Jax Put On Hall Of Fame Performance, Win 12-10

March 1, 2009 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Portland Lumberjax News Release


PORTLAND, February 28, 2009 - On a night in which future Hall-of-Fame goalie Dallas Eliuk was honored, Portland LumberJax goalie Matt Disher did his best Eliuk impression as he stopped 45 of the 55 shots en route to a 12-10 win over the Philadelphia Wings Saturday at the Rose Garden Arena night in front of 8,560. With the win, Portland is over .500 for the first time in franchise history at the All-Star Break and enters in sole possession of second place in the West Division. Portland is also on a four-game winning streak and has won three straight home games.

Portland wasted little time as forward Derek Malawsky (3 goals, 3 assists) scored off passes from forwards Ryan Powell (2 goals, 2 assists) and Peter Morgan (2 goals, 5 assists) with 13:46 left in the first to make it 1-0. The run continued as forward Peter Jacobs (2 goals) scored with 12:32 left and then Powell scored 30-seconds later to make it 3-0 in favor of the home team. Then, Malawsky scored with 6:49 left and then P. Morgan scored with 3:37 left to make it 5-0 at the end of one.

The Wings opened up the second with two straight goals before forward Cory Conway (1 goal, 3 assists) blew a shot past Philadelphia goalie Rob Blasdell with 13:03 left to make it a 6-2 game. P. Morgan and forward Dan Stroup (2 goals, 1 assist) were credited with assists on the goal.

After a Philadelphia goal, tempers flared with 6:47 left in the half as defenseman Luke Forget (2 assists) and Philadelphia Jon Harasym traded blows. Forget was credited with the knockout as both were sent to the penalty box for fighting.

The Wings would score once before Malawsky tallied the hat trick with 2:41 left in the second quarter to make it 7-4 at the half.

Portland scored with 12:18 left in the third as Stroup scored off passes from Malawsky and forward Scott Stewart (3 assists) to make it 8-4. The Wings would score three goals before Jacobs provided the move of the game. With 4:25 left in the third, Jacobs took a pass from Forget and dove across the crease, beating Blasdell to make it 9-7.

The Jax kicked off the fourth as P. Morgan scored off passes from defenseman Brodie Merrill and Disher with 14:26 left to make it 10-8.

The Wings would score before Stroup scored his second goal of the game with 7:18 left in the fourth quarter to make it 11-9. Then, Powell scored with 6:28 left to make it 12-9. Philadelphia would add a late goal, but Portland pulled out the 12-10 win.

Next Saturday, March 7th is the NLL All-Star Game. Merrill, Disher and P. Morgan will all play for the West Division, which will be coached by Assistant Coach and Community Relations Director Dallas Eliuk. Game time is 6 p.m. PST at the Pepsi Center. The game can be seen as part of the NLL Network. Log onto PortlandJax.com to access the broadcast. Eliuk will also be inducted into the NLL Hall of Fame earlier that day.

The Jax return to action after the All-Star Break on Saturday, March 21st as they travel to Buffalo in a rematch of last season's Championship Game. The Jax and Bandits will face-off at 4:30 p.m. PST at HSBC Arena. The game will be available via the NLL Network.

Notes: Before the game, Eliuk was honored. Eliuk played the first 15 seasons of his NLL career for the Wings, winning four Champion's Cups and earning nine All-Pro Awards...Eliuk played his final three seasons in Portland and retired as the league's all-time saves leader with 6,356 saves...Portland is 2-0 all-time when Todd Labranche and Todd Lorenz referee a game a Jax game..Saturday's attendance was the 10th highest home attendance in team history...Malawsky scored a season-high three goals and matched a season-high with six points...Portland shut out a team in the first quarter for the first time since April 14, 2006 when the Jax beat the Edmonton Rush 11-7.



National Lacrosse League Stories from March 1, 2009


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