Frankie Scigliano, who established himself as a star goaltender in the Western Lacrosse Association (WLA) with the Maple Ridge Burrards last season, has shown that he can be a starter in the National Lacrosse League (NLL).
The Calgary Roughnecks goaltender was named the third star of the week for the past week of action, after he made 43 saves on 49 shots for a sterling .878 save percentage.
“Frankie’s time is now,” said Inside Lacrosse in announcing the selection. “Scigliano didn’t play a whole lot his first three years in the league and he was okay, but not really good when called upon to take over the starting role for a struggling Mike Poulin four games into this season.
“Since he got a second chance, however, Scigliano has been excellent for the Roughnecks. His terrific performance Saturday moved him into fifth place in the league in both goals against average (10.70) and save percentage (.778).”
One of his teammates on the Burrards was an honourable mention for star of the week, and Ben McIntosh has put himself on top of the rookie scoring race in the NLL.
McIntosh, who plays with the Edmonton Rush, had three goals and five assists in his last game, giving him 75 points on the season. The first-overall draft pick from Coquitlam moves into the top-10 all time in rookie scoring.
The NLL rookie scoring record was set by Vancouver Stealth forward Rhys Duch, who tallied 89 points in 2009. McIntosh has two games left to close the game on that mark.
“Seventy-five points is a good year for a veteran in the NLL,” noted Burrards coach Chris Gill.
Last year, McIntosh finished his U.S. college field lacrosse career, and the switch to the indoor game required a period of adjustment.
“He really stepped it up in the playoffs,” said Gill.
As the Burrards played in the WLA championship for the first time in 23 years, McIntosh was a key player. He scored 27 playoff goals, and tallied 15 goals in the best-of-five series against the Victoria Shamrocks.
Gill said winning the starting job in the NLL can only help Scigliano, who was the WLA rookie of the year and top goaltender last season.
“It’ll give him a lot of confidence.”
“He could easily have been stating in that league last year, but as a goalie you’ve got to pay your dues.”
Another good sign for the Burrards is that sniper Curtis “Superman” Dickson is
sitting seventh in NLL league scoring with 88 points, 47 on goals, in 17 games.
If everyone shows up to Maple Ridge on time and ready to rock, the Burrards could be a menace in the coming season.
“It would be nice to have everyone going at the same time.”
But Gill anticipates with Edmonton and Calgary’s NLL teams both poised for strong playoff runs, he could be without a significant part of his roster for the start of the season. It will give him time to have a long look at some of the draft picks from this offseason.
And with the news out of the NLL, he knows his young veteran players are coming back even stronger.
“It’s encouraging, that’s for sure. We’ll be a lot stronger this year than we were last year.”
The Burrards open the season on May 24 at Planet Ice.