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LumberJax Held Off by Swarm 11-8

February 3, 2007 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Portland Lumberjax News Release


PORTLAND, Feb. 2, 2007 - The Portland LumberJax dropped to 2-4 tonight as they were defeated 11-8 by the Minnesota Swarm in front of 6,281 fans in the Rose Garden Arena. Portland forward Ryan Powell earned his third-straight LumberJax Player of the Game Award after netting three goals and an assist during the contest.

Portland took 49 shots on goal and collected 78 looseballs tonight. At the same time, Minnesota accumulated 39 shots and 64 looseballs. Jax goalies Dallas Eliuk and Matt King made 28 combined saves on the night while allowing 11 goals against, while Minnesota's Nick Patterson made 41 saves off of 49 shots on goal.

"I think our defense did well tonight against the Swarm," Powell said during the team's post-game press conference. "I think that we to step it up our offensive game."

The Swarm put some pressure on the Jax in the opening minutes of the game with Sean Pollock and Spencer Martin scoring goals within the first two minutes (:29; 1:49 respectively). Portland responded to a Minnesota penalty though, netting a man-up goal from Mike Hominuck (1G, 3A) at 5:22. Minnesota's Martin received a five-minute major penalty for high sticking Ryder Bateman (2A), which forced the forward to temporarily leave the game at the 6:37-minute mark and quarter concluded with the score at 2-1.

Eliuk made a spectacular point-blank save early in the quarter and blocked another off of a Minnesota rebound. However Swarm's Dean Hill managed to find the net at 2:42, putting the visitors up 3-1. The Jax responded with three straight goals from Brodie Merrill (5:01), Powell (6:44) and Richard Morgan (7:43) to take a 4-3 lead, their first of the night. The Swarm quickly responded with goals from D. Hill at 9:16 and Kasey Beirnes within a 34 second span to re-take the advantage. Former Jax forward Scott Stewart scored one last goal (13:33) before the half, giving Minnesota a 6-4 lead.

The Swarm scored their first goal of the second half on an open net 1:15 into the quarter when the Jax tried to sneak an odd-man up opportunity. Jax forward Del Halladay (1G, 1A) scored at 2:47 and Powell capitalized on power play (4:57) which narrowed the lead to one. The Swarm extended their lead by the end of the quarter however, pulling away after Pollock's goal at 10:13 and Mark Miyashita's at 12:36.

It took five minutes before either team could score again, but Minnesota attained their third unanswered goal at 5:21 in the fourth from Pollock who found the net once again at 9:24. On a power play, Jax forward Peter Morgan (1G, 2A) became the sixth Portland player to notch a goal in the game at the 12:53 mark. Powell scored the final goal of the game at 14:10, but it wasn't enough for the Jax to claim the win.

The LumberJax will take next week off and return to action against Western Division rival Colorado Mammoth. The Mammoth rivalry will be renewed at 7 p.m. in the Rose Garden on Thursday, Feb. 15.

Individual tickets for all LumberJax games are on sale now starting at $10 with applicable fees; including the Jax home game on Thursday, Feb. 15 against Western Division rival Colorado Mammoth 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased through the Jax Ticketing Office at 503.797.9739 or at www.PortlandJax.com. Who Wants More?

Season Tickets for the LumberJax start as low as $60. Packages include the five regular season home games and the 2007 NLL All -Star Game. Also, it's never too early to plan ahead for friends and family or company outings. Receive discounts when you bring a group of fifteen or more. Tickets for the National Lacrosse League (NLL) 2007 All-Star Game are also now on sale. The game will be played on March 10, 2007 at the Rose Garden, home of the Portland LumberJax. Tickets can be purchased by calling 866.983.5656, at the Rose Quarter Box office or all participating Safeway locations.

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