April 22, 2010
Dawson claims weekly NLL honors
by PR Wire Report/
Blazers forward Dan Dawson was named NLL Overall Player of the Week and Offensive Player of the Week for Week 15. (photo: Steve Babineau)
Boston Blazers forward Dan Dawson was named the National Lacrosse League's Overall Player of the Week for Week 15 of the 2010 NLL Season.
On April 16, Dawson tallied eight points (five goals, three assists) in a 9-7 win at Colorado that gave the Blazers control of their own playoff destiny.
In a game where goals were in short supply, Dawson scored or assisted on eight of the Blazers' nine goals. Dawson also earned the Offensive Player of the Week award for his efforts.
With two postseason berths at stake in the Eastern Division, a Blazers win at Buffalo on Saturday puts Boston in the playoffs.
According to the National Lacrosse League web site, the Orlando Titans have secured the Eastern Division regular-season title, while the Toronto Rock are the No. 2 seed for the playoffs.
Three teams are in a battle for the final two postseason positions: the Blazers (8-7), Buffalo Bandits (7-9) and Rochester Knighthawks (7-8). All three teams can earn playoff spots in the regular season’s final weekend.
The Blazers will close the regular season at Buffalo on Saturday.
A win gets Boston into the postseason, but the Blazers can lose against Buffalo and still earn a playoff spot if Rochester loses against Washington.
Other NLL awards for Week 15 included:
►Orlando Titans goaltender Matt Vinc was named Defensive Player of the Week. With his team trailing 7-3 in the second quarter, Vinc shut the door for the remainder of the game, stopping all 19 Bandits shots he faced in the second half. Overall in the game, Vinc made 37 saves on 44 shots on goal. With the 9-7 win, the Titans were able to clinch the Eastern Division title and home field for at least the first two rounds of the playoffs.
►The Transition Player of the Week was Geoff Snider of the Philadelphia Wings. Against the Minnesota Swarm, Snider scored seven points with four goals and three assists. He also picked up 20 loose balls and won 20 out of 29 faceoffs. He capped off a big game at the 3:12 mark of overtime, when Snider scored the game-winning goal to beat the Swarm, 13-12.
►Toronto Rock forward Stephan Leblanc won the Rookie of the Week for the fourth time this season. Leblanc once again led a balanced scoring attack en route to a Toronto victory. Leblanc scored four goals and added two assists for six points in a 15-7 victory over the Rochester Knighthawks. The win for the Rock clinched a playoff berth and a second-place finish.
The NLL Weekly Player Awards are determined each week by a vote of the general managers and Head Coaches of the league's 11 member clubs.
