PHIL JOHNSON
of the Toronto Sun
Well, it’s been a month and there haven’t been any notices of eviction or padlocks on the dressing room doors of National Lacrosse League teams.
Attendance has been all but overwhelming in Philadelphia and Maryland for the Wings and Arrows, respectively, tampering down to a modest 2,000 or so per game for Toronto Tomahawks and Syracuse Stingers.
The biggest surprise has been the plight of the Stingers who were rated competitive by every other team prior to the league opening. With their habit of losing one-goal games, Stingers could be the most troubled franchise by season’s end.
With the exception of Philly and Rochester Griffins, clubs have had ups and downs while looking for that little bit of ballast to get them on even keels.
Les Quebecois shattered the six year pro lacrosse silence in dramatic fashion in the NLL opener when they outmuscled Tomahawks before more than 9,000 onlookers at Montreal Forum. Then it was a toboggan ride to the bottom as John Ferguson’s toughies showed all the vim and vigor of the Geritol set engrossed in a checker tournament.
Fergie solved the problem when he “promoted” coach Bill Bradley to playing status and stepped behind the bench himself. Not so mysteriously, Les Quebecois turned things around and have moved into contention with Tomahawks and Wings in pursuit of those deadly consistent Griffins.
Tomahawks had three wins and three losses and were struggling to hold their own in the standings until general manager-coach Jim Bishop showed daring by dealing away prized young goaltender Rick Palla and effective right creaseman Frank Oda to the stingless Stingers. In return, Bishop got veteran goaltender Bob McCready and left-shooting Jim Quigg.
The veteran goaltender, admittedly not in shape, came up with three consecutive gritty displays as Toronto won three straight games. Suddenly their season was turned around.
Philadelphia Wings lost their first game on the road but opened in the Spectrum to a hockey-mad throng of more than 12,000 jubilant fans all wrapped up emotionally in Philly Flyers’ Stanley Cup win over Boston Bruins. With goalie Wayne Platt making like an invisible shield, Wings lost only two of their next seven games, second in consistency only to Griffins who proved to have equally as capable a ball stopper in Merv Marshall.
With Griffins, it’s a matter of balance. With Wings it’s a matter of having two guys the likes of Larry Lloyd (6-foot-4) and John Grant (6-foot-7). With height like that, you’ve got to be head and shoulders above the rest of the league.
Maryland Arrows, tabbed by most observers as the real “iffy” team, proved that “ifs” are for observers, as they compiled a .500 record after a fast start. As in the case of Les Quebecois, a coach-turned-player aided their cause. Cy Coombes doffed the sports jacket and tie and donned an Arrows’ sweater to mastermind the powerplay and lend his considerable experience to the Maryland cause.
It was impossible in the pre-season of the new league to predict how the six teams would fare. With a couple dozen games by the board, here’s an educated guess:
1. Philadelphia Wings—There’s just too much polish on this club, in part due to the dozen or so players who played together for years with the senior lacrosse Peterboro
[sic]
Lakers. There’s good size, top-notch goaltending and those tremendous crowds at the Spectrum.
2. Rochester Griffins—The emergence of a genuine lacrosse superstar hasn’t hurt this balanced club. Buffalo Sabres’ hockey player Rick Dudley has been shooting and scoring like he intends to be remembered. If Marshall continues his excellent net play, it’ll be a close one-two finish with Wings just ahead of Griffins.
3. Toronto Tomahawks—Billed as the Boston Celtics of lacrosse, when this team stops running, it stops winning. The addition of 33-year old McCready gives Tommies a goaltender who can outrun most forwards in the NLL and a key to getting the fast break operational. Another hockey player, Duffy McCarthy, has shown a knack for playmaking which has him near the top of the scoring parade. Takes a little of the leadership load off Chuck Li. Could be running past all opposition come playoff time.
4. Montreal Les Quebecois—With Ferguson providing the inspiration and Bradley the floor leadership, Les Quebecois could finish anywhere from fourth to second. They’re a plodding, never-say-die club with the No. 1 player in the game, John Davis, one of those Peterboro [sic] players Philadelphia missed. Surprise success in goal has been No. 3 draft Ernie Mitchell although Montreal will need Dave Wedlock at his best to finish higher than fourth. Like Wings, at their best on their home floor.
5. Maryland Arrows—The team everyone doubted. Could finish in the playoffs by treating Largo, Md., crowds to the aggressive brand of box lacrosse they seem to favor. Their early season slogan, “Ya gotta be mean to play box lacrosse,” should be taken to heart. With Coombes, Paul Suggate and Ken Henderson, Arrows can score in clusters. We’ll have to nominate big Gord Keates as resident villain to keep those crowds rolling in.
6. Syracuse Stingers—The only team that can be counted out of the running after a quarter of the schedule. Can’t blame the personnel as injury-plagued Gaylord Powless led all point-getters after the first 10 games. Stingers may have gained by acquiring goalie Palla who could develop into one of the best, although not this year. Management must be hoping for a few wins soon to solve the attendance problem. Otherwise, it looks to be a long, unbearable season.