Sports stats



Jax Seek Historic Final In Championship Game

May 14, 2008 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Portland Lumberjax News Release


PORTLAND, May 14, 2008 - The Portland LumberJax became just the third team to ever reach the National Lacrosse League Championship game after a sub .500 regular season when they won the West Division title by defeating the Calgary Roughnecks 16-12 in Calgary last Saturday. By winning the West, the Jax (6-10) have the opportunity to become only the second team to ever win the championship with a sub. 500 regular season record. Portland travels to Buffalo to meet the Bandits (10-6) in the 2008 Edge NLL Championship Game on Saturday, May 17 at 4:30 p.m. PST at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo.

After a 1-5 start, the Jax had to win five of their final 10 regular season games to get into the playoffs. Once they got in, the Jax began to play their finest lacrosse and have now matched a season-high with back-to-back wins.

In the West Division semifinals in San Jose against the Stealth, Portland scored a franchise-high 18 goals as the Jax won 18-16. Forward Dan Dawson, who led Portland in goals scored (38), points (81) and tied for the team lead with 43 assists, shredded the Stealth defense with seven goals and five assists. The seven goals and 12 points scored were both franchise-highs for the man nicknamed "Dangerous".

In the West Division final, Dawson again excelled as he scored 10 points (5 goals, 5 assists) and logged his eighth hat trick of the season. Forwards Ryan Powell (4 goals), Peter Morgan (4 goals, 3 assists) and Derek Malawsky (1 goal, 7 assists) all scored timely goals as Portland won 16-12 for the first time ever at the Pengrowth Saddledome.

In goal, Dallas Eliuk stepped in early in the second quarter for the injured Matt Disher and played phenomenal. The 17-year, crafty veteran stopped 35 of the 43 shots he faced and helped silence the Roughnecks' attack by only allowing two goals over the final 26-minutes. Disher, who strained his MCL, will be a game-time decision for the championship.

Buffalo won the East Division title by knocking off the New York Titans 19-12 last Saturday in Buffalo and will seek to remain perfect at home in the playoffs. The NLL, which eliminated postseason byes for the top seeds in 2006, has never seen a team win three home playoff games to win the championship. The last team to be perfect at home in the playoffs was the 2005 Toronto Rock, which went 2-0 and beat the Arizona Sting 19-13 at the Air Canada Centre for the championship.

Buffalo last won a title in 1996 and has since lost in the championship in 2006, 2004 and 1997. Portland seeks its first NLL Championship in a city that has not seen a championship from a professional sports team since the Blazers won the NBA title in 1977.

60-minutes is all that separates the Jax from history.

• Discuss this story on the National Lacrosse League message board...

National Lacrosse League Stories from May 14, 2008


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



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central