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.