Pat Maddalena has two of the most impressive consecutive goals scored streaks since '05. (Dave Sanders)
We kinda fudged things up when trying to track Steve Toll’s consecutive games played streak last year (sorry again about that Steve), but thought we’d take a run at another consecutive record, at least part of the way.
With 16-game regular seasons, how many straight games do you think someone was able to stretch that number? Get ready to he surprised as hell after the jump, not cuz of who did it, but because of how many games this guy kept going strong.
So who was it? ‘09 NLL MVP and Mann Cup winner, Dan Dawson. And how many freakin’ games did he keep registering a goal? 52!! 52-games straight since the start of the ‘05 season with the Arizona Sting (confirmed Dawson had 0 goals in his last game in ‘04) to four games into ‘08 with the Portland Lumberjax. Unbelievable.
Gary Gait, Paul Gait, John Tavares and Tom Marechek probably did some consecutive game damage over their careers, but with legit post-’04 stats hard to come by, we’ll track this one heavier on the modern era until a later date.
Lewis Ratcliff came pretty close to his one-time Victoria teammate in Dawson, ending his streak at 46 this year while in Toronto, but after those two, no one else over the past five years has really come all that close.
So how does this apply to things heading into 2010 and our Big Q theme? There are two current NLLers riding a couple pretty slick consecutive streaks of their own.
The first? John Grant, who previous to being put on the shelf last year due to his blown knee, had sniped a G in 34 consecutive games for the Rochester Knighthawks, spanning the better part of three seasons. That streak actually almost ended in Grant’s last game of ‘08 at MSG, where he was held scoreless for the first almost 53 minutes against the New York Titans, claiming a power-play goal with just minutes to spare before the final buzzer.
The other? The Calgary Roughnecks’ O maestro, Josh Sanderson, who’s gone 28 straight games with a goal, a guy some mighta not thought about for this figure due to his constant unselfish play.
Can either catch the insane 52 Dawson pulled together? Even with a full season under their belts this year, with goals in those games, neither will hit 52, but Jr. can finish the season just two shy and Shooter at a pretty impressive 44 (knock on wood).
Let us know below who you like to try and bust Big Daws’ recent record (maybe all-time record), but also check out the rest of the most impressive consecutive goals streaks since ‘05 below, and the crop of current ballers running with streaks heading into 2010.
And before counting either Grant or Sanderson out of the mix in the poll below, both already holding down really off the charts runs, to match Dawson, someone would basically have to go a full three seasons and almost half of a fourth season (all while scoring in everyone of those game), to break Dan’s 52. It’s a treacherous climb both vets have already put a major dent in, but if you think someone else is consistent and good enough to do it, vote below and then let us know why on the boards.
Who do you think will break Dan Dawson's 52 straight game scoring streak?
|
|
Consecutive |
|
Player |
Teams |
Games w/ G |
Seasons |
Dan Dawson |
ARZ, POR |
52 |
'05 – '08 |
Lewis Ratcliff |
CAL, TOR |
46 |
'06 – '09 |
Pat Maddalena |
ARI, NY |
37 |
'06 – '08 |
John Grant |
ROC |
34 |
Active |
Pat Maddalena |
ARI |
33 |
'04 – '06 |
Colin Doyle |
TOR, SJ |
30 |
'05 – '07 |
Josh Sanderson |
TOR, CAL |
28 |
Active |
Aaron Wilson |
TOR |
28 |
'05 – '07 |
Jeff Zywicki |
SJ |
28 |
'07 – '08 |
John Tavares |
BUF |
25 |
'06 – '08 |
Tracey Kelusky |
CAL |
24 |
'05 – '06 |
John Tavares |
BUF |
19 |
Active |
Colin Doyle |
SJ, WAS |
18 |
Active |
Dane Dobbie |
CAL |
17 |
Active |
Casey Powell |
NY, ORL |
15 |
Active |
Peter Morgan |
POR, WAS |
14 |
Active |
Brian Langtry |
COL |
13 |
Active |
Mark Steenhuis |
BUF |
12 |
Active |
Merrick Thomson |
PHI |
11 |
Active |
Luke Wiles |
TOR, WAS |
11 |
Active |
Sean Pollock |
MIN |
11 |
Active |
Daryl Veltman |
BOS |
9 |
Active |
Mike Accursi |
BUF |
9 |
Active |
The foremost boxla writer, Tutka is a former NLL scout and a longtime Inside Lacrosse contributor. Email him at paul.tutka@nllinsider.com.