The New England Black Wolves of the National Lacrosse League play their third straight home game to open their inaugural season tonight at 7 against the Minnesota Swarm at Mohegan Sun Arena.

And the Black Wolves are 2-0, beating three-time defending league champion Rochester 17-7 the last time out.

New England is tied for the lead in the East Division with Toronto, despite missing the playoffs last year.

"I don't think they're surprises. I think they have some pretty great players there," Minnesota coach Joe Sullivan said of the Black Wolves on this week's league conference call. "They've got some good things going on. They've got the excitement of a new venue and they run.

"... I think it will be a fast game and we'll see how it goes."

The Black Wolves are led by Kevin Crowley with seven goals and nine assists for 16 points and Kyle Buchanan with seven goals and five assists for 12 points. Crowley matched a career high with six goals and also had four assists in the win over Rochester.

Meanwhile, goalie Evan Kirk leads the league with a save percentage of .848 and a goals-against-average of 7.5.

Minnesota (1-1) has 13 points from Callum Crawford and 11 from Shayne Jackson, with a team-best six goals from rookie Miles Thompson. The Swarm topped Edmonton in their last game 14-10.

Both teams are coming off a bye week.

v.fulkerson@theday.com

Twitter: @vickieattheday