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Jax blaze Boston in OT 9-8

January 31, 2009 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Portland Lumberjax News Release


BOSTON, Mass. - If January is any indication of the season that Portland LumberJax forward Peter Morgan is going to have, then the rest of the National Lacrosse League will continue to be in a world of hurt. Behind three goals from P. Morgan, who also netted the game winner one minute, 13 seconds into overtime, the Jax (3-3) beat the Boston Blazers 9-8 in overtime Saturday night in front of 5,029 at the TD Banknorth Garden. P. Morgan finished the month of January with a team leading 12 goals. With the win, the Jax reached the .500 mark for the first time since the 2007 season. Portland also finished the month of January with a .500 record for the first time since 2006.

Down 8-6 late in the fourth quarter, Portland began its winning rally. Forward Matt Brown (2 goals, 1 assist) scored with 4:05 left in the fourth and then forward Peter Jacobs scored 15 seconds later.

Then, one minute, 13 seconds into the extra frame, P. Morgan buried the game winner. After collecting the loose ball, forward Derek Malawsky sent the pass to forward Ryan Powell (4 assists), who found P. Morgan to give the Jax a two-game winning streak. Former Portland forward "Dangerous" Dan Dawson scored three goals and added two assists in the losing effort for Boston (2-3).

"Tonight was a grinder," said Head Coach/General Manager Derek Keenan. "Boston is a handful to deal with and they are a very tough team. This was a game that could have gone either way, but our guys pulled off the win in the end."

"We said a few weeks ago that we wanted to end the month on a two-game winning streak and reach .500. Well, mission accomplished," added Keenan.

Goalie Matt Disher once again made a strong case for National Lacrosse League Defensive and Player of the Week honors by stopping 46 of the 54 shots he faced.

"Dish was top notch again," said Keenan. "I say it all the time, but when you get goaltending like that, you are going to win a lot of games."

The game began as Portland kicked things off first as P. Morgan scored off of forward Powell's rebound shot with 11:35 left in the first quarter to make it 1-0. Then, with 10:52 left in the quarter, the Jax made it 2-0 as forward Scott Stewart (1 goal, 1 assist) muscled his way through the Boston and beat goalie Anthony Cosmo. Defensemen Brodie Merrill (1 goal, 2 assists) and Richard Morgan (1 assist) were credited with assists on the goal.

Boston would close the quarter on a 3-0 run to take a 3-2 lead into the second quarter.

Portland evened the game at three 35 seconds into the second quarter as P. Morgan scored his second goal of the game after working a nifty back-and-forth exchange with Powell.

The Blazers would score before Portland tied the game for the third time at four. Forward Dan Stroup scored with 8:43 left in the half after squeaking a low-lying shot past Cosmo. Forwards Cory Conway (2 assists) Brown were credited with assists on the goal.

Boston would add a late goal to make it 4-4 after one half of play.

The Jax retook the lead with 12:58 left in the third quarter as Merrill scored to make it 6-5. After a Boston, Brown provided the move of the game. Posting up, Brown flipped a shot behind his back that went past Cosmo with 3:09 left in the third to make it 6-5. Powell and defenseman Luke Forget (2 assists) were credited with assists on the goal.

Boston scored the first three goals of the quarter to take an 8-6 lead. Down two, Portland rallied to send the game into overtime. Brown scored with 4:05 left and then Jacobs scored 15 seconds later to tie the game at eight.

One minute, 13 seconds in, P. Morgan notched the hat trick. After collecting the loose ball, Malawsky sent the pass to Powell, who found P. Morgan for the game winner.

Portland returns home to face the San Jose Stealth on Saturday, February 7th at 7:30 p.m. at the Rose Garden Arena.

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