
Jax secure second place in OT thriller
April 5, 2009 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Portland Lumberjax News Release
PORTLAND - Welcome to the National Lacrosse League, Matt Flindell. Starting in his first National Lacrosse League game, Flindell appeared cool and comfortable, stopping 49 of the 61 shots he faced as the Portland LumberJax beat the Colorado Mammoth, 13-12 in overtime Saturday night in front of 7,859 at the Rose Garden Arena. In overtime, forward Peter Jacobs (1 goal, 2 assists) scored the game winner off a rebound shot.
With the win, Portland (7-5) eclipses its win total from a season ago and moves a game-and-a-half ahead of Colorado (6-7) for second place in the West Division.
"Flindell played huge for us tonight," said Head Coach/General Manager Derek Keenan. "It was a great, all out team win."
Trailing 2-0, Portland went on a 5-0 run to close the first quarter. With 10:02 left in the first quarter, defenseman Richard Morgan (2 goals, 2 assists) scored off passes from forward Tim Campeau (3 goals, 1 assist) and defenseman Pat Jones. Then, defenseman Brodie Merrill (3 goals, 1 assist) scored in transition with 8:30 left and 7:49 left to give Portland the 3-2 lead.
Forward Scott Stewart (1 goal, 2 assists) scored with 4:45 left off a pass from defenseman Bruce Alexander before forward Derek Malawsky (2 goals, 1 assist) scored on the power play with four seconds left in the quarter. Forwards Cory Conway and Dan Stroup (3 assists) were credited with assists on Portland's final goal of the quarter.
Colorado scored a quick goal to cut the lead to 5-3 before Portland upped the lead to 6-3. Off a pass from Merrill, Morgan plowed his way through the Mammoth defense and beat a helpless Curtis Palidwor with 11:15 left in the quarter.
Portland continued its run as Campeau scored off a rebound with 9:30 left to make it 7-3.
Colorado made it 7-4 before Malawsky scored with 6:33 left in the half to extend the lead to 8-4.
The Mammoth would score twice before Portland closed out the half with a goal. Off a pass from Jacobs and defenseman Luke Forget, transition player Matt Yager rolled off a screen and extended the lead to 9-6 with 1:40 left in the half.
Colorado scored the only four goals of the third quarter to take a 10-9 lead into the fourth.
Portland scored early to tie the game at 10 as Campeau scored with 13:56 left in the fourth quarter.
The teams continued to trade goals as Colorado scored before Merrill scored his third of the game with 11:07 left in regulation.
Then, Portland regained the lead as Campeau scored with 9:32 left in regulation to make it 12-11. A scoreless tie the rest of regulation setup Jacobs' heroics in overtime.
The Jax travel to Calgary to meet the Roughnecks at 6:30 p.m. PST on Friday, April 10th. Then, the Jax travel to Minnesota to meet the Swarm at 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 11th at 5 p.m. Both games can be seen via the NLL Network. Go to NLL.com to access the free broadcast.
• Discuss this story on the National Lacrosse League message board...
National Lacrosse League Stories from April 5, 2009
- New York Titans Clinch Playoff Birth With Win Over Philadelphia Wings, 16-13 - Orlando Titans
- Wings Drop 16-13 Decision to Rival Titans - Philadelphia Wings
- Lumberjax Edge Mammoth In Overtime - Colorado Mammoth
- Jax secure second place in OT thriller - Portland Lumberjax
- Roughnecks rally to beat Knighthawks - Calgary Roughnecks
- Swarm boosts playoff hopes, wins 9-7 - Minnesota Swarm
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
Other Recent Portland Lumberjax Stories
- Morgan Brothers Lacrosse Camp This Weekend!
- Merrill Named All-Pro
- Merrill Named Top Transition Player
- Jax Owners Will Not Continue to Operate in Portland
- Stealth Edge Jax, 20-16

