February 13, 2026
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13
Colorado books a Pre-Valentine’s date with the Desert Dogs
Denver, Colorado – January 31, 2025: Buffalo Bandits at Colorado Mammoth at the Ball Arena in Denver Colorado, United States. (Photo by John Matthew Harrison/National Lacrosse League)
Jack Hannah #33 of the Colorado Mammoth
The Colorado Mammoth are back in action to kick off the NLL’s pre-Valentine’s Day activities! Riding high off an 11-goal victory over the reigning champs in Week 10, the Mammoth are back on the road to Lee’s Family Forum for a rockin’ night of all-star lacrosse.
The 6-2 Mammoth squad have been comfortably sat at second place in the League rankings for several weeks now, and with two games scheduled this Valentine’s weekend, they have the possibility to tie or even sneak the number-one slot out from underneath the Saskatchewan Rush. In Week 10’s matchup, Colorado showcased not only their offensive strength, but their depth of talent, suiting up against Buffalo without Will Malcom and Ryan Lee. Despite that, the Mammoth held the Bandits scoreless for the first quarter, pulled ahead to a four-goal lead that only doubled by half. A combined 20 points from Colorado’s first-season forwards Jack Hannah and Andrew Kew were monumental in starting the fire at Ball Arena and fanning the flames of the largest scoreboard gap of the season so far.
On the home bench, the Desert Dogs have quickly become a team that is not to be underestimated. Though they were unable to skate out of Gas South Arena last week with a win, they were still heading in on a two-game win streak, their second of the season and in franchise history. Even with their recent string of success, the Desert Dogs have to deal without several of their key players throughout the first half of the season, and have since added Chase Fraser to their list of no-shows. Without Fraser on the right side, the Desert Dogs took a three-goal loss to the Swarm in Week 11 but have still managed to remain within the League’s top eight.
While their matchup with the Mammoth could shake up to be a big game for the Desert Dogs, fans on the strip might even be more excited for the return of MINIKISS during the Rock the Box Night festivities. Regardless, Friday’s roundabout could shake up both Colorado and Las Vegas’ current pole position for better or for worse over the coming weeks.
Rock out with the Desert Dogs and the Mammoth this Friday, February 13 at 10:30PM ET on ESPN+, NLL+ and TSN+.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14
NLL Friday Night on TSN, Saturday Edition: Buffalo brings Valentine’s Day to Halifax!
Clay Scanlan celebrates with Ian MacKay. Buffalo Bandits against the Philadelphia Wings on Feb. 7, 2026 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY. (Caroline Sherman/NLL)
Better have your phones handy or hope your romantic rendezvous has a screen dedicated to TSN (or ESPN+ for you Stateside fans), Valentine’s Day starts at 6:30PM with a very special Saturday edition of NLL Friday Night on TSN. The Buffalo Bandits are headed into Halifax to start the Heart Day festivities, but as the Thunderbirds have reported, “Love might be in the air, but it won’t be on the floor.”
Tensions are sure to be at their peak, as both teams are set to duke it out to win over an arena full of Valentine’s dates, but the lineup could be twitchier than expected. Both the Bandits and the Thunderbirds have dropped their last three games straight, with the Bandits extending their streak to four following Week 11’s defeat by the Philadelphia Wings– their first four-game losing streak since the 2017-18 season. Now tied at 3-5 and in a tight race for tenth place, Buffalo and Halifax are hitting the turf as the first teams playing the catch-up game this Valentine’s Day.
The Bandit’s season so far has been marred by the overarching theme of inexplicable or unavoidable roster moves, the most recent of which was the release of Kiel Matisz from the Active Roster following the release of Ron John and Mike Triolo the week prior. Though the Bandits seem to be shaking things up wherever they can, with so much of their championship roster having been released or traded, there have been far fewer sightings of the definitive Buffalo dominance that fans have become accustomed to over the past three seasons.
Halifax has run into several similar roster issues over the last few weeks as well. In the wake of several key injuries in December and early January, the Thunderbirds have also reshuffled their practice and active rosters a bit to supplement the recently reactivated Wake:Riat BowHunter, as well as the continued absence of Thomas Hoggarth. Despite the changes made, Halifax is feeling the most immediate impact of the Dawson Theede trade, only putting up seven goals on 54 shots in Week 10 without their power forward on the left side.
Both Halifax and Buffalo are in danger of dropping further down the rankings with a loss this weekend, especially so with the Wings just a win behind. Both squads need to win and keep winning over the next several weeks to get back on track and reenter the postseason conversation.
The Bandits and the Thunderbirds look to break away this Valentine’s Day at 6:30PM ET on TSN. Streaming is also available on ESPN+, NLL+ and TSN+.
Black Bears and Knighthawks look for a winning spark to get back in the win column
Rest assured, Rochester fans, an evening spent with the NLL in the Flower City does, in fact, count as getting your date the flowers they asked for. In the first primetime slot, two teams that have been the talk of the town as of late come to a head– the Black Bears and the Knighthawks.
Ottawa has rebranded this season as one of the hardest-working teams in Ontario. They’ve found themselves at the top, bottom and middle of the team leaderboard, but they’ve never stayed long. After Week 10’s dust-up with the Toronto Rock dropped them down to the ninth seat, the Black Bears cashed in a win against Calgary in Week 11 to jump right back into sixth. Supported by a 45-save evening from goaltender Zach Higgins, Ottawa captain Jeff Teat’s nine-point performance (4G, 5A) involved in all but the first and last Black Bears goals of the evening.
The Knighthawks, on the other hand, have been making lacrosse headlines for the last two weeks for all the wrong (albeit more entertaining) reasons. After the hit heard round the world by goaltender Ryan Hartley in Week 10, the Knighthawks’ subsequent rematch against Vancouver in Week 11 got off to an equally rocky start. Though Rochester held the Warriors to two goals heading into the second quarter, by the start of the second half, they were already trailing by six. The Knighthawks decision to swap goalies late in the second quarter, however, proved to be the right move, with Riley Hutchcraft’s 14 saves limiting the Warriors to three goals in the second half and allowing his offense the leeway to close the score gap.
Rochester’s single-goal loss to Vancouver last week dropped them straight into a three-way tie for the seventh seat. A win against Ottawa this weekend would not only drop the Black Bears out of sixth, but could swap their standings altogether depending on other weekend wins around the League.
Feel the love at Blue Cross Arena this Saturday on ESPN+, NLL+ and TSN+. The first whistle blows at 7:00PM ET.
FireWolves trade Life Savers for lightsabers for Star Wars Night against San Diego
Lined up in the competing primetime slot, the San Diego Seals are hiking up to the Tribute Communities Centre for their Valentine’s Day date with the Oshawa FireWolves. But unlike most hosts this weekend, the FireWolves are trading hearts, hugs, and kisses for a night filled with lightsabers, Darth Alphie, and galaxies far, far away. The Seals are leaving Valentine’s on the west coast for Star Wars Night in Oshawa!
San Diego found themselves on the receiving end of a less-than-satisfactory beatdown in Week 11, giving up a three-goal game to the Saskatchewan Rush after three straight wins against their previous opponents. The San Diego defense held the number-one team to four goals in the first half, with a scoreless first quarter, allowing the offensive line to pull out a two-goal lead heading into the second half. Headed into the third, though, a defensive breakdown in communication in the ground game allowed the Rush to take control of the momentum through to the final minutes. Though Zach Currier’s 16 loose balls and Trevor Baptiste’s 17 faceoffs won kept them in it, the Seals were caught on the catch-up for longer than they could last.
Oshawa, though, once again finds itself in desperate need of a win, having lost its fourth straight game to the Toronto Rock in Week 11’s Battle of Ontario. Oshawa’s Nick Chaykowsky and Jackson Nishimura’s combined 16 loose balls and four caused turnovers helped keep the FireWolves ahead defensively, but the offense still looked to be missing a bit of the secret sauce needed to acclimate their new pieces and round out a win fully. In his third game with Oshawa, Dawson Theede led the team in goals (5G, 1A) and tied for points with Alex Simmons (1G, 5A), while the newcomer from Buffalo, Emerson Clarke, picked up a goal and a fighting penalty in his FireWolves debut.
The pieces are in place for Oshawa, but have yet to all move as a unified front this season. Now sitting at 2-8, the FireWolves still have an opportunity to rejoin the race in the second half of the season with a string of well-placed wins.
Feel the disturbance in the force this Saturday at 7:00PM ET on ESPN+, NLL+ and TSN+.
2 Wedding, 2 Furious: Vancouver crashes Rowdy’s second wedding reception
Desert Dogs vs Rush 01-11-2025
It is a long-standing belief that where love is lost around the League during the Valentine’s Day games, twice the love is found in the great prairies of Alberta. As if just once wasn’t enough, the Saskatchewan Rush invite fans, and more reluctantly, the Vancouver Warriors, to the redux of the greatest nuptials since the Royal Wedding– it’s Rowdy’s big day… again?
But while the happy couple is preparing for the halftime ceremony, the Rush are set to fend off the 6-2 Warriors and bump their seven-win streak up to eight. Despite being outshot and outdrawn at the faceoff dot during last week’s run-in with the San Diego Seals, the Rush were able to cut a four-goal deficit down to two thanks to the early efforts of goaltender Frank Scigliano (40 SV, 9 GA), as well as six Power Play goals from the Saskatchewan o-line.
Against the Warriors, complacency may be the Rush’s Achilles heel. Compared to Saskatchewan’s six-game streak, the Warriors are back on a three-game streak after their two-game series against Rochester, making them hungry not just for a fourth win, but to shatter the Rush’s streak. In their second game against the Knighthawks in Week 11, Vancouver put up 16 goals on 46 shots and went 5-7 on the Power Play, despite racking up nearly 25 minutes in penalty minutes. Curtis Dickson’s seven goals were the perfect complement to Keegan Bal’s eight assists and gave the Warriors the padding they needed to play composed in the face of aggressive, chippy competition.
As the only team with eight wins so far this season, Saskatchewan is in no danger of dropping from their position at the top of the League rankings, but a loss this weekend could put the Warriors or the Mammoth that much closer to dethroning them.
ESPN+, NLL+ and TSN+ at 8:00PM ET this Saturday as the Warriors look to put the first crack in the castle walls.
Roughnecks host Wings for first game of Valentine’s Day doubleheader
Saturday night is only getting started, as we head down the block in the great plains of Alberta, Canada, for the beginning of Calgary’s now-annual Valentine’s Day doubleheader. Kicking off their weekend of love and passion, the Roughnecks are set to host the purveyors of brotherly love, the Philadelphia Wings.
After yet another disappointing outcome in Week 11, it’s become more glaringly apparent that Calgary has still yet to come back into its own this season. Though Roughnecks fans can count on a usually prolific offensive performance from Tanner Cook and Haiden Dickson, Calgary is still struggling to peel themselves off the floor of the League rankings. Goaltender Aden Walsh racked up save after save against Ottawa in Week 11, stopping 46 of the Black Bears’ 57 shots on goal, supported by a combined 19 loose ball pickups by Brayden Laity and Harrison Matsuoka, but the rest of the line still looks stagnant.
Similarly, the Wings are still struggling to find their team identity as well, scrapping out their second win of the season against the Buffalo Bandits last weekend. While the win is a major step forward in the Wing’s postseason push in the second half of the season, Philadelphia is still struggling to find offensive and defensive depth in the roster. Forwards Brennan O’Neill, Michael Sowers and Joe Resetarits have all three stood out at the quarterbacks and cornerstones of the offensive line, each accruing five points in the win over Buffalo, but have been consistently hung out to dry in transition, as well the ground game.
A win is a win, but the Wings’ true test comes this weekend in securing their first two-win streak of the season. While neither team can afford another loss this late in the season, the line that puts together a full 60 minutes first will walk away victorious this weekend.
The Wings look to break away from Roughnecks this Saturday at 9:00PM ET on EPSN+, NLL+ and TSN+.
A toast to the Rock! Mammoth hosts Toronto for late-night Heart Day rendezvous
Denver, Colorado – January 31, 2025: Buffalo Bandits at Colorado Mammoth at the Ball Arena in Denver Colorado, United States. (Photo by John Matthew Harrison/National Lacrosse League)
Owen Rahn #7 of the Colorado Mammoth
For their second Valentine’s Day excursion, the Mammoth are hightailing it back over state lines for a cozy night in at Ball Arena. Couples (and Deadheads with their calendars mixed up) are invited to join in a romantic evening of airborne sparks, free champagne, and of course, Mammoth lacrosse at the Loud House.
The visiting Toronto Rock might not have any Top 20 point scorers on the leaderboard at the moment, but their depth of talent has been on full display. In last week’s provincial matchup against the Oshawa FireWolves, the Rock rookie sensations took a supporting role for the Toronto vets, with Josh Dawick, Chris Boushy and captain Challen Rogers leading in points and goals for a combined 17 points at home. Additionally, goaltender Troy Holowchuk has been climbing the statsheet since taking over as the Rock’s starting goalie, stopping 42 shots against Oshawa in Week 11 for a total of 147 saves on the season so far (78% SV%, 10.26 GAA).
Though the Colorado Mammoth is also suiting up earlier in the weekend, the opportunity for a two-win weekend brings them one step closer to not only evicting the Rush but to an early playoff clinch. Toronto, however, now sits in fifth place with a 5-3 record, having successfully broken free from the four-way tie for sixth place in Week 11. The Rock has been making a steady climb over the last several weeks, and with two new dubs in the win column heading into this week, a third could put them into the top four, depending on the outcome of Sunday night’s Calgary-Georgia game. Regardless of the outcome, Ball Arena’s winner and loser have the opportunity to shoot up or back down the ladder.
The Rock sends their best wishes to the Mammoth at 9:30PM ET this Valentine’s Day on ESPN+, NLL+ and TSN+.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15
Swarm returns to Alberta for rematch with Roughnecks
EDMONTON, ALBERTA – January 16, 2026: The National Lacrosse League (NLL) presents the UnBOXed Series from Rogers Place. Calgary Roughnecks vs Georgia Swarm. (Photo by Cliff McCaig/NLL).
With all the chocolate and candy hearts hopefully out of everyone’s systems, the Roughnecks reopen the Saddledome to release their pent-up post-Valentine’s Day rage. And what a rage it could turn out to be, as Calgary is set to host their Edmonton Showcase rivals, the Georgia Swarm.
The Swarm is on a major run at the moment, picking up their fourth straight win against Las Vegas in Week 11 after completing their three-week Canadian tour. Their Gas South homecoming game last weekend featured twin eight-point performances from Shayne Jackson and Lyle Thompson, notching two and three goals respectively against the visiting Desert Dogs, while Brett Dobson’s 32 stops jumped him up the leaderboard to 379 saves, maintaining his sub-eight goals against average (7.15 GAA, 86% SV%).
Calgary suits up the night before as well, but the sting from the Swarm’s ten-point victory in Edmonton is likely still in the back of their heads. Their last meeting in the UnBOXed showcase also featured a four-and-three-goal night from Thompson and Jackson respectively, as well as an additional six points from rookie forward Nolan Byrne.
Calgary’s Tanner Cook led the Roughnecks in points that evening (3G, 3A) with Tyler Pace and Haiden Dickson close behind with four-point games of their own. However, goaltenders Aden Walsh and Cam MacLeod’s combined 36 saves for the evening were not enough to keep the Swarm at bay or give their offense a chance to close the ten-score gap on the scoreboard.
With a shot at adding their second and third wins of the season to the column, the Roughnecks will need a full 60-minute effort to finally kickstart their second-half push. But as the Swarm continues to fly high, they’ll have their work cut out for them to scrape out a win.
Catch the Edmonton rematch this Sunday at 8:00PM ET on ESPN+, NLL+ and TSN+.
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