Sports stats



Portland Loses See-Saw Battle in the Rose Garden

March 25, 2007 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Portland Lumberjax News Release


PORTLAND, March 24, 2007 - The Portland LumberJax (2-10) dropped a 9-7 nail-biter tonight in the Rose Garden Arena against the San Jose Stealth (5-5) in front of 6,322 fans. The Jax were led by forward Peter Morgan who had one goal and two assists during the contest while six other Jax contributed to the score.

Thirty-five seconds into tonight's action, Jax forward Ryder Bateman was penalized for slashing which forced Portland to play a man down. Just as the LumberJax returned to even strength, forward Matt Holman (1G) cut through the center and placed the ball right over the goalie's shoulder, putting Portland up by one at 2:46. Ray Guze's consecutive penalties [roughing and a check from behind] put him in the box for four minutes, allowing San Jose to score their first goal on a power play at 4:37. The goal released one of the two minute penalties, but Guze would continue to serve the remaining two minutes which enabled the Stealth to play a man up. Stealth forward Gary Rosyski's roughing and illegal cross check penalties put him in the box for four minutes just as Guze was released. Although a man up, the Jax allowed the Stealth to find the back of the net at 7:31 on a short-handed goal. San Jose forward Cam Sedgwick scored the Stealth's third goal on a fast break at 11:37 to wrap up the quarter with a 3-1 lead.

The Jax opened the second quarter with a goal from Richard Morgan (1G, 1A) at 2:06. Two more goals from Jed Prossner (4:30; 1G, 1A) and Ryder Bateman (4:39; 1G) helped the Jax reclaim the lead. At 5:24, Brodie Merrill was called for slashing and forced into the penalty box. His two-minute penalty allowed the Stealth to score on a man up opportunity, tying the game at four all (5:44). After a few aggressive attempts to win back the ball, forward Kelly Hall (1G, 1A) claimed possession and found the to left corner of the net at 8:08. Seconds later, teammate P. Morgan (3:38) hit one from point-blank range, helping Portland take a 6-4 lead. San Jose's Darren Halls found the back of the net at 10:16, cutting the Jax lead to one. With 1:33 remaining in the first half, the Jax played with a man advantage after a San Jose roughing penalty, but failed to score and entered the locker room with a 6-5 lead.

The Stealth opened the third with a holding penalty at 1:13, allowing the Jax the first goal of the quarter on a power-play from Tyler Heavenor (1G) at 1:28. The Stealth recovered and scored their own power-play goal at 3:51. The Jax soon found themselves in a five-on-three advantage after San Jose's Curtis Hodgson and Ian Hawksbee were both called for penalties. The Jax were unable to convert their advantage into points before both teams returned to equal strength. With four seconds remaining, Stealth forward Luke Wiles found the back of the net to tie the game at 7-7 to end the third. After the goal, Guze was called for roughing and forced into the penalty box for two minutes.

With Guze still serving his penalty, the Jax were able to hold off San Jose's man advantage in order to get back to even strength. Portland was once again up on a power play opportunity after a two minute checking from behind penalty on the Stealth. Unable to convert the advantage, Portland allowed Steve Holmes to find an open net over Dallas Eliuk's (38 SOG, 29 SV) left shoulder for a short-handed goal (5:51) and an 8-1 San Jose lead. Both teams were forced to play a man down after Guze and Rosyski were charged with delay of game penalties. After the players were released from the box, Guze got the Jax fans on their feet when he started a fight with Rosyski. Both players were forced back into the box serving five minute majors for fighting. Scott Mazuren and Graham Palmer were both charged with simultaneous penalties, giving San Jose a five-on-three advantage. Colin Doyle's goal at 12:12 released one of the Jax players from the box and helped the Stealth claim a 9-7 lead to win the game.

The Jax will battle the Calgary Roughnecks on Friday, March 30 at 7 p.m. in the Rose Garden Arena for Rebound Sports Rehab Kid's Night. All kids 12 and under are half price at the door. Tickets are still available, so call the Jax Ticketing Office today at 503.797.9739 for information on groups and three-game season packages.

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

National Lacrosse League Stories from March 25, 2007


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