Sting defeat Rush in overtime thriller
February 18, 2007 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Arizona Sting News Release
GLENDALE, AZ --- The Arizona Sting won their third straight home game on Sunday afternoon, besting the visiting Edmonton Rush by a score of 12-11 at Jobing.com Arena. The match was a back-and-forth affair that saw a multitude of lead changes take place, but after a late goal from Lindsay Plunkett tied the game at eleven apiece, Dan Dawson scored his third goal of the game 3:01into overtime to send the 7, 063 fans in attendance home happy as the Sting pulled out an important inter-division win on their home floor. Head Coach/General Manager Bob Hamley was pleased with his team's effort on Sunday afternoon.
"This was a huge win for us," said Hamley following the game. "We knew we needed to win today and we found a way to do just that. (Dan) Dawson came up big for us again in overtime, and he showed everyone why he's a star in this league. Rob (Blasdell) had another strong game for us in net and came up with some big saves in overtime. It's definitely nice to get back on the winning track after a disappointing loss in Edmonton last weekend, and we're looking forward to building on our momentum."
The Sting opened with a goal 0:27 into the game, as Dan Dawson fired a low shot through the legs of Edmonton goalie Curtis Palidwor to put the home team up 1-0. Both teams' defenses then took center stage following Dawson's tally, confounding their offensive counterparts with stellar play for the majority of the first quarter. With 5:26 remaining in the first period, Rob Bladell made a big save off of Chris Gill from close range to keep his team's lead in tact. Blasdell was beaten a minute later beaten by Jason Wulder, however, who tied the game 1-1 with his fourth tally of the season. A goal by veteran Curt Malawsky at the at the 10:54 mark of the first would prove to be the final tally of the opening frame, as the Sting ended the first period with a precarious 2-1 lead.
The Rush tied things up early in the second quarter, as Randy Daly beat Rob Blasdell with a well-placed shot 2:30 into the period. Edmonton went up 3-2 shortly thereafter, as Wulder scored his second goal of the afternoon to give the visiting squad from northern Alberta their first lead of the match. The Arizona power play then went to work, as Dan Dawson and Matt Brown both scored with a man advantage in the closing minutes of the second period to give the Sting a 4-3 halftime lead.
Brown, who tallied 3G-1A-4P on Sunday, was pleased to contribute to his team's victory over the Rush.
"I felt pretty good out there today," said Brown. "I was getting some good looks at the goal and was able to find the back of the net a few times. It's nice to be able to contribute offensively like that, but the most important thing to me is winning. As long as we're doing that, I'm happy."
The second half opened unfavorably for Arizona, as Chris Gill and Dan Stroup both scored in the first minute of the third quarter to give Edmonton a 5-4 lead. 'Downtown' Matt Brown then registered his second tally of the game to tie the match at five apiece. The Sting took the lead back with a transition goal courtesy of Scott Self, who dove through the Rush's goal crease and snuck a shot past Palidwor to make the score 6-5 for the home squad. Arizona went up by four on the strength of back-to-back-to-back goals by left-handed forwards Lindsay Plunkett, Derek Malawsky, and Matt Brown. The Rush cut the lead to two after goals from Jamie Bowen and Chris McElroy made the score 9-7 in as the third quarter came to an end.
Edmonton came out strong in the fourth period, as Chris Gill scored the first two goals of the frame to tie the score at nine. A highlight-reel goal from Curt Malawsky gave the Sting a 10-9 at the 5:38 mark of the frame, but Chris Gill's fourth tally of the afternoon re-tied the match at ten apiece 1:02 later. The Rush went up 11-10 on a power play goal by Dan Stroup, but Lindsay Plunkett's second goal of the match knotted the score at eleven as regulation came to an end.
The opening minutes of overtime saw each team failing to capitalize on their scoring chances, as both Blasdell and Palidwor came up big in net for their respective teams. On Arizona's fourth possession of the extra frame, Dan Dawson took a pass from Curt Malawsky (who proceeded to set a pick for the 6'5", 220 lb. forward) and drove to the net, faking a low shot prior to wiring the ball to the back of the Rush net and sending the fans and the Sting bench into a frenzy.
"Curtis (Palidwor) usually thinks that I'm going to go low on him, so I faked in that direction and went high - luckily the ball found the back of the net," said Dawson following the dramatic win. "I had scored on him through the five-hole earlier in the game, so I figured he would bite on a fake and he did. It's nice to win a game like that for the great fans we've got here in the desert. Hopefully we can keep things going next week in Rochester."
Up next for the Sting is a trip to upstate New York for a Saturday night tilt with the 6-2 Rochester Knighthawks. Arizona will face the East Division's leading squad on February 24 at 5:00pm local time. Fans can catch the action live by logging onto B2 Networks vis-Ã -vis www.b2now.com.
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National Lacrosse League Stories from February 18, 2007
- Mammoth rolls Roughnecks to improve to 8-1 - Colorado Mammoth
- Roughnecks lose in Colorado - Calgary Roughnecks
- New York Titans Late Rally Falls Short in Minnesota - Orlando Titans
- Sting defeat Rush in overtime thriller - Arizona Sting
- Shamrox fall to the Rock, 11-10 - Chicago Shamrox
- Rock take Shamrox 11-10 at home - Toronto Rock
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