after our first weeks games.  Regarding stats, goals are accurate but assists were problematic for the scorers with numbers only on the back of the jerseys.  It was hard to get an accurate reading of who made the assist.  If you are sure you had an assist in your game and are not listed, please let us know.  We will try to get a better reading of assists next week and ask that the referees also record goals and assists for an even more accurate recording.  We will also try to get an accurate recording of ground balls and caused turnovers starting next week and for the remainder of the season.  Thank you for your patience.

Great Night of Lacrosse in Northern Minnesota

In the first ever winter indoor lacrosse games in Northern Minnesota, the NorthCoast Indoor Lacrosse League kicked off its inaugural season last night.  Six teams are competing in the 8 game winter indoor lacrosse season.  The 8 game regular season will be followed up with playoffs and the first ever NILL Championship to be played on March 25.  Two teams from Grand Rapids and 4 teams from Duluth are competing in this first season of NILL play.

Game 1 action

Opening night proved to be a success with 3 exciting games of lacrosse.  In game 1, Team 2 - Halver defeated Team 4 - Grand Rapids 18-5 behind a flurry of goals from Matt Reeves and Cooper Carlson, each notching 5 goals.  Mitch Smerz added 3 goals and Britton Harris scored a pair for Team 2.  Steve Halver, Zack Galo and Andrew Martin each added a goal.  Goalie T.J. Vallie stopped 12 shots.

For Team 4 - Grand Rapids, goalie Tyler Altringer withstood a flurry of shots stopping 16 in the process.  Joey Keating notched a hat trick for Team 4 with three goals.  Doug Jensen and Ben Dunnell each added a goal.

Game 2 action

In game 2, Team 6 - Free Agents took on Team 5 - Grand Rapids.  In a game that was tied at halftime, the Free Agents pulled away in the second half to win 14-9.  The Free Agent team, comprised of several former UMD Bulldogs lacrosse players, displayed some crisp passing before putting the ball in the back of the net on a more regular basis in the second half.

In the first half, the scrappy and talented Team 5 - Grand Rapids team played very well and kept the game close.  Team 5 was led by Christian Higginbotham who notched 3 goals.  Ben Dunnell and Joey Keating scored 2 goals and Zach Smith and Jace Martientto added a goal apiece.

The Free Agents were led by Scott Wishart and Brandon Gilseth each scoring 3 goals.  Bobby Moore added two goals, both beautiful behind the head shots that found the back of the net on consecutive goals.  In a display of depth, 6 other players added a goal apiece.  Matt Kampmeyer, 8th grader Gage Kuhlmey, Matt Koppang, Brandon Nispel, Steve Lokken and Alex Rogers all scored one goal for the Free Agents. 

In the final game of the night, the young Honey Badgers team comprised primarily of 9th graders with one 8th grader and an old guy took on Team 3 - Wieczorek, both Duluth teams.  In a game that stayed close most of the night, Team 3 prevailed 11-8.

Team 3 was led by Brody Carlson and Kyle Limoseth, both notching 3 goals apiece.  Jimmy Bendas and 8th grader Silas Wieczorek each added 2 goals apiece and Mike Nowicki added 1 goal.

Game 3 action

The Honey Badgers were led by Jesse Larson and old man Andy Holak, both with 2 goals.  Beau Holappa, 8th grader Bryce Holak, Zack Zierden, and Dan O'Connell each added a goal.  Zierden also added two assists.  Goalie Mike Vuchetich stood tall in the goal for the Honey Badgers making 12 saves on the night.

All in all, it was a great night for lacrosse in Northern Minnesota.  Here's to many more winter lacrosse games in Northern Minnesota in the future!

Opening Day is Tomorrow!

Our inaugural NILL season kicks off tomorrow with our first game at 4:00 p.m. between Team 2- Halver and Team 4 - Grand Rapids.  PLEASE NOTE that our game times have changed a little.  Team 6 - Free Agents and Teams 1 - Honey Badgers and 3 - Wieczorek have moved their game times up 1 hour to 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. respectively.  Our opening day schedule is below:
  
Week 1 - January 8:

4:00 p.m. - Team 2 - Halver vs. Team 4 Grand Rapids
5:00 p.m. - Team 6 - Free Agents vs. Team 5 Grand Rapids
6:00 p.m. - Team 3 - Wieczorek vs. Team 1 - Honey Badgers

Lavin Lacrosse will have a booth set up at Pioneer Hall and will be selling lacrosse gear, stringing supplies, sticks, heads, shafts, shorts, shirts and all sorts of lacrosse gear.  So, if you need any lacrosse supplies, Lavin can set you up.

Take a look at the league Rules before play and let's get ready for some lacrosse!