Around the National Lacrosse League for the games of Week Fifteen, 7-9 April 2006 (Summaries are based on best-available information and may be amended as necessary.)

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

Dallas Eliuk shut out the Stealth for the first 35-1/2 minutes as the LumberJax sailed to a 9-6 victory.

Portland (9-5) held leads of 2-0 after one quarter, 4-0 at halftime, and 6-0 five minutes into the third quarter before Luke Wiles finally scored for the Stealth, at 5:30 of the period.

San Jose (5-8) ran off another three goals to end the third quarter, moving within 6-4, then Kevin Fines pulled the Stealth within one by scoring three minutes into the fourth.

Portland, though, found timely goals from Hominuck at 7:23 (for a 7-5 lead) and Bruce Alexander six minutes later (to make it 8-6). Brodie Merrill added an insurance goal with 24 seconds to play.

Hominuck, who had the game's only hat trick, joined San Jose's Ryan Boyle (2 goals, 1 assist) and Cam Sedgwick (1 goal, 2 assists) in recording three-point nights.

Eliuk finished with 39 saves on 45 shots. Anthony Cosmo suffered the loss despite a superb 34-of-42 showing in goal.

Philadelphia Wings at Toronto Rock
Saturday, 7:00 PM - Air Canada Centre
Info: Game Summary | Game Stats

For the second straight year, the Wings blew a big fourth-quarter lead in losing to the Rock, this time a 15-14 overtime decision.

Philadelphia (7-7) scored the game's first four goals and led 7-1 with 4:29 to play in the opening period, but allowed the Rock to tie the game, 7-7, seven minutes into the second quarter.

The Wings scored the next two goals, to open some separation, but Toronto (8-7) struck back with a Blaine Manning goal at 8:36. Mike Regan scored in the final minute for a 10-8 halftime lead.

Philadelphia, which would have clinched a playoff spot with a win, scored all three goals in the third, then opened the fourth on a Jeff Ratcliffe goal in the opening minute.

That was the last Wings goal, as Manning, Colin Doyle, and Aaron Wilson scored twice each down the stretch, forcing overtime. Doyle then ended the game 1:13 into the extra session.

Doyle (5 goals, 5 assists) and Manning (4 goals, 6 assists) had ten points each for Toronto. Sean Greenhalgh led the Wings with five goals and four assists.

Colorado Mammoth at Buffalo Bandits
Saturday, 7:30 PM - HSBC Arena
Info: Game Stats

John Tavares scored three goals as the Bandits clinched the Eastern Division title with a 14-12 win over the Mammoth.

Afer allowing the game's first goal, Buffalo (10-4) scored the next four. Final-minute goals by Dan Carey and Chris Gill made it 4-3 at period's end.

The Bandits kept moving ahead by two goals early in the second, but each time, Colorado (8-6) replied. Cory Bomberry and Dan Teat combined to give Buffalo an 8-5 lead, but Gill countered just before halftime.

Buffalo moved ahead 12-7 on a three-goal run in the third quarter, but the Mammoth rallied to within 12-11 midway through the fourth quarter. Tavares and Delby Powless scored shortly thereafter to give the Bandits some breathing room.

Gavin Prout tallied two goals and five assists for Colorado, leading all scorers. Teat paced the Bandits, recording three goals and three assists.

Minnesota Swarm at Rochester Knighthawks
Saturday, 7:35 PM - Blue Cross Arena
Info: Game Stats

John Grant scored four goals, leading the Knighthawks to a 10-9 victory.

After Andrew Biers opened the scoring for Minnesota (7-7), the Knighthawks rolled off five straight goals, including a natural hat trick by Grant.

However, four of the next five goals belonged to the Swarm (two each by Kasey Beirnes and Ryan Ward), and Rochester (8-7) had just a 6-5 lead at halftime.

Two Scott Evans goals made it 8-6 after three quarters, but Beirnes and Brock Boyle tied the game early in the fourth. After another Evans goal, Biers tied it up at 9-9.

That allowed Grant to seal the win with a goal at 10:18.

Grant (4 goals, 1 assist) was one of four players with five points; Evans (3 goals, 2 assists), Ward (2 goals, 3 assists), and Minnesota's Sean Pollock (1 goal, 4 assists) were the others.

Arizona Sting at Calgary Roughnecks
Saturday, 9:30 PM - Pengrowth Saddledome
Info: Game Stats

Despite scoring six fourth-quarter goals, the Sting couldn't catch the Roughnecks in a 14-12 decision.

Calgary (9-5) led 5-1 after one quarter, with Kaleb Toth scoring twice in the early going. The Roughnecks extended their lead to five goals twice early in the second quarter, only to be answered by Pat Maddalena each time. A late Kyle Goundrey goal stuck for an 8-3 halftime lead.

After a 2-2 third quarter, Arizona (6-8) struck for three straight goals to open the fourth period, to pull within 10-8. Calgary got most of it back with three of the next four goals, but the Sting again netted three in a row, cutting the Riggers' lead to 13-12.

However, Lewis Ratcliff put the game out of reach with a goal at 14:37.

Ratcliff had nine points (5 goals, 4 assists), leading all scorers. Dan Dawson had three goals and three assists for Arizona.

San Jose Stealth at Minnesota Swarm
Sunday, 6:00 PM - Xcel Energy Center
Info: Game Stats

Jamie Taylor's goal early in sudden-death overtime gave the Swarm a 9-8 win over the Stealth.

Luke Wiles scored 42 seconds in for San Jose (5-8), but Minnesota (8-7) responded with a pair from Dean Hill, making his NLL debut. After Wiles scored again, Kasey Beirnes struck for a 3-2 lead, a score which held for the remaining seven minutes of the first period.

Hill and Wiles each scored once more to begin the second quarter, then Spencer Martin teamed up with Hill for a 6-3 Swarm lead. Jeff Zywicki narrowed the Stealth's deficit to two with 32 seconds left before intermission.

The tide began to turn for the Stealth in the third period, scoring two goals (both by Curtis Hodgson) to Minnesota's one. Kevin Fines scored 3:15 into the fourth, tying the game at 8-8, and Ryan Boyle put the Stealth ahead a short time later.

Martin tied the game with four and a half minutes to play, setting the stage for Taylor's game-winner at 1:35 of overtime.

Beirnes tallied five points (2 goals, 3 assists) to lead all scorers, with Hill (4 goals) and Chad Culp (4 assists) close behind. Wiles recorded three goals and one assist for the Stealth.