Around the National Lacrosse League for the games of the Division Semifinal playoff round, 20-22 April 2007. (Summaries are based on best-available information and may be amended as necessary.)

Toronto Rock at Rochester Knighthawks
Friday, 8:05 PM - Blue Cross Arena
Info: Game Stats

Mike Accursi scored three goals, including two important third-quarter tallies, as the Knighthawks stopped the Rock, 10-6.

Rochester (15-2 / 1-0) led 2-0 just three minutes into the game, on goals by Shawn Evans and Shawn Williams, then stretched it to 3-0 when Accursi scored with 1:25 left in the first quarter.

Patrick Merrill finally got Toronto (6-11 / 0-1) on the board halfway into the second quarter and got another three goals over the next five and a half minutes, but still trailed at halftime, 5-4.

Accursi bought the Knighthawks valuable breathing room, scoring at 9:09 of the third quarter and again four minutes later, making for a 7-4 Knighthawks lead which held for the rest of the period.

Toronto pulled to within 7-6 early in the fourth quarter, on goals by Ryan Benesch and Blaine Manning, but the Knighthawks got an insurance goal from John Grant and got late empty-netters from ex-Rockers Steve Toll and Williams.

Williams posted the game high in points, seven, on two goals and five assists. Benesch (3 goals) and Aaron Wilson (3 assists) had three points each for Toronto.

San Jose Stealth at Colorado Mammoth
Saturday, 9:00 PM - Pepsi Center
Info: Game Stats

Jeff Zywicki scored his seventh goal 4:42 into overtime, giving the Stealth a stunning 15-14 win over the Mammoth, eliminating the defending NLL champion.

After giving up the game's first goal, Colorado (12-5 / 0-1) exploded for seven by the end of the first quarter, including two from Brian Langtry. With Stealth goals by Gary Rosyski and Zywicki sprinkled in, the Mammoth led 7-3 after fifteen minutes.

San Jose (10-7 / 1-0) slowly chipped away at Colorado's lead late in the second half, scoring four of the final six goals of the opening half and pulling to within 11-8.

The Stealth then ratcheted up the pressure on the West champion Mammoth, with Zywicki scoring off the opening faceoff and Colin Doyle netting his first of the game moments later. Zywicki then tied the game at 11-11 with 59 seconds to play in the third quarter.

Zywicki scored again to open the final period, but Jamie Shewchuk and Dan Carey put the Mammoth back in front moments later, 13-12. Rosyski tied the game three minutes later, and Cam Sedgwick stuck the Stealth back out in front, 14-13, with 3:42 to play.

San Jose couldn't hold the lead, allowing Langtry to score with 2:48 left, but then held firm -- even killing a minor penalty -- to force overtime. The Stealth then put down another penalty in overtime before Zywicki connected on the winner.

Despite his impressive goal total, Zywicki (7 goals, 1 assist) finished behind teammate Colin Doyle (1 goal, 9 assists) in points. Shewchuk and Langtry posted identical three-goal, two-assist performances for the Mammoth.

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

Dan Dawson and Curt Malawsky scored three goals each as the Sting knocked the Roughnecks out of the playoffs, 13-9.

Scott Self put Arizona (10-7 / 1-0) on the board two minutes in, starting a back-and-forth quarter in which the Sting also led 2-1, the Riggers had a 3-2 lead, and the clubs settled in for a 3-3 tie.

The game began to spin away from Calgary (9-8 / 0-1) early in the second quarter, when Craig Conn, Dawson and Derek Malawsky ran off consecutive goals for a 6-3 Sting lead. Credit the Roughnecks for battling back, scoring three of the remaining four goals in the half and reducing the halftime deficit to just 8-6.

Tracey Kelusky and Lewis Ratcliff scored early in the third quarter to tie the game, and it remaining 8-8 for most the period, until Curt Malawsky and Dawson ran off goals in quick succession.

Nolan Heavenor soon got one back for the Roughnecks, but Derek Malawsky countered a minute later, for an 11-9 lead headed to the fourth quarter.

Needing a rally, Calgary had nothing, surrendering goals to Self and Dawson in the first minute of the fourth quarter. While the Riggers were able to keep Arizona off the scoreboard the rest of the way, so, too, were they by Sting goaltender Rob Blasdell (41 saves).

Derek Malawsky (2 goals, 4 assists) and Conn (1 goal, 5 assists) had six points each for the Sting. Kelusky (3 goals, 1 assist) and Jeff Shattler (4 assists) tallied four points per for the Roughnecks.

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

Goaltender Chad Thompson limited the Swarm to no goals over the entire second half, leading the Bandits to a come-from-behind 14-8 victory and a trip to the Eastern Division Final.

Minnesota (9-8 / 0-1) jumped all over the Bandits for a 4-0 lead in the game's first six minutes (Chad Culp, Ryan Ward, Ryan Cousins and Dean Hill). However, Buffalo (11-6 / 1-0) managed to tie the game at 4-4 in about eight and a half minutes, led by two goals from Kevin Dostie.

The Swarm went out in front again, 6-4, on tallies by Cousins and Kyle Ross early in the second quarter, but again, the Bandits fought back, Jason Crosbie and Dan Teat scoring to level the game and Teat striking again five minutes later for a 7-6 advantage.

Behind Ryan Sharp and Jon Sullivan, Minnesota took an 8-7 lead to intermission, an accomplishment which pales in comparison to Thompson's play in the second half.

Quite simply, the backup goalie (starting for an injured Steve Dietrich) came out to play, turning aside 19 shots after the break as the Bandits took the lead and then methodically ended the Swarm's season. John Tavares led the second-half charge, scoring three times in what became a seven-goal game-ending run.

That outburst made Tavares the game's top scorer, tying him at five points with Kevin Dostie (both had 3 goals and 2 assists). Sharp finished with a goal and two assists to lead the Swarm.