Arizona Sting Opening Round Playoff Preview and Player Updates

April 20, 2006 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Arizona Sting News Release


The NLL's Champion's Cup Playoffs get underway this weekend, with eight teams battling it out to earn one of four spots in the Divisional Finals. The Arizona Sting will be traveling to Portland, Oregon, to take on the team that finished the regular season atop the NLL's West Division. The Portland Lumberjax proved to be an expansion team in name only this year, as they won their final six regular season contests en route to an 11-5 record. The Sting are entering the post-season on a hot streak of their own, having swept last weekend's home-and-home series against San Jose to finish the season at 8-8.

Arizona and Portland split their two game season series, with both teams winning on their home floor. The Sting beat the Lumberjax 12-7 at the Glendale Arena on January 13 prior to losing the rematch by a score of 12-10 at the Rose Garden on March 11. Veteran goaltenders Dallas Eliuk and Rob Blasdell started in net for their respective teams in both contests. Thus far, Blasell has a slight head-to-head advantage over the NLL's all-time saves leader, having made 76 saves over the course of their two confrontations compared to Eliuk's 61.

Head Coach/GM Bob Hamley is pleased with his team's play going into the post-season, but recognizes the high level of skill possessed by Portland.

"We're playing the hottest team in the NLL on Saturday," said Hamley. "They've won six straight for a reason and we're going to have to put together a full sixty minutes to pull out a win this weekend. We played really well last week to finish off the regular season and we'll have to keep that momentum going into the playoffs."

Hamley's counterpart, Lumberjax Head Coach Derek Keenan, feels his team will be in tough against the NLL's second highest scoring team this weekend.

"This is a very difficult match-up for us," said Keenan. "They have a lot of guys that can score on offense and some solid defensive guys that run the floor well. I think this team is probably a little better than their record indicates and we'll definitely have our hands full on Saturday."

Game time on Saturday is 7:30PM. Sting fans can watch the game live by logging on to B2 Networks. Visit www.nll.com or www.arizonasting.com for more details.

THE MATCH-UP:

Arizona (8-8) @ Portland (11-5) - Saturday, April 22 @ 7:30 PST

Location: Rose Garden - Portland, OR

TOP SCORERS:

Arizona - Dan Dawson (16GP-34G-48A-82P); Craig Conn (15GP-44G-23A-67P); Pat Maddalena (15GP-24G-34A-58P); Lindsay Plunkett (13GP-17G-25A-42P); Matt Brown (16GP-16G-19A-35P)

Portland - Peter Morgan (16GP-25G-29A-54); Mike Hominuck (15GP-28G-25A-53P); Brodie Merill (16GP-17G-32A-49P); Bruce Alexander (15GP-12G-33A-45P); Del Halladay (16GP-18G-20A-38P)

ARIZONA ALL-TIME AGAINST PORTLAND:

Record: 1-1

Goals For: 22

Goals Against: 19

THE LAST TIME THESE TEAMS PLAYED:

The Lumberjax defeated the Sting by a score of 12-10 at the Rose Garden on March 11. Craig Conn scored a hat trick and Rob Blasdell made 40 saves on 52 shots in the loss. The Lumberjax were led by rookie sensation Brodie Merrill, who registered 4 points (2G-2A) and scooped up 12 loose balls on the night. Arizona's penalty killing unit was outstanding throughout the match, as Portland was denied on all six of their power play opportunities.



National Lacrosse League Stories from April 20, 2006


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.

OurSports Central