This week the PLL heads to the land of Vincent’s Clam Bar and Hofstra University on Long Island. Week 3 of the PLL should be a great weekend for fan attendance and rookie performances.
PLL CEO Michael Rabil had some fun promoting this weekend’s games. Long Island and Baltimore are two lacrosse hotbeds. Rabil spoke of how the next two weekends will be a homecoming for many players and challenged fans to pack Shuart Stadium this week and Homewood field next weekend.
“Our next two weekends, featuring games in Long Island and Baltimore, will be a battle of the hotbeds. A homecoming for so many PLL pros. An opportunity to compete in front of family and friends. We’re bringing the highest level of lacrosse to the places where these pros picked up a stick for the first time. And we can’t wait to see you there.”
– Paul Rabil, PLL President
I pose the question to you…which hotbed will have the highest fan turnout?
Before the Week 3 games begin, I thought it would be a good time to check in on the 2022 rookie class and see how they fared in the first two weeks of the PLL season.
Logan Wisnauskas (Chrome)
| Game | Points | 1G | 2G | A |
| Week 1 vs. Archers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Week 2 vs. Redwoods | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
The No.1 pick got off to a slow start in Week 1, registering only an assist against the Archers. Let’s be honest, he had a busy week winning a national championship on Monday, the Tewaaraton on Thursday, and making his rookie debut in the PLL on Sunday.
He “shook off the rust” and lit up the Redwoods for five goals on Friday night. Logan does a great job of changing planes when he shoots. It’s a skill a lot of young players could learn from. Here is his low to high rip against Tim Troutner.
Logan cut down on his extracurricular activities this week. He’s in Sparks, Maryland trying out for Team USA. Hey Dino, I think the kid has a shot.
Chris Gray (Atlas)
| Game | Points | 1G | 2G | A |
| Week 1 vs. Redwoods | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Week 2 vs. Cannons | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
Just a corner. Maybe we can call him Elsa because that’s all Chris Gray needs to let it go.
The Atlas are playing 2022 with cheat codes on. Gray is on an attack line with Jeff Teat (12 points) and Eric Law (8 points). The Atlas offense reminds me very much of Bobby Benson’s offense at Maryland this season. Giving up the good look for the better one.
Teat and Gray are becoming the best of friends, which is bad news for the rest of the league.
Matt Moore (Archers)
| Game | Points | 1G | 2G | A |
| Week 1 vs. Chrome | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Week 2 vs. Chaos | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
Similar to Wisnauskas, Moore also got off to a slow start in Week 1. Moore found his bearings in Charlotte scoring three goals against the Chaos.
I wondered if injuries were lingering and would slow him down this season. Seems like he just needed a moment to adjust. The Archers will need this sort of production from their rookie going forward this PLL season.
Brendan Nichtern (Chrome)
| Game | Points | 1G | 2G | A |
| Week 1 vs. Archers | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Week 2 vs. Redwoods | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
2nd. Lt. Brendan Nichtern is off a hot start for the Chrome with five points on the season. Nichtern was a two-time captain at Army where he ranked first in the nation in assists per game (3.75) and points per game (6.3).
Nichtern is a great story for the game and the academy programs. My only question is where is the Arya Stark celly? Will it make an appearance on Long Island this weekend? Jordie and I will both be waiting.
Asher Nolting (Cannons)
| Game | Points | 1G | 2G | A |
| Week 1 vs. Waterdogs | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Week 2 vs. Atlas | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Asher Nolting was a scorer and distributor for High Point in college. Nolting notched an impressive points total in college, finishing 9th on the all-time scoring list. After Week 1, he looked like he could focus on scoring with feeds from his new best friend, Lyle Thompson.
Friday afternoon we found out that Lyle will be out for an undisclosed time with an upper-body injury. Nolting is comfortable as a distributor but should thrive as a scorer when Lyle returns.
Nakeie Montgomery (Redwoods)
| Game | Points | 1G | 2G | A |
| Week 1 vs. Atlas | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Week 2 vs. Chrome | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Nakeie got off to a hot start in Week 1 against the Atlas, scoring a 2-point and 1-point goal.
The Redwoods have looked out of sorts this season. The Atlas torched them and Jack Kelly in the second half of the first game to pull away. The Chrome then blasted the Woods 12-3 in the opening game on Friday night. Nat St. Laurent and the woods’ staff have their work cut out for them.
Jack Hannah (Waterdogs)
| Game | Points | 1G | 2G | A |
| Week 1 vs. Cannons | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Week 2 vs. Whipsnakes | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
It took Jack a few weeks to get hot in the 2022 college lacrosse season for Denver. You could say he is ready now. Is there a sweeter sound in lacrosse? (Well, I guess not for a goalie.)
Koby Smith (Atlas)
| Game | Points | 1G | CT |
| Week 1 vs. Redwoods | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Week 2 vs. Cannons | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Koby was a dynamic threat in the transition game for Towson throughout his career. He showed us last week against the Cannons there is more of that to come.
Roman Puglise (Whipsnakes)
The Whipsnakes received bad news before Week 1 when they found out that their SSDM would be out for the season with an upper-body/arm injury. I haven’t seen what the official injury was, but I did find out what a warrior Roman was for the Terps in the national championship game.
In an interview with Quint Kessenich, Terps Head Coach John Tillman said that Roman was not able to pass or catch in the championship game. That didn’t stop Roman from playing his SSDM position, where contact isn’t an option.
Hats off to Roman. I wish him a speedy recovery and can’t wait to see him on the field next season. Puglise’s absence this season should allow undrafted rookie Brennan Kamish an opportunity to secure one of the three SSDM positions for the rest of the PLL season.
Oh, Canada!
It’s a rough time to be a PLL rookie from Canada. Visa issues cost them playing time in Weeks 1 and 2. I spoke to Dan on Wednesday and he told me he had heard it’s still day to day.
This is unfortunate and a bit puzzling. How does the PLL not have someone on this right away to make sure this doesn’t happen? Here is hoping it can be cleared up quickly.
Enjoy the games this weekend! We will check back in on the Class of 2022 around the All-Star Break.