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NLL Week Fourteen: Three East teams clinchBuffalo, New York, Boston headed to playoffs; Calgary close to West titleR.A. Philly Outsider's Guide Editor in Chief Around the National Lacrosse League for the games of Week Fourteen, 3-5 April 2009. (Summaries are based on best-available information and may be amended as necessary.) Boston Blazers at Toronto Rock Boston (8-5) led 4-0 six minutes into the game and never allowed the Rock to tie the game. In fact, aside from a brief run in the third quarter, Toronto (5-9) never put together much of a rally until just three minutes remained. Down 14-10, the Rock scored the game's final three goals, including one with a second to play. Boston's Dan Dawson (2 goals, 5 assists) and Toronto's Luke Wiles (3 goals, 4 assists) each had seven points. Rochester Knighthawks at Colorado Mammoth Pat O'Toole held Colorado (6-7) scoreless over the first 27:23 of the game, during which time the Knighthawks built a 4-0 lead. Colorado rallied to within 8-7 early in the fourth quarter before a three-goal run by Rochester (6-6) put the game out of the Mammoth's reach. Evans finished as the game's high scorer, tallying eight points on three goals and five assists. Brian Langtry (3 goals, 2 assists) paced the Mammoth. Portland LumberJax at Edmonton Rush Portland (6-6) got the early jump courtesy of two goals each from Brodie Merrill, Peter Morgan and Cory Conway. Edmonton (5-8) surged to an 11-8 lead by running off eight of the next ten goals over the next 30 minutes of game action. Callum Crawford finished with seven points (3 goals, 4 assists) for Edmonton. Morgan finished with five points (2 goals, 3 assists) for the LumberJax. Minnesota Swarm at San Jose Stealth San Jose (6-8) held an 8-0 lead at the midpoint of the second quarter, extended the lead to 11-1 by halftime, and got as far in front as 14-1. Tom Johnson and Rhys Duch each scored four goals by the middle of the third quarter. Minnesota (5-8) managed to score seven of the next eight goals, but by then, it was far too late to make a difference. In fact, the Stealth had the last laugh, scoring three straight to close out the scoring. Johnson and Duch each scored five goals, but Colin Doyle was the game's top scorer, recording thirteen points on three goals and ten assists. Sean Pollock and Kevin Buchanan had two goals each for the Swarm. Philadelphia Wings at New York Titans A goal by Casey Powell in the closing seconds of the third quarter brought the Titans within 8-6, but Westervelt scored twice to start the fourth and the Wings never again were threatened. New York's Jordan Hall finished with the game high in points, six, on two goals and four assists. Merrick Thomson had five points (3 goals, 2 assists) for the Wings. Buffalo Bandits at Boston Blazers Boston (7-6) had a 5-1 lead just eight minutes into the game, but Buffalo (9-4), led by Tavares and Mark Steenhuis, soon flipped that into a 9-6 advantage. The Blazers pulled to within 11-10 early in the fourth quarter, but the Bandits soon found an insurance goal and finished te game on a 4-1 run. Tavares finished with nine points, on six goals and three assists, to lead Buffalo, which clinched a playoff berth later in the evening when Rochester lost. Sean Morris had a goal and six assists for the Blazers. Edmonton Rush at Minnesota Swarm After alternating goals all game -- with one exception, Minnesota (6-8) always took the lead, then Edmonton (5-9) tied -- Culp snapped a 7-7 tie with a goal at 9:24 of the fourth quarter. Wilson added his goal with 3:12 to play in regulation. Edmonton's Dan Teat finished as the game's top scorer, tallying five points entirely on assists. Culp paced the Swarm with a goal and three assists. Rochester Knighthawks at Calgary Roughnecks Rochester (6-7) scored the first four goals of the game, chasing Matt King from goal, and extended its lead to 7-1 by the middle of the third quarter. However, Calgary (10-3) came back to score the next eight goals -- and eleven of twelve -- to take the victory. Tracey Kelusky finished with four goals and an assist for Calgary, while Josh Sanderson added two goals and six assists. Shawn Evans led Rochester offensively, recording two goals and five assists. Colorado Mammoth at Portland LumberJax Portland (7-6) took an 8-3 lead several minutes into the second quarter, extending that advantage to 9-6 by halftime. Led by two goals each from Gavin Prout and Jed Prossner, Colorado (6-8) rallied to tie the game at 12-12 and force the sudden death period. Prout (3 goals, 3 assists) and Brian Langtry (4 goals, 2 assists) each put up six points for the Mammoth. Tim Campeau (3 goals, 1 assist), Brodie Merrill (3 goals, 1 assist) and Richard Morgan (2 goals, 2 assists) each tallied four points for the 'Jax. New York Titans at Philadelphia Wings Philadelphia (6-8), as it has done regularly the past few games, opened strong, scoring three times in the first three minutes of the game. The Wings pushed that lead to 5-3 at the end of the first quarter and 8-4 at halftime. New York (8-6) countered with eight goals in the third quarter, three by Casey Powell, and carried a 12-11 lead to the final period. Athan Iannucci and Kyle Wailes regained the lead for Philly early in the fourth, but it was all New York after that. Wailes finished with three goals and seven assists, leading all scorers. Powell had five goals and three assists for the Titans. -30- |