Panther City Lacrosse beats Las Vegas
Panther City Lacrosse Club won its second straight game, spoiling the expansion Las Vegas Desert Dogs’ home opener with a 9-3 win on Friday.
Goalie Nick Damude allowed a career-low three goals on 33 shots for a .909 save percentage, which is also a career-high. He just narrowly missed tying the NLL record (2) for fewest goals allowed in a single game. Assistant Captain Matt Hossack also had a standout game as he forced a team-high three turnovers.
The defense forced nine turnovers on the evening. Tyler Burton led the club with 10 loose balls.
“Defensively we were a beast,” coach Tracey Kelusky said. “I thought we played five-man strong on the back end and Nicky [goalie Nick Damude] stood his ground. One thing we talked about was stopping the ones you need to stop and I thought he did a really good job of stepping out to the shooters and contesting them and playing his game. Defensively we were communicating and we were packed in tight and we were certainly physical at times.”
Will Malcom led the scoring barrage for the second straight game as he recorded four points (1 goal, 3 assists). Patrick Dodds also finished with four points (1 goal, 3 assists) and 2021 NLL Entry Draft first overall selection, Jonathan Donville recorded his first career goal 1:48 into the fourth period.
Panther City pulled away in the fourth quarter turning a 4-3 edge into the 9-3 win.
“I can’t even say enough about the defense,” goalie Nick Damude said. “Blocking shots, knocking down passes – I went minutes without even seeing a shot. It is a true testament to them. They play for me and I am there bail them out when they make a mistake. I know they are going to help me out when I make a mistake.”
Dean Fairall and Tony Malcom each chipped in with two goals.
With an assist on the club’s first goal, Will Malcom recorded his 100th career point in his 27th career game. Caputo also joined him in the 100th point club as his goal in the second period marked his eclipsing of the century mark. Defenseman Tyler Burton also became the ninth player in NLL history to record at least 1,300 career face-off wins.
Panther city hosted the Colorado Mammoth on Saturday night. The game ended too late to be included in today’s editions.