Arizona Stings Lumberjax

[Sonny]

GLENDALE, AZ -- The Arizona Sting took the first of a two-game series with the Portland Lumberjax on Friday night, besting the previously unbeaten squad from the Pacific northwest by a score of 11-4 in what proved to be a record-setting night for goaltender Rob Blasdell. The 5,729 fans in attendance at Jobing.com Arena witnessed NLL history, as Blasdell tied an NLL record by holding the Lumberjax to four goals in an 11-4 victory. The veteran net minder also tied a Sting record on Friday night by making 49 saves on 53 shots.

"I saw the ball really well out there tonight," said Blasdell. "I made a couple of tough saves early on and I was definitely in a good rhythm from there on in. Our defense played really well in front of me and our offense controlled the ball exceptionally well. This was definitely our best total team effort of the season."

Star forward Dan Dawson led the way for Arizona offensively with 2G-5A-7P on the night. Lindsay Plunkett and Derek Malawsky both tallied hat tricks in the match, and sophomore lefty Matt Brown chipped in with a quintet of assists.

Arizona struck first Friday night, with Dan Dawson netting a power play tally midway through the first quarter. Dawson scored again with 4:12 remaining in the opening frame, as he fought his way past Portland defensemen Pat Jones and Brodie Merrill and buried a shot past Lumberjax goalie Dallas Eliuk to give the Sting a 2-0 lead. The Arizona lead was added to by Lindsay Plunkett, who threw a shot over his shoulder while driving to the net that beat Eliuk high. Rob Blasdell was perfect in the first quarter; the 36-year old made 15 saves on 15 shots to keep the Lumberjax off the scoreboard.

Derek Malawsky opened the second quarter with a goal for the Sting, extending their lead to four with a rocket of a shot that found the back of the Portland net and nearly went through it. Derek's brother Curt put the home team up by five shortly thereafter, diving through the air and tucking a well-placed shot past Eliuk for his third tally of the season. Blasdell continued to confound the Lumberjax attack in the second period. The former NLL Goalie of the Year turned aside all 13 shots he faced in the frame, bringing his first half total to 28.

The second goal of the game by Derek Malawsky made the score 6-0 for the Sting midway through the third quarter. The Lumberjax finally beat Blasdell 8:43 into the third period, halting Blasdell's franchise record shutout streak at 38:43. Portland struck again near the end of the period, as Mike Hominuck scored his second goal of the year to pull his team to within four of the Sting lead. Lindsay Plunkett and Derek Malawsky then scored back-to-back goals for Arizona, establishing an 8-2 lead in the process.

Lindsay Plunkett completed his hat trick 1:33 into the fourth quarter, beating Dallas Eliuk with a low shot to put the Sting up by a converted touchdown. The Arizona onslaught continued, as Craig Conn netted his fifth goal of the season to propel his team's goal total into double digits. Conn's sixth of the year made the score 11-2 in favor of the Sting with 7:10 remaining in regulation. Ryan Powell and Mike Hominuck then scored consecutive goals for Portland to end Rob Blasdell's bid at the NLL record for fewest goals allowed in a single game, which he ended up tying as the final score read Arizona 11 – Portland 4.

"It's always important to win at home," said Sting Head Coach Bob Hamley. "When you're playing a team twice in a row and the second game is on the road, it becomes even more important. This was a big win for us, and we've got to try and keep the momentum going into tomorrow."

The Sting and Lumberjax face-off tomorrow night at the Rose Garden in Portland; game time is 8:00pm Arizona time. Fans can watch the game live by logging onto B2 Networks (www.b2now.com).

Line Score 1 2 3 4 TOTAL
Portland 0 0 2 2 4
Arizona 3 2 3 3 11

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter
Arizona - Dan Dawson (powerplay) (Curt Malawsky, Matt Brown) 6:32
Arizona - Dan Dawson (Matt Brown, Curt Malawsky) 10:48
Arizona - Lindsay Plunkett (Derek Malawsky, Chris McKay) 12:42

2nd Quarter
Arizona - Derek Malawsky (powerplay) (Dan Dawson, Craig Conn) 5:14
Arizona - Curt Malawsky (Dan Dawson, Matt Brown) 6:59

3rd Quarter
Arizona - Derek Malawsky (Curt Malawsky, Dan Dawson) 7:54
Portland - Del Halladay (Ryan Powell, Ryder Bateman) 8:43
Portland - Mike Hominuck (powerplay) (Bruce Alexander, Peter Morgan) 13:07
Arizona - Lindsay Plunkett (Craig Conn, Brian Beisel) 14:22
Arizona - Derek Malawsky (Lindsay Plunkett) 14:54

4th Quarter
Arizona - Lindsay Plunkett (Dan Dawson, Derek Malawsky) 1:33
Arizona - Craig Conn (powerplay) (Matt Brown, Derek Malawsky) 2:51
Arizona - Craig Conn (powerplay) (Dan Dawson, Matt Brown) 7:50
Portland - Ryan Powell (powerplay) (Mike Hominuck, Peter Morgan) 9:23
Portland - Mike Hominuck (Del Halladay) 11:56

Visit Pointstreak.com for a complete box score and game sheet.

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Colorado routed host Edmonton 16-9 on Friday to improve to a league-leading 4-0. Josh Sims led the Mammoth with three goals and one assist, while four other players tallied two goals each. The Rush got three goals from Chris Gill and 43 saves from Pat Campbell. Attendance for the match was 11,065.

Line Score 1 2 3 4 TOTAL
Colorado 3 4 5 4 16
Edmonton 1 5 2 1 9

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter
Edmonton - Teddy Jenner (Randy Daly, Andrew Turner) 1:28
Colorado - Dan Carey (Jason Bloom, Matt Leveque) 2:26
Colorado - Brian Langtry (Jamie Shewchuk) 3:49
Colorado - Dan Carey (Mike Law, Nenad Gajic) 12:18

2nd Quarter
Edmonton - Dan Stroup (powerplay) (Randy Daly, Jason Wulder) 0:34
Edmonton - Jimmy Quinlan (Teddy Jenner, Kevin Howard) 1:06
Colorado - Nenad Gajic (Dave Stilley) 1:42
Edmonton - Chris Gill (powerplay) (Jason Wulder, Ryan OConnor) 4:26
Colorado - Gavin Prout (Dan Carey, Nenad Gajic) 6:04
Edmonton - Chris Gill (powerplay) (Randy Daly, Ryan OConnor) 8:04
Colorado - Josh Sims (Jamie Hanford) 8:10
Edmonton - Jimmy Quinlan (Mac Allen, Pat Campbell) 8:49
Colorado - Jamie Shewchuk (powerplay) (Gavin Prout, Brian Langtry) 12:24

3rd Quarter
Colorado - Ben Prepchuk (powerplay) (Dan Carey, Gavin Prout) 2:46
Colorado - Josh Sims (unassisted) 6:19
Edmonton - Chris Gill (powerplay) (Ryan OConnor, Randy Daly) 7:18
Colorado - John Gallant (powerplay) (Jamie Shewchuk, Ben Prepchuk) 8:55
Colorado - Jamie Shewchuk (Jason Bloom, John Gallant) 10:16
Edmonton - Dan Stroup (Chris Gill) 10:35
Colorado - Josh Sims (Brian Langtry, Rich Catton) 14:32

4th Quarter
Colorado - Mike Law (Brian Langtry, Ben Prepchuk) 4:57
Colorado - Nenad Gajic (Dan Carey) 8:49
Colorado - Ben Prepchuk (Gavin Prout, Josh Sims) 10:36
Colorado - Jamie Shewchuk (Mike Law, Gavin Prout) 11:59
Edmonton - Randy Daly (extra attacker) (Jason Wulder) 12:17