It was a busy week for the Boston Cannons, who traded away Davey Emala – the 2015 Most Improved Player – to the Ohio Machine and faceoff specialist Joe Nardella to the Atlanta Blaze. While both were popular players in the organization, the moves opened up opportunities for two new players, who both played large roles in Boston’s 16-15 victory over the Florida Launch.

While his introductory press conference event was cancelled due to a delayed flight, No. 1 overall pick Trevor Baptiste did not disappoint in his MLL debut. Not only did he win 15 of 32 faceoffs, he also scored his first professional goal.

“It was awesome scoring that first goal,” Baptiste said in an interview on the team’s website. “A faceoff guy dreams about that, and playing today was amazing. I could tell Boston has a great fan base and lots of supporters. They really pull for this program and I’m excited to be a part of it.”

Also making his Cannons debut was Mark Cockerton, who was acquired in the Emala trade. After only scoring two goals in his first two games with the Ohio Machine this season, Cockerton erupted for six goals. His score with just over seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter proved to be the game-winner.

“I think record-wise we aren’t where we wanted to be at the start of the year, so we wanted to get off to a fast start, and we did that,” Cockerton said in a postgame interview with Lax Sports Network. “I feel like when you join a new team, you always want to get off to a quick start, and, luckily, I was able to do that, and we kept it rolling and got the W.”

Cockerton added that playing with former University of Virginia teammates James Pannell and Zed Williams helped with his comfort level and chemistry on the field. Pannell earned the assist on Cockerton’s final goal of the game, to go along with two goals himself, and Williams scored three goals as well.

Rabil Ties Grant Jr.

With two goals, Paul Rabil not only helped the Lizards earn a hard-fought victory over the Atlanta Blaze, he also tied John Grant Jr. for the most career points in league history, with 541.

Rabil scored the first goal in the second quarter, putting the Lizards up by one, and then he scored in the third quarter as part of a four-goal run to pull New York even with Atlanta once again.

While the iconic midfielder would have to wait another week to break the record, he was all smiles after the game as New York beat Atlanta, 20-17. He was aided offensively by Will Manny (five goals, two assists), Joe Walters (two goals, three assists) and Rob Pannell (three goals, two assists).

“They have a great defense. They were coming out and were very active on the inside,” Rabil said about Atlanta in a post-game interview on Lax Sports Network. “I’m happy to be out there and just keep playing this game.”

Point No. 541 for @PaulRabil, tying him for the most in @MLL_Lacrosse history! pic.twitter.com/RxNwqNvcvK

— Warrior Lacrosse (@warriorlax) June 4, 2018

Denver Sweeps Charlotte

After starting the 2016 season with a dismal 2-6 record, the Denver Outlaws won the remainder of their regular season games and then won both playoff games to win the MLL Championship. With that in mind, when Denver began the 2018 season 1-4, it wasn’t ideal, but it also wasn’t time to count the Outlaws out. Denver proved that by sweeping the Charlotte Hounds in consecutive games, the second by a score of 16-13.

The Hounds seem to have trouble matching up with rookie Chris Cloutier. After scoring six goals and adding two assists in his debut, Cloutier followed that performance up with two goals and two assists, tying Eric Law (four goals) for a team-high four points.

Behind goals from Nicholas Tintle, Eric Law, Matt Kavanagh, and two from Wes Berg, the Outlaws began the game on a 5-1 run that Charlotte would never recover from.

Noteworthy

Colin Heacock scored three goals and added one assist in Chesapeake’s victory over Ohio. … In his second career game, Ian Mackay scored two goals, including one two-pointer, for a total of three points; he equaled the totals of Myles Jones (two goals, one assist) and Steele Stanwick (one goal, two assists). … Kyle Harrison had two goals and one assist for the Machine. … Lizards first-round draft pick Joel Tinney tallied two goals and one assist in his MLL debut. … Two Blaze rookies – Connor Kelly (first round) and Christian Cuccinello (fourth round) – made their MLL debuts, both with success. Kelly scored two goals, while Cuccinello scored two goals and added one assist. … After getting traded to the Atlanta Blaze from the Boston Cannons earlier in the week, Joe Nardella shined in his Atlanta debut, winning 23 of 40 faceoffs, winning nine ground balls, scoring a goal and adding an assist. … Denver’s Mikie Schlosser scored three goals. … Matt Rambo scored three goals and added three assists for Charlotte, while Ryan Brown scored four goals. … Kieran McArdle, Dylan Molloy, and Connor Buczek each scored three goals apiece for the Launch. … Tyler Fiorito made 14 saves and earned his first victory of the 2018 season.

Player of the Week

Chesapeake Bayhawks' Defense

After scoring two goals in the first quarter, the Chesapeake Bayhawks’ defense held the defending champion Ohio Machine scoreless for 37 minutes and 20 seconds, including shutting them out in the second and third quarters and helping the team jump out to an 11-2 lead. Niko Amato made 15 saves on 22 shots. Connor Cannizzaro was held to zero goals and three assists, and they also held Peter Baum scoreless for the first time since a loss against the Rattlers on June 2, 2016.

“I thought Goran Murray did a good job on Cannizzaro, and I thought Sean Mayle and C.J. [Costabile] did a good job,” Bayhawks head coach Dave Cottle said in a postgame interview on Lax Sports Network. “[Baum is] coming back. That’s only his second game. He’s going to get better as the season [continues]. With Tommy Schreiber out, he’s getting a pole instead of a shortie, and that changes them.”