Around the National Lacrosse League for the games of the Division Semifinal round, 22-23 April 2006 (Summaries are based on best-available information and may be amended as necessary.)

Toronto Rock at Rochester Knighthawks
Saturday, 7:35 PM - Blue Cross Arena
Info: Game Summary | Game Stats

The Knighthawks scored ten fourth-quarter goals in defeating the Rock, 16-8.

Rochester (10-7) took an early 2-0 lead on goals by John Grant and Chris Schiller, but the Rock responded with tallies by Colin Doyle and Chris Driscoll, knotting the score at 2-2 after one quarter.

Toronto (8-9) went ahead 31 seconds into the second quarter, courtesy of Jim Veltman, but then allowed the next three goals. Two Matt Shearer goals late in the first half tied the game again, at 5-5.

Toronto grabbed a 7-5 lead late in the third quarter, but Scott Evans brought the Knighthawks back within a goal by the end of the period.

The fourth quarter was all Rochester, two from Shawn Williams in the opening two minutes and a natural hat trick from John Grant within four minutes of that.

Josh Sanderson took a goal back for the Rock, but was answered by five Knighthawk goals, two from Steve Toll and one each from the often-unheralded Ken Millin, Bill Greer, and Pat Dutton.

Grant had five goals and one assist, leading all scorers with six points. Sanderson (2 goals, 2 assists) and Colin Doyle (1 goal, 3 assists) had four points each for the Rock.

Calgary Roughnecks at Colorado Mammoth
Saturday, 9:30 PM - Pepsi Center
Info: Game Summary | Game Stats

Brian Langtry's goal 1:15 into sudden death ended a burnburner, Mammoth over the Roughnecks by a count of 18-17.

Calgary (9-8) jumped out to first-quarter leads of 2-0, 3-2, and 4-3, but was countered each time by the Mammoth, with Gavin Prout (able to play after winning appeal of his one-game suspension) having a hand in all three responses.

The Riggers went ahead again to start the second period, on two Kevin Dostie goals, but once again, Colorado (11-6) was there, ultimately ripping a five-goal run for an 11-7 lead. It faded to 11-10 by the break after Tracey Kelusky scored twice and Jason Wulder (appealling a suspension of his own) struck once for the Riggers.

After Calgary pushed ahead, 12-11, seven minutes into the third quarter, Colorado went on another run, scoring four times in succession to end the period with a 15-12 lead.

Again, the Roughnecks battled back, scoring four straight to open the fourth quarter. Andrew Burkholder struck twice late in the period to regain the lead for Colorado, but a Dostie goal with 55 seconds left forced overtime.

Prout finished with an outstanding scoring line of five goals and seven assists, two points off the NLL's single-game scoring record. Burkholder and Langtry added four goals each for the Mammoth. Dostie potted five for the Riggers.

Arizona Sting at Portland LumberJax
Saturday, 10:30 PM - Rose Garden
Info: Game Summary | Game Stats

Dan Dawson and Lindsay Plunkett scored hat tricks as the Sting upset the LumberJax, 14-11.

Arizona (9-8) started off well against the surprising LumberJax, leading 3-1 five and a half minutes into the game. After Portland (11-6) responded with the next three, in less than a minute, the Sting squeezed out a 5-5 tie at period's end.

Arizona made its big move early in the second, as Dawson, Plunkett and Craig Conn scored for an 8-5 lead. After Richard Morgan took one back for Portland, Conn struck again, closing the first-half scoring.

Alternating goals with Arizona until deep into the fourth quarter, Portland made little headway until Ryan Marshall and Mike Hominuck potted back-to-back goals to pull the 'Jax within 12-11 with 2:08 to play.

However, Plunkett scored a half-minute later, and when Portland lost a gamble by challenging the legality of Plunkett's stick, the game was essentially decided. Bruce Murray added an empty-netter in the final minute.

Dawson led all scorers with eight points, on three goals and five assists. Hominuck paced the LumberJax with four goals and an assist.

Minnesota Swarm at Buffalo Bandits
Sunday, 2:00 PM - HSBC Arena
Info: Game Summary | Game Stats

Mark Steenhuis' goal with 3:09 left in regulation spared the Bandits the possibility of a first-round upset loss in an 11-10 victory over the Swarm.

Buffalo (12-5) thoroughly dominated the first 25 minutes of the game, going ahead 7-2 on two goals from John Tavares and one each from (among others) Steenhuis, Delby Powless, and Cory Bomberry.

Minnesota (8-9) rallied to within 8-4 by halftime, but slipped behind by a 10-5 score late in the third period.

That's when the Swarm started buzzing, with Eric Pacey and Ryan Ward netting goals in the third and Sean Pollock and Kasey Beirnes doing likewise to open the fourth.

A Ward goal with 6:48 remaining tied the game and made matters quite delicate for the number-one seeded Bandits until Steenhuis delivered.

Tavares' six points, on three goals and three assists, led all scorers. Ward paced the Swarm with two goals and three assists.