UNIONDALE, New York- The New York Riptide play their opening game of the 2022-23 NLL season on Saturday, December 3 against the San Diego Seals at 7:30 p.m. ET at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY. The game will be available to watch on MSGSN 2 and ESPN+, and listen to on WRHU 88.7 FM, WRHU.org and the WRHU iPhone App. Live stats and periodic in-game updates will be available via Twitter @NewYorkRiptide.
SUNRISE
It’s been 30 months since Executive Vice President Rich Lisk issued a warning to the rest of the league of his intentions to make the Riptide the premier team in the National Lacrosse League upon its return to play after the COVID-19 shortened season in which New York finished 1-12. After hiring NLL Hall of Famer Jim Veltman as the team’s general manager and five-time NLL champion Dan Ladouceur as head coach, the franchise made huge strides forward in season number two, taking their playoff chances to the final two weekends of the 2021-22 season. After a few notable additions this offseason, the Riptide are back on the field again for the 2022-23 season with a chance to take the next step and clinch a playoff spot for the first time in franchise history.
MEET THE NEW BOSS, SAME AS THE OLD BOSS
On September 10, the Riptide signed General Manager Jim Veltman, Head Coach Dan Ladouceur, Offensive Coordinator Jason Crosbie, and Defensive Coordinator Pat Jones to three-year contract extensions. In addition, Video Coordinator Bennett Drake was promoted to Director of Scouting, US Scout, while retaining his Video Coordinator duties.
The team scored the second most goals per game in the League, as well as a second-place finish in shooting percentage, improving on their last place finish from the 2019-20 season in both categories.
GETTING IN TUNE
The 2022-23 Season will see the Riptide play five of their first six games at home. Additionally, the RIptide will hit the road for four straight games to end the season.
On November 14 the Riptide announced that the team has signed a multi-year lease extension with Nassau Coliseum. The news reaffirmed the team’s commitment to Long Island as the building’s main tenant and will keep the team in Nassau County for the foreseeable future.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman will drop Saturday Night’s ceremonial faceoff in celebration of the team’s continued unwavering commitment to Nassau County.
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
The Riptide received some hardware this June at the NLL Awards. First, Jeff Teat was named the League’s Rookie of the Year. In addition, Teat was named to the All-League Second Team and All-Rookie Team. Last season, the 5-foot-10 inch forward finished the season with 108 points on 37 goals and 71 assists in 16 games after being selected first overall in the 2020 NLL Entry Draft. Teat finished fourth overall in the NLL in points, and third overall in assists, while leading all rookies in goals, assists, points, and powerplay assists, despite only playing in 16 games. Teat also broke single-season NLL rookie records in points and assists and became the first rookie in League history to score 100 points in a season. The recognition marked the second time that a Riptide player was awarded Rookie of the Year, after forward Tyson Gibson won the award in the 2019-20 season.
The League also announced that Riptide goaltender Steven Orleman was named to the NLL All-Rookie Team. Orleman broke the NLL rookie record for minutes and finished fifth overall with just under 987 minutes played and sixth overall in saves (656). Orleman signed as a free agent with the Riptide in August 2020 after he was selected in the second round (19th overall) by the Georgia Swarm in the 2018 NLL Entry Draft.
WON’T GET FOOLED AGAIN
Last season the Riptide held a 6-0 record when leading after three quarters, and 5-0 when leading at the half.
SEARCHING LOW AND HIGH
Defenseman Damon Edwards needs four points for 100 in his career. Callum Crawford needs one assist to pass Shawn Williams for seventh on the all-time list with 709.
HAPPY JACK
This is the first career game for 2021 second round pick (21st overall) Jack Kelly. In 53 collegiate games at Penn State, Kelly scored 102 points on 83 goals and 19 assists, including an impressive 42 goals in his 2019 junior season, in which he was named an honorable-mention All-American by Inside Lacrosse, and a USILA third-team All-American. During that season, Kelly ranked first in the Big Ten and third nationally in shot percentage (.538). In 58 career Junior A games, Kelly totaled 105 points on 40 goals and 65 assists.
I CAN SEE FOR MILES
The Riptide will have a bye week next weekend, before facing the Halifax Thunderbirds on Saturday December 17th at 7:30pm as the team hosts The Holiday Spectacular at Nassau Coliseum. This will mark the second home game of a stretch that will see the Riptide play five of their first six games at home. The game will be available to watch on MSGSN 2 and ESPN+, and listen to on WRHU 88.7 FM, WRHU. org and the WRHU iPhone App. Live stats and periodic in-game updates will be available via Twitter @ NewYorkRiptide.
