Sting win opening playoff match
April 22, 2006 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Arizona Sting News Release
PORTLAND, OREGON --- The Arizona Sting knocked off the top seeded team in the NLL's West Division Saturday night, beating the Portland Lumberjax 14-11 at the Rose Garden and advancing to the West Division Championship Game next weekend against the Colorado Mammoth in the process. Goaltender Rob Blasdell earned his first post-season victory since 2002 by making 41 saves on the night while forward Dan Dawson, fresh off of being named the NLL's Offensive/Overall Player of the Week, registered 8 points (3G-5A) in the game to lead the Arizona attack. Dawson gave credit to his goaltender for preserving the victory for his team.
"Rob played awesome tonight," said Dawson. "We needed a big game from him and he delivered. We knew that if we played our game and didn't let them take advantage of us in transition we'd come out on top and that's exactly what happened. I'm thrilled to be back in the Western Finals and I'm looking forward to taking on the Mammoth next weekend."
Peter Veltman opened the game with a goal 1:07 into the first period. The Lumberjax responded with a tally by Mike Hominuck, but Matt Brown gave the Sting a 2-1 lead after unloading a rocket of a shot that beat Portland goaltender Dallas Eliuk over his right shoulder. Dan Dawson extended the Sting lead less then a minute later, out-dueling defender Bruce Alexander in the Lumberjax zone and firing a low shot that Eliuk failed to stop. Del Halladay and Ryan Powell then scored back-to-back goals to tie the game at three. Mike Hominuck then gave the Lumberjax their first lead of the night with 8:17 remaining in the opening frame. Matt Brown tied the game at four with 3:43 remaining in the first, finishing off a pretty passing play with a quick shot from just outside Dallas Eliuk's goal crease to earn his second tally of the game. The Lumberjax pulled ahead 5-4 on a goal by Peter Morgan with 1:45 remaining in the first quarter. Dan Dawson re-tied the contest one minute later to make the score 5-5 as the first quarter came to and end.
Dawson opened the second quarter the same way he ended the first - with a goal. His third of the night gave the sting a 6-5 lead. Veteran goaltender Rob Blasdell kept the Sting lead in tact by stoning Richard Morgan from point blank range with a spectacular kick save on the game's next possession. Blasdell followed that up with a sprawling save on a low shot off the stick of Brodie Merrill, one of his 18 first half stops. Lindsay Plunkett gave Arizona a two goal lead 6:58 into the second quarter with his first of 3 goals on the night. Craig Conn's first of the game with 7:28 remaining in the first half gave the Sting a short-lived 8-5 advantage. Ten seconds after Conn's goal, Richard Morgan beat Rob Blasdell to pull the Lumberjax back to within two. On the power play, Craig Conn put the Sting back up by three with a shot that beat Dallas Eliuk low. Both teams' defenses played exceptionally well in the closing minutes of the first half and the score remained 9-6 in favor of the Sting as the game went into halftime. Team captain Peter Lough was pleased with the discipline his team exhibited throughout the match.
"We knew that this game would be tough and that we needed to dictate the pace of play," said Lough. "Our ball control tonight was as good as it's been all season and I know we can keep it going into the next round."
Shawn Cable opened the second half with a goal 1:20 into the third quarter. Lindsay Plunkett responded with a tally 5:23 later and Peter Morgan made the score 10-8 with a power play goal at the 10:02 mark of the third. Curt Malwasky then netted the 20th playoff goal of his career to give Arizona an 11-8 lead with 1:41 remaining in the third period. Mike Hominuck scored his third goal of the game 23 seconds later to make the score 11-9 in favor of Arizona as the third quarter came to an end.
The fourth quarter opened favorably for the Sting, as defenseman Bruce Murray took advantage of a neutral zone turnover and scored a breakaway goal at the 1:59 mark of the frame to put his team up 12-9. Rob Blasdell stood tall on a 2-on-1 break four minutes later, stoning defenseman Ryan Sharp with a lightning fast stick save to keep his team's three goal lead intact. Blasdell was finally beaten by Ryan Marshall on a breakaway with 3:16 remaining in regulation to make the score 12-10. Mike Hominuck then pulled the Lumberjax to within a single goal of Arizona's lead on his fourth tally of the night. Lindsay Plunkett then put the Sting up for good with his third of the game 33 seconds later, and Bruce Murray netted an empty net goal to make the final score 14-11 for the visiting squad.
Head Coach/General Manager Bob Hamley was proud of his team's effort Saturday night and is looking forward to next weekend's match-up against the Mammoth.
"This was a total team effort tonight," said Hamley. "Rob made some key saves, our defense kept their shooters from getting quality shots, and our offense came up big when we needed a goal. We built this team for one thing: the playoffs. The regular season is ancient history and we're undefeated right now. We're playing like we know we can and we're really looking forward to next Saturday."
The Sting will travel to Denver next weekend to take on the Colorado Mammoth at the Pepsi Center. Arizona is 0-3 against Colorado this season.
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National Lacrosse League Stories from April 22, 2006
- Sting win opening playoff match - Arizona Sting
- Roughnecks lose Heartbreaker in OT - Calgary Roughnecks
- Mammoth tops Calgary in OT, advances to division final - Colorado Mammoth
- Rock loses 16-8 in Eastern Division semi-final - Toronto Rock
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