Per Sources, The Rest Of The Summer Now Belongs To Professional Lacrosse
Congratulations to the Denver Nuggets on winning the NBA Championships. Congratulations to the Vegas Golden Knights on becoming Stanley Cup Champs. Definitely a big accomplishment for both of those organizations to get their first titles. But let's not kid ourselves here. You know we were only just counting down the games left in those seasons before we could fully turn our attention towards the PLL.
That's right, bitches. The NBA and NHL seasons are over, and now it's time for pro lacrosse to take its rightful spot at the top of everyone's attention. The men head out to Columbus this weekend with 4 games on the schedule. A couple of Friday night games to get your weekend started, and then games at noon and 7pm tomorrow. The perfect times for you to watch a game, head over to the beach for a few hours, and then come back to watch the other. Does it get any better than this? Not a goddamn chance.
So make sure to check out the latest episode of The Crease Dive to get yourself dialed in for everything you need to know heading into week 3 of the PLL season. We talk everything that went down in week 2, Dylan Molloy being back in the lineup for Chrome, Brett Dobson being a certified problem, and give our picks and previews for the weekend.
PLL Week 3 Schedule | Columbus, OH
Friday, 6pm // Waterdogs vs Atlas // ESPN+
This should probably end up being the first game back for Dillon Ward between the pipes for Waterdogs. That'll be huge for this Waterdogs team because offensively, they just keep doing this weird thing where they go half the game without scoring. They got out to a 6-0 start against Redwoods last week and then before you could even blink, it was 6-6 in the 3rd quarter.
The Atlas are 1-1 so far to start the year after beating the Whipsnakes last week Both of their games came down to 1-goal. So don't be an idiot. Waterdogs +1.5.
Friday, 8:30pm // Chrome vs Cannons // ESPN+
Tonight we'll see the season debut for Dylan Molloy for the Chrome. Expect to see a massive game out of him after getting scratched the past two weeks.
The Cannons have been playing good ball this year, but they just aren't getting results. 0-2 to start the season with last week's loss coming in overtime. I like a lot of goals in this game, and I like the Cannons to finally crack through before the season goes on a 2-week break for the World Championships. Over 23.5, Cannons ML.
Saturday, 12pm // Archers vs Chaos // ESPN
It's only been 2 weeks but the Archers look like quite possibly the largest wagon ever assembled. This team is laughably loaded on offense, even with Grant Ament being out with an injury. The defense is big and physical. The two things that were holding the Archers back in the past were probably average goaltending, and terrible faceoffs. They fixed both of those holes this year by giving the starting job between the pipes to Brett Dobson, and drafting Mike Sisselberger at FOGO. Now they have two of the best in the business at both of those positions.
Obviously Chaos are always going to be a great team. They have championship pedigree, and arguably the best goalie on the planet in Blaze Riorden. So you should never expect the Chaos to get blown out. But you also shouldn't expect them to put up ridiculous numbers offensively against the Archers. Under 23.5 is the move here, with Archers -1.5 being a move you'll have to sweat out until the final possession.
Saturday, 7pm // Redwoods vs Whipsnakes // ESPN+
You can always throw out the record books when these two teams come together. 2-0 Redwoods vs 0-2 Whipsnakes. But both of their goal differentials are at 2. +2 for Redwoods, and -2 for Whips. Historically the Whips definitely own this matchup, and they'll probably also be playing a little more desperate to get something in the win column before most of these guys take off to play in the World Championships.
But I love this Redwoods team and the way they're playing right now. Ryder Garnsey has been borderline unstoppable so far this year, we saw some vintage Rob Pannell last week, and they're great at making the defensive adjustments when they need to. So give me Redwoods ML.
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