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Swarm Falls 16-12 To Boston

February 21, 2009 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Minnesota Swarm News Release


Saint paul, MN - The Minnesota Swarm (2-4) lost its fourth consecutive game, 15-11 to the Boston Blazers (5-3) Friday night in front of 12,106 at the Xcel Energy Center. F Dan Dawson had 12 points (2-10=12) and F Ryan Ward led Minnesota with six (4-2=6). G Anthony Cosmo made 40 saves in the win while G Kevin Croswell made 20 saves on 27 shots in the loss for Minnesota.

Minnesota has been a slow starting team this season, being outscored 15-7 in the first quarter in its first five games and Friday was no different as the Blazers jumped out to an early 5-1 lead. Dan Dawson scored twice and added three assists in the stretch. "He's a great player, there's no doubt about that," Head Coach Duane Jacobs said. "But you can't give up ten goals in a half and expect to win. It wasn't so much Dawson was doing it as we were just flat footed." F Dan Marohl scored for the Swarm at 2:55, assisted by F Rory McDade and F Aaron Wilson, both making their Swarm debuts. Minnesota did finish the quarter strong, outscoring the Blazers 3-1 in the final 6:28, including goals from F Sean Pollock (8:32), F Ryan Sharp (10:11) and Ryan Ward (14:50).

Boston came out strong again the second with two quick goals and a goalie change could not stop the momentum as the Blazers scored just 14 seconds after Kevin Croswell replaced starting goalie Nick Patterson in net. "We just weren't getting any stops," Jacobs said. "It wasn't all Patterson's fault, guys were letting their checks go and they were naked in front of the net so we had to do something to change the momentum." Patterson finished with nine saves on 17 shots in 25:13. After the quick goal Jacobs called time out and it may have been the spark Minnesota needed to cut into the 9-4 deficit. Minnesota turned the momentum, again outscoring Boston in the second half of the period 3-1. Ward scored his second power-play goal of the game at 7:36, followed by Pollock's second of the game at 8:30. Despite a quick response from F Daryl Veltman (11:40), Ward scored his third of the game at 11:40 to cut the halftime deficit to 10-7. Dawson led all scorers in the first half with eight points (2-6=8) while Ward led the Swarm with four (3-1=4).

The third quarter saw an early flurry of goals with both teams scoring twice in the first 4:48. F Gary Bining started the scoring at 25 seconds for Boston before Ward responded for Minnesota at 2:10 with his fourth goal of the game. Boston extended its lead back to four at 4:11 with F Daryl Veltman's third goal of the game, but again the Swarm responded at 4:48 as F Chad Culp scored his fifth goal of the season. It was the end of the scoring in the quarter though, despite a four minute power-play for Minnesota late in the third quarter. Minnesota out-shot Boston 14-10 in the third quarter but still trailed 12-9.

Boston shut the door on Minnesota early in the fourth quarter with three goals including F Nick Cotter's second (2:27) and third (5:52) goals of the game, as the Blazers took a commanding 15-9 lead. Minnesota attempted to rally as Culp scored twice and Marohl added his second of the game, but it wasn't enough as Boston added an empty netter to finish off the 16-12 victory. Veltman finished with seven points (4-3=7) behind Dawson's 12 point effort while Pollock (2-3=5) and Culp (3-2=5) added five points for the Swarm. Aaron Wilson and Rory McDade each had three assists in their Swarm debuts.

Minnesota heads east to play Philadelphia (2-5) tomorrow as it plays the first of six consecutive road games. "We just need to win; we need to have a good start. All 16 players, not eight; the confidence level is low and it's going to take a real big effort from everybody. It's going to be tough but it's a character tester for sure."

Minnesota's next home game is Saturday, March 28th vs. the Calgary Roughnecks. Swarm single game tickets are on sale now at the Xcel Energy Center Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations, by calling 888-MN-SWARM or by visiting www.mnswarm.com. Swarm Single game tickets are available in all price categories and range from $13.00 to $65.00.

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