Around the National Lacrosse League for the games of Week Fourteen, 31 March-2 April 2006 (Summaries are based on best-available information and may be amended as necessary.)

Portland LumberJax at Edmonton Rush
Friday, 9:30 PM - Rexall Place
Info: Game Stats

Matt Dwane's goal with 8:30 to play snapped a 10-10 tie, propelling the LumberJax to a 15-12 victory over the Rush.

After playing the hosts to a relatively quiet 4-4 first half, Portland (7-5) scored twice early in the third quarter, on goals by Brodie Merrill and Peter Morgan.

Edmonton (1-13) responded with a pair, tying the game at eight-all. The LumberJax shot back with a quick pair at mid-quarter, then alternated goals with the Rush for a 10-8 lead after three.

After the Rush tied the game at 10-10, Dwane and Del Halladay quickly restored the two-goal lead, and Portland got goals from Morgan, Ryan Sharp and Dwane as the Rush struggled (and failed) to draw even.

Morgan had five goals for Portland, while Jamey Bowen recorded a hat trick for the Rush.

Buffalo Bandits at San Jose Stealth
Friday, 10:30 PM - HP Pavilion
Info: Game Stats

The Bandits used a four-goal run spanning the third and fourth quarters to rally past the Stealth, 11-9.

Buffalo (8-4), in an up and down performance, went ahead 3-0 in the first quarter on a goal by Dan Teat and two from Mark Steenhuis, but gave it all back by the time the second period was two minutes old.

After swapping goals with the Bandits a couple times, San Jose (5-6) forged a 6-5 halftime lead after Chad Thompson scored with 32 seconds left in the second quarter.

Buffalo rallied to an 8-8 tie after three quarters, then stormed ahead with three goals in the first five minutes of the fourth.

San Jose started a comeback on a Kevin Fines goal at 11:20, but despite benefitting from a couple bad penalties (Cory Bomberry high-sticking major, Mark Steenhuis illegal stick), the Stealth couldn't get any closer than two goals away.

Delby Powless of Buffalo and Jeff Zywicki of San Jose had matching two-goal, three-assist performances, leading all scorers with five points each.

Rochester Knighthawks at Philadelphia Wings
Saturday, 8:00 PM - Wachovia Center
Info: Game Summary | Game Stats

Jake Bergey scored two fourth-quarter goals as the Wings held off the Knighthawks, 8-7.

Rochester (7-7) held first-quarter leads of 1-0 and 2-1, then fell behind, 3-2, by the end of the period on late goals from Sean Greenhalgh and Jeff Ratcliffe.

After a long stretch without either team scoring, Philadelphia (7-6) bumped its lead to 4-2 on a Kyle Sweeney goal, but stumbled to a 4-4 tie after goals by Mike Accursi and Shawn Evans. Greenhalgh and Regy Thorpe swapped last-minute goals to make it 5-5 at halftime.

A delightfully defensive third period featured just two goals, John Grant for the Knighthawks at mid-quarter and Peter Jacobs for the Wings six minutes later.

Bergey made it an 8-6 game by scoring at 0:29 and 6:07 of the fourth, but Grant pulled the Hawks within one just two minutes later -- setting the stage for almost seven minutes of scoreless lacrosse to close out the contest.

Grant (3 goals) and Shawn Williams (3 assists) led the Knighthawks in scoring, with Bergey (2 goals, 1 assist) and Greenhalgh (2 goals, 1 assist) also tallying three points each.

Toronto Rock at Minnesota Swarm
Saturday, 8:00 PM - Xcel Energy Center
Info: Game Stats

An 8-0 Swarm run over the game's final 24 minutes stunned the Rock, 10-9.

Naturally, with a lead like that, Toronto (7-7) dominated the two and a half periods, going ahead 4-0 midway through the first quarter, 6-2 at halftime, and 9-2 with 9:11 remaining in the third.

It was a Sean Pollock goal just past the midpoint of the third quarter which got Minnesota (7-6) started, with Riley Kemp and Brock Boyle chipping in to bring the Swarm to within 9-5 going to the fourth.

Spencer Martin got the Swarm moving again in the fourth quarter, then (following a Ryan Ward goal five minutes later) did it again.

Boyle tied the game at 12:12, and Mark Miyashita buried the game-winner a minute and five seconds later.

Colin Doyle led all scorers with six points, on four goals and two assists for the Rock. Ward (1 goal, 4 assists) had five points for the Swarm.

Buffalo Bandits at Arizona Sting
Saturday, 9:30 PM - Glendale Arena
Info: Game Stats

Cory Bomberry scored three goals in the Bandits' 13-10 victory over the Sting.

After surrendering the game's first goal, Buffalo (9-4) ran off three straight to close the first quarter and one more to open the second, eventually sneaking to a 6-5 halftime lead.

Buffalo ran off four goals to start the second half, then allowed Arizona (6-6) to pull within 11-9 with ten minutes to play. Goals by John Tavares and Bomberry opened some breathing room, even after Craig Conn followed with a goal for the Sting.

On seven points (2 goals, 5 assists), Tavares led all scorers. Lindsay Plunkett (1 goal, 4 assists) tallied five points for the Sting.

With the win, Buffalo became the first team to clinch a playoff berth.

San Jose Stealth at Calgary Roughnecks
Saturday, 9:30 PM - Pengrowth Saddledome
Info: Game Stats

Kevin Dostie did all his scoring in the fourth quarter, leading the Roughnecks to a 12-10 victory over the Stealth.

Kevin Fines and Luke Wiles put San Jose (5-7) ahead four minutes into the game, but the Roughnecks soon tied it at 2-2, on a pair from Jason Wulder. Lewis Ratcliff tacked one on with 1:03 left for a 3-2 Rigger lead.

Cam Woods tied the game early in the second quarter, but Calgary (8-5) moved back in front on two quick goals. Ian Hawksbee scored with five minutes remaining, cutting the deficit to 5-4.

Tracey Kelusky scored twice coming out of the break, part of a third quarter in which the Roughnecks went ahead 8-5, only to let the Stealth close within 8-7.

Dostie opened the final period with an insurance goal, then, after Cam Sedgwick scored for San Jose, Kelusky struck and Dostie knocked down another two.

Kelusky led all scorers, tallying seven points on three goals and four assists.

Edmonton Rush at Portland LumberJax
Sunday, 5:00 PM - Rose Garden
Info: Game Stats

In a game defined by two long runs, ten straight LumberJax goals trumped five in a row from the Rush in a 14-10 decision.

Edmonton (1-14), which (as usual) played far better than its record implies, opened with the game's first five goals, blanking the LumberJax for the first quarter and chasing Matt King from the Portland goal.

Relief goalie Dallas Eliuk settled down Portland (8-5), which responded with a blanking of its own, scoring all seven second-quarter goals.

Peter Morgan helped the LumberJax extend that streak into the third quarter with two goals (adding to the one he already had), for a 10-5 lead.

Kevin Howard finally ended the Rush's long scoring drought (33 minutes, 26 seconds) late in the third, but Edmonton could manage only scattered goals after that.

Eliuk (36 saves on 42 shots) and Morgan (4 goals, 3 assists) were selected as the first and second star by the stat crew, but Edmonton's Jason Clark tallied the most points, eight (3 goals, 5 assists).

Arizona Sting at Colorado Mammoth
Sunday, 9:00 PM - Pepsi Center
Info: Game Stats

Jay Jalbert scored three of his five goals in the fourth quarter as the Mammoth topped the Sting, 16-11.

Jalbert scored the game's first goal, 35 seconds in, before Arizona (6-7) ripped off three in a row in less than three minutes. Colorado (8-5) recovered, though, scoring the next four to end the period ahead 5-3.

Goals by Curt Malawsky, Dan Dawson, and Craig Conn put the Sting back in front, 6-5, but the Mammoth scored the final two goals of the half.

After playing to a 3-3 third quarter, Colorado struck with four goals to open the fourth quarter, two by Jalbert and one each from Nick Carlson and Josh Sims. Arizona started a comeback by scoring twice, but Jalbert and Tom Ethington then scored to ice the win.

The victory clinches a playoff spot not only for Colorado, but for Portland and Calgary, as well. Arizona and San Jose are still in contention for the final Western Division berth.

Gavin Prout led all scorers with seven points, on three goals and four assists. Dawson and Malawsky each tallied three goals and one assist for the Sting.