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!