The Bayhawks? playoff clock is ticking, and time may be running out.
Baltimore, 2-4, is tied for last place with Long Island in the MLL?s Eastern Division at the midway point of the season. Saturday, the Bayhawks need to get a win on the road against the Rochester Rattlers, 3-3. Baltimore defeated Rochester, 14-9, at Unitas Stadium two weeks ago.
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“This is a must-win for us,” Bayhawks midfielder Kevin Frew said. “It?s a great opportunity to go out and show what we are made of. The last two games our defense and goalie came together, [but] our offense was not clicking. We need to come out, be focused and play intensively all game.”
“Those guys are going to be fired up, too,” he added. “[Rochester is] fighting just as hard as we are.”
Frew, a faceoff specialist, knows firsthand how fired up Rochester can get. In their last meeting Frew was involved in a fight with Rattlers defenseman Stephen Hoar at the end of the game.
“Tensions were flaring, and things got mixed up,” Frew said. “I learned very quickly that he knew how to fight. He was going for my helmet, my jersey, everything.”
Frew and Hoar were both penalized in the game, but Hoar also received a one-game suspension for his involvement. “I?m sure he doesn?t want to get ejected again,” Frew said of the chances of another altercation.
“We have a great rivalry, and sometimes it boils over,” said Bayhawks defenseman Christian Cook. “They can all run and shoot. They are very dangerous and good all across the board.”
Cook added that the Bayhawks, last season?s champs, have all the pieces of the puzzle. “We just have to play our game and get everybody in sync,” he said.
RATTLIN? THE RATTLERS
» Including this season?s win, Baltimore holds a 14-4 all-time advantage over Rochester, losing twice at home and twice on the road.
» Joe Walters, the first pick overall in the 2006 collegiate draft, was the only Rochester player to have more than one goal against the Bayhawks last game.
» The Bayhawks? attack was especially successful against Rochester two weeks ago. Mark Millon had seven points (four goals, three assists), rookie Matt Ward had five points (three goals, two assists) and Tom Marechek had four points (three goals, one assist).
