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Minnesota Swarm Clinches Playoff Berth With 11-8 Win at Philadelphia

April 13, 2007 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Minnesota Swarm News Release


Philadelphia, PA. - The Minnesota Swarm earned their second playoff berth in the franchise's three-year history with an 11-8 win over the Philadelphia Wings Friday in front of 11,738 fans at Wachovia Center in National Lacrosse League (NLL) action. Minnesota clinched the third seed in the East and will meet the Buffalo Bandits on April 22 at HSBC Arena at 1:00 p.m. (CDT) in a first round playoff game. Buffalo won both regular season meetings against Minnesota this season earning a 22-13 victory at HSBC Arena Jan. 16 and claimed a 16-15 win at Xcel Energy Center March 4.

The Swarm closes out the 2007 regular season against the Arizona Sting at 7:00 p.m. at Xcel Energy Center tomorrow on Military Night. Military Night will be highlighted by numerous events and activities featuring members of Minnesota military families. In addition, more than 4,000 upper level tickets have been provided to local military families, made possible by the support of Lockheed Martin. Fan Celebration Night will also be held Saturday as 20 lucky fans will win an autographed Swarm jersey and the first 5,000 in attendance will receive a Minnesota Swarm lacrosse ball.

Sean Pollock (three goals, one assist) Andrew Biers (four assists) and Ryan Ward (two goals, two assists) led the Swarm with four points each. Nick Patterson (7-5) made 47 saves on 55 shots for his seventh win in 12 decisions. Ward set career-highs in points (70) and assists (50) with his four-point game. Patterson set a personal and franchise record with seven wins this season.

Seven different Philadelphia players notched a goal on the evening with Athan Iannucci tallying a team-leading two. Keith Cromwell and Jake Bergey led the team with three points (one goal, two assists). Matt Roik stopped 34 of 45 shots in suffering his fifth loss of the season and lowered his goals against average to 11.03.

Ward opened the game for the Swarm with a pair of goals 1:11 apart, surpassing his personal season-high of 66 points on his first goal. Philadelphia answered with a pair of back-to-back goals from Kyle Sweeney and Rob Van Beek. The Swarm finished off the first quarter with another pair of unanswered goals from Scott Stewart and Pollock to end the first quarter with a 4-2 lead.

Pollock led off the second quarter with his second goal of the game assisted by Ward (another personal record with his 49th assist). The Wings answered back with two goals to bring the team within one at 5-4. Stewart netted his second goal of the game to finish the Swarm's scoring in the half. Keith Cromwell tallied the second quarter's final goal, giving Philadelphia a 6-5 deficit heading into the half.

Dean Hill opened the third quarter with his team-leading 28th goal of the season. Philadelphia added two goals to tie the game at 8:23 in the third quarter. Ryan Sharp netted his third goal of the season and Hill netted his second goal of the night to regain the two-goal lead. The Wings tallied another goal to come within one, before the Swarm collected the last two goals including Pollock's third of the contest to finish the scoring at 11-8.

Tickets for Saturday's regular season finale are available at the Xcel Energy Center Box Office and all Ticketmaster (www.Ticketmaster.com) locations or charge by calling Ticketmaster at (651) 989-5151. A portion of the ticket proceeds from the game will be donated to the Military Family Foundation. Swarm home regular season single game tickets are available in all price categories and range from $12.00 to $32.00 per game.

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