Sting vs. Stealth Game Preview
April 13, 2006 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Arizona Sting News Release
The battle cry will be as simple as it gets for the Arizona Sting this weekend: âwin and we're in'. Currently ranked fourth in the NLL's West Division with a record of 6-8, they are a full game ahead of the fifth place San Jose Stealth (5-9), against whom they play a pair of games this weekend. The Sting will host the Stealth on Friday night at the Glendale Arena prior to traveling to the HP Pavilion in San Jose for a game on Saturday night. If the Sting win either of these two games, their berth in the post-season will be secured and they will begin playing for the Champion's Cup next weekend.
Last Saturday the Sting fell to the Calgary Roughnecks by a score of 14-12 at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Alberta. Arizona was missing their leading goal scorer in that game, with Craig Conn serving a one-game suspension. Despite Conn's absence, the Sting scored seven fourth quarter goals in the game, but weren't quite able to pull out the comeback win against the Roughnecks. Head Coach Bob Hamley hopes that his team is able to bring the zeal they exhibited late in Saturday's game into Friday's match against the Stealth.
"We played a great second half against Calgary and we'll need to build on that momentum this weekend," said Hamley. "We're treating Friday's game like it's the Western Quarterfinals. Our fate is very much in our own hands this weekend, and we're planning on clinching Friday night in front of our great fans at the Glendale Arena."
The Stealth lost twice last weekend, falling to the Portland Lumberjax on Friday by a score of 9-6 prior to losing in Minnesota in overtime by a score of 9-8 on Sunday. The Stealth need to sweep the Sting this weekend in order to get into the Champion's Cup Playoffs. Head Coach Walt Christianson feels that his offense will need to put up better numbers this weekend in order to win after scoring a total of only 14 goals over two games last week.
"We've been happy with our defense and goaltending all season long," said Christianson. "We need to focus on getting the ball in the net this week. If we do that, we'll be successful, there's no doubt about it. The last few games, especially in Minnesota, our guys have played great, and I know we're close to putting it altogether and starting to win some games. I think we can do that against this week against Arizona and get into the playoffs on a hot streak."
Two former members of the Stealth will suit up for the Sting this weekend, with both Curt Malawsky and Rob Blasdell anxious to exact revenge on the club that let them go. Malawsky will be facing his brother Derek for the first time since he was released by San Jose on March 11. Since coming to the Sting, Curt has registered 6GP-5G-9A-14P; in as many games for the Stealth earlier this season, he tallied 2G-7A-9P. Rob Blasdell logged nearly 4,000 minutes in goal for Albany/San Jose during his six-year tenure with the franchise. He was left unprotected in last summer's expansion draft and was acquired by the Sting in a trade with Edmonton in July. Blasdell was the 2002 NLL Goaltender of the Year when he led Albany to its only Champion's Cup Final appearance. Sting Assistant Coach Bob McMahon was the Head Coach of the Attack that year and was named the NLL's Coach of the Year following the successful campaign. The Attack relocated to San Jose in 2003, the same year the Columbus Landsharks relocated to Arizona.
Game time on Friday is 7:30PM. Doors will open at 6:30PM.
THE MATCH-UP: San Jose (5-9) @ Arizona (6-8) - Friday, April 14 @ 7:30PM
Location: Glendale Arena
Saturday, April 15 @ 7:30PM Location: HP Pavilion
TOP SCORERS:
ARIZONA: Dan Dawson (14GP-27G-43A-70P); Craig Conn (13GP-41G-18A-59P); Pat Maddalena (13GP-20G-25A-45P); Lindsay Plunkett (12GP-16G-20A-36P); Matt Brown (14GP-13G-15A-28P)
SAN JOSE: Jeff Zywicki (14GP-26G-18A-44P); Luke Wiles (15GP-20G-23A-43P); Derek Malawsky (14GP-17G-25A-42P); Gary Rosyski (13GP-11G-27A-38P); Ryan Boyle (14GP-15G-20A-35P)
ARIZONA/COLUMBUS ALL-TIME VERSUS SAN JOSE/ALBANY:
Wins: 4
Losses: 8
Goals Scored: 143
Goals Against: 154
STING RECORD VS. SAN JOSE SINCE RELOCATING TO ARIZONA:
In San Jose: In Arizona:
GP W L GF GA GP W L GF GA
3 1 2 37 42 3 2 1 42 39
THE LAST TIME THESE TEAMS PLAYED: The Sting faced the Stealth in a home-and-home series last March, with Arizona winning at Glendale Arena on Friday, March 11 by a score of 13-12 (in overtime) and at the HP Pavilion on Saturday, March 12 by a score of 12-10. Bruce Codd scored the OT game winner in the Friday game and Dan Dawson scored 5 goals over the course of the two games.
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National Lacrosse League Stories from April 13, 2006
- Jax play for home field advantage this weekend - Portland Lumberjax
- Mike Tyson to Perform Ceremonial Ball Drop at Friday's Sting Game - Arizona Sting
- Roughnecks Face Critical weekend games - Calgary Roughnecks
- Minnesota Swarm Hosts Portland LumberJax Saturday at 7:00 PM - Minnesota Swarm
- Sting vs. Stealth Game Preview - Arizona Sting
- NLL Championship Game to air live on ESPN2, Saturday May 13 at 6PM Eastern - NLL
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