Arizona Improves to 1-1 on the Season with Road Win

Published on January 13, 2007 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Arizona Sting News Release


SAN JOSE, CA --- The Arizona Sting won their first game of 2007 on Saturday night, besting the San Jose Stealth by a score of 14-11 at the HP Pavilion to improve their record to 1-1. After a back-and-forth opening three quarters, the Sting exploded for five unanswered goals to open the fourth period, building a lead that the now 1-2 Stealth were unable to overcome. Sting Head Coach Bob Hamley was pleased with his team's effort on Saturday night.

"This was a total team victory," said Hamley. "Our offense really picked it up when we needed them to, our transition game created some good chances for us, and our defense and goaltending were both solid from start to finish. I'm very pleased with how we played here tonight."

After San Jose established an early 2-1 lead, Dan Dawson netted a power play goal to tie the match at two apiece. The Sting would not trail the rest of the game. Curt Malawsky and Lindsay Plunkett then scored back-to-back goals to put Arizona up 4-2, which was how the opening period ended.

The Stealth cut the Sting lead in half early in the second quarter, as Luke Wiles found the back of the net for San Jose. Colin Doyle's second goal of the season made the score 4-4 midway through the second period. Arizona re-took the lead at the 9:01 mark of the second quarter, with Matt Brown scoring his first goal of the year to put his team up 5-4. On a three-on-two rush, Stealth defenseman Shaydon Santos snuck a shot past Sting goalie Rob Blasdell to tie the game at five apiece, but on the subsequent possession Lindsay Plunkett scored his second goal of the game to put the Sting back up by one. Jeff Zwicki took advantage of a screen by Colin Doyle in front of Blasdell to tie the game at six with a low shot near the end of the first half. Zwicki's goal proved to be the final tally of the second quarter, and the game entered its midway point with the score 6-6. Sting forward Derek Malawsky, who led the Stealth in scoring last season, was pleased to earn a victory in his return to San Jose.

"It's definitely nice to come back here and get a big win with the Sting," said Malawsky. "We played really well out there tonight and I think this is definitely a sign of things to come for this team."

The Sting opened the second half the same way they opened the first - with a goal. Dan Dawson cut through a trio of San Jose defensemen and bounced a shot past Stealth goalie Anthony Cosmo, giving Arizona a 7-6 lead in the process. On the Stealth's next possession, Rob Blasdell made a spectacular kick save off a Colin Doyle shot to preserve the one goal Sting advantage. The game was tied at seven apiece midway through the third period, as Cam Sedgwick notched a power play tally for the Stealth. The Sting responded quickly however, as Craig Conn snuck a shot past Cosmo to give his team an 8-7 advantage. The Arizona lead was extended to two by ‘Dangerous' Dan Dawson, who unleashed a shot from fifteen feet out that beat Cosmo high. With Scott Self in the penalty box, San Jose's Gary Rosyski scored the final goal of the third period, bringing his team to within one of the Arizona lead with a power play tally.

Derek Malawsky scored to open the fourth period, giving Arizona a 10-8 in doing so. Craig Conn then scored consecutive goals to give his team a 12-8 lead. Lindsay Plunkett and Curt Malawsky then scored back-to-back goals to put the Sting up by six goals late in the game. Jeff Zwicki, Wes Green, and Gary Rosyski scored late to pull the Stealth to within three, but that would be as close as the home team would get as Arizona held on for the victory.

The Sting will take on the 2-0 Portland Lumberjax in a home-and-home series next weekend. Friday night's home game at Jobing.com Arena gets underway at 7:30pm, with Saturday night's match at the Rose Garden set to take place at 8:30pm Arizona time.

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National Lacrosse League Stories from January 13, 2007


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