Around the National Lacrosse League for the games of Week Fifteen, 6-7 April 2007. (Summaries are based on best-available information and may be amended as necessary.)

Minnesota Swarm at Toronto Rock
Friday, 7:30 PM - Air Canada Centre
Info: Game Stats

Chad Culp scored to break an 11-all tie with 1:34 to play, leading the Swarm to a 13-11 victory over the Rock.

Toronto (6-8) led for most of the first quarter, going ahead 3-1 ten minutes in (with Josh Sanderson scoring twice) and holding on for a 4-3 advantage at the end of the period.

Minnesota (7-6) tied the game early in the second, then forged ahead 6-5 on a Ryan Cousins goal five minutes before halftime. However, Kevin Fines and Blaine Manning struck back for Toronto just before the break, reclaiming the lead for the Rock.

Minnesota then broke out for four third-quarter goals, all in the first eight minutes of the period, to take a 10-8 lead.

After Sanderson and Dean Hill exchanged goals early in the fourth quarter, Aaron Wilson scored twice to tie the game at 11-11 with six minutes left.

Culp's tiebreaking goal appeared set to be the margin of victory, but Hill tacked on an insurance goal with 19 seconds left.

Sanderson led the Rock offensively with seven points, on three goals and four assists. Eric Pacey had a goal and four assists for the Swarm, who would clinch a playoff berth with a win tomorrow night at Rochester.

Edmonton Rush at Calgary Roughnecks
Friday, 9:30 PM - Pengrowth Saddledome
Info: Game Stats

Chris Gill scored six goals as the Rush outlasted the Roughnecks, 13-12.

Gill recorded the game's first goal, but Edmonton (6-7) soon fell behind 3-1 on two goals from Lewis Ratcliff and one by Tracey Kelusky -- the only Riggers who would score a goal in the game. The Rush bounced back, though, scoring three of the final four goals in the opening period, tying that game 4-4.

Edmonton then strung together another six straight goals to begin the second quarter, Gill tallying three of them. Calgary (7-7) finally ended its 22-minute scoring drought on a Ratcliff goal 28 seconds before halftime, cutting the deficit to 10-5.

Ratcliff scored again to begin the second half, but the Riggers fell further behind moments later when Jamey Bowen and Gill struck for the Rush. Even a pair of late-period goals by Kelusky and Ratcliff, respectively, could only pull Calgary to within 12-8.

After a Jason Wulder goal 28 seconds into the fourth quarter, Kelusky ran off three consecutive goals and Ratcliff followed with his seventh of the night at 13:13, moving the Roughnecks to within 13-12.

However, Rush (and former Rigger) goaltender Curtis Palidwor held Calgary scoreless the rest of the way.

Ratcliff led all scorers with eleven points, on seven goals and four assists; Kelusky was close behind with five goals and three assists, for eight points. Gill's seven points (6 goals, 1 assist) paced the Rush.

San Jose Stealth at Portland LumberJax
Friday, 10:00 PM - Rose Garden
Info: Game Stats

Colin Doyle and Jeff Zywicki scored goals late in the fourth quarter, rallying the Stealth to a 9-8 win over the LumberJax.

After Luke Wiles scored the only goal of the first quarter, San Jose (7-6) extended its lead to 6-1 by halftime on two goals from Wes Green and singles by Gary Rosyski, Zywicki and Cam Sedgwick.

Doyle scored to open the second half, making the score 7-1 for the Stealth, before Portland (3-12) came storming back, scoring the final three goals of the third quarter.

A goal by Kelly Hall and two by Matt Holman tied the game 7-7 with seven minutes to play, then the LumberJax jumped out in front when Bruce Alexander scored at 10:05.

Doyle, though, tied the game a half-minute later, and Zywicki netted the game-winner about 40 seconds after that.

Doyle led all scorers with six points, on two goals and four assists. Tyler Heavenor tallied five points (1 goal, 4 assists) for the LumberJax.

Arizona Sting at Buffalo Bandits
Saturday, 7:30 PM - HSBC Arena
Info: Game Stats

Mark Steenhuis was one of three Bandits to record hat tricks in a 15-5 highway robbery of the Sting.

Despite playing a statistically even first quarter (tied or close in shots, loose balls, etc.), Arizona (9-5) found itself on the short end of a 4-1 score after allowing two goals by Brett Bucktooth and singles from John Tavares and Delby Powless.

Buffalo (10-4) continued its scoreboard dominance in the second quarter, with Kevin Dostie doubling up and Steenhuis and Roger Vyse tacking on one goal each.

The Bandits scored another two goals early in the third before the Sting could reply with a Lindsay Plunkett tally. No matter -- Buffalo struck for three of the final four goals in the period, stretching its lead to 13-4.

Steenhuis and Vyse struck in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, finishing their hat tricks (Bucktooth had the other one for Buffalo). Curt Malawsky scored a late, meaningless goal for the Sting, whose hopes of finishing first in the Western Division are now close to nil.

Buffalo's odds, though, are decent heading into a season-ending home-and-home series against Rochester next weekend -- with two wins, the Bandits win the Eastern Division.

Tavares finished as the high scorer, recording a goal and five assists for six points total. Dan Dawson had a goal and two assists for the Sting.

New York Titans at Philadelphia Wings
Saturday, 7:30 PM - Wachovia Center
Info: Game Stats

Athan Iannucci and Jake Bergey scored six goals each as the Wings trounced the Wings Alumni, er, the Titans, 20-8.

New York (3-12) actually scored first, as former Wing Gewas Schindler lit the lamp just 46 seconds in. Philadelphia (6-8) struck back with the next six goals, including three by Iannucci. A Mike McLellan goal with three seconds left made it 6-2 after one period.

The Titans opened the scoring again in the second quarter, with (ex-Wing) Jeff Spano finding rope 3:46 in. Philly quietly took its lead to 8-3 at intermission, courtesy of Bergey and Sean Greenhalgh.

Philadelphia rediscovered its eye-popping offense in the third quarter, putting up another six-spot -- Iannucci, Keith Cromwell, Marc Morley, Dan Marohl, Iannucci again, and Bergey. Titans goals by Bobby Horsey and Pat Maddalena accounted for the 14-5 lead going to the fourth.

Bergey (three goals) and Geoff Snider (two goals) took control offensively in the fourth quarter, turning a sure win into a blowout into a night to forget for the first-year Titans.

Iannucci paced the Wings with ten points, adding four assists to his six goals, with Greenhalgh (2 goals, 7 assists) and Bergey (6 goals, 2 assists) not far behind. Maddalena and Schindler had matching one-goal, four-assist showings.

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

John Grant, Shawn Williams and Scott Evans had four goals each in the Knighthawks' 19-9 swatting of the Swarm.

Rochester (12-2) wasted no time reinforcing its status as the league's top offensive team, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the third minute and coasting to a 6-1 advantage after the first quarter.

The Knighthawks kept dishing it out in the second quarter, with Evans reaching a hat trick with the opening goal of the period. Only a Spencer Martin goal midway through the period kept the Swarm within radio contact of the K'Hawks, who led 10-2 at halftime.

Minnesota (7-7) continued to fall further behind in the third quarter, surrendering another three goals before netting one of its own, a Chad Culp tally some sixteen minutes after Martin's goal.

The Swarm finally got some traction in the fourth quarter, netting six goals, including two more from Culp and another by Martin. However, led by two goals from Grant, the Knighthawks got five, preventing Minnesota from making the score look a little nicer.

Grant led all scorers, recording nine points on four goals and five assists, although he didn't do so by much -- Evans (4 goals, 4 assists), Williams (4 goals, 4 assists) and Mike Accursi (2 goals, 6 assists) all finished with eight points. Martin's six points, on two goals and four assists, led the Swarm.

Toronto Rock at Chicago Shamrox
Saturday, 8:30 PM - Sears Centre
Info: Game Stats

Mat Giles and Chris Panos each scored twice in an eight-goal third quarter as the Shamrox rallied past the Rock, 15-13.

Panos and Josh Wasson combined to give Chicago (5-10) a 2-0 lead after one quarter, but Toronto (6-9) forged ahead 4-3 by halftime, on two goals by Chris Driscoll and one each from Ryan Benesch and Josh Sanderson.

Chicago wasted little time taking back the lead, with Giles, Cam Woods, and Panos all scoring in the first four minutes of the second half. A Chad Thompson goal only led to four more Shamrox goals, and the Shamrox went on to an 11-7 lead after three quarters.

After some alternating goals to begin the final period, Benesch and Blaine Manning combined to pull the Rock within 13-10, but Tom Montour quickly scored twice, restoring a five-goal lead.

Aaron Wilson, Kevin Fines and Thompson all scored late goals for Toronto, but a two-goal deficit is as good as the Rock could muster.

Benesch finished with seven points (3 goals, 4 assists), leading Toronto offensively. Giles tallied four goals and two assists for Chicago.

Edmonton Rush at San Jose Stealth
Saturday, 10:30 PM - HP Pavilion
Info: Game Stats

Jeff Zywicki scored back-to-back goals midway through the fourth quarter, helping push the Stealth to a 9-8 win over the Rush.

San Jose (8-6), which won by the same score last night in Portland, scored a quick first goal when Luke Wiles beat Curtis Palidwor 32 seconds into the game. The Stealth extended the lead to 3-0 late in the period on another Wiles goal and one from Gary Rosyski.

Jim Quinlan avoided the shutout period for Edmonton (6-8) with two seconds to spare, then fed Jamey Bowen for the first goal of the second quarter. Chris Gill soon tied the game, but Cam Sedgwick scored a few minutes later for a 4-3 Stealth halftime lead.

Edmonton scored the only two goals of the third quarter (Dan Stroup and Chris McElroy), going ahead for the first time, then expanding the lead to 7-5 on a Gill tally early in the fourth quarter.

Colin Doyle nudged San Jose back to within a goal three minutes later, then Zywicki first tied the game at 4:18 and later staked the Stealth to a 7-6 lead at 7:07.

Wiles then stretched the lead to 8-6, a valuable insurance goal as A.J. Shannon pulled the Rush back to within a goal less than 90 seconds later. Doyle made it a two-goal game a short time later, and Gill narrowed the gap to 9-8 with 1:05 to play; Edmonton, though, could not connect again.

Wiles (3 goals, 2 assists) and Doyle (2 goals, 3 assists) each had five points for the Stealth, which clinched a playoff berth with tonight's victory. Gill (3 goals, 2 assists) also finished with five points.