Rattlers, by the numbers
This entry was posted on 7/17/2007 4:52 PM and is filed under Rattlers.
Looking at the current Major League Lacrosse stat sheet, the Rochester Rattlers have no equal offensively.
The Rattlers have the league's overall leading scorer, John Grant Jr., who's tallied 47 points on 33 goals (which also leads the league by eight goals and includes a pair of two-pointers) and 12 assists (which is tied for 11th in the league).
On top of that, Jeff Zywicki is tied for 10th in points with 17 goals and 14 assists (which ties him for sixth in assists). Second-year man Joe Walters, after a monster game on Saturday, is now tied for 16th in points with 26 on 17 goals (two two-pointers) and seven assists.
The Rattlers also have MLL's highest-scoring defender, Brodie Merrill, who has 12 points on four goals and eight assists (the next-highest defender, Philadelphia's Kyle Sweeney, has just six points). Merrill leads the league in assists (he's actually the only defender with more than one), and he's tied for second in goals with former Rattler Greg Gurenlian (Sweeney has a league-leading five goals).
More proof that Merrill remains a stud: he leads the league in ground balls with a whopping 71. No one else has more than 62.
Rochester rookie forward Alex Smith also looks good — he's tied for fourth in ground balls with 50 (in only six games, too), and he's eighth in faceoffs with 106 out of 198 (54 percent).
Want more Rattler firepower? The team leads the league with 21 power-play goals (New Jersey is second with only 14) and a PPG percentage of .477. (However, the Rattlers are only sixth in penalty-kill percentage at .708 and eighth-worst in power-play goals allowed with 14).
But perhaps the most encouraging development is the marked improvement of Rochester goalie Mike Levin. After two excellent outings, he's now fourth in the league in goals against average at 13.23, and he's risen to seventh in save percentage at .526.
