Around the National Lacrosse League for the games of Week Eight, 15-17 February 2008. (Summaries are based on best-available information and may be amended as necessary.)

Buffalo Bandits at Toronto Rock
Friday, 7:30 PM - Air Canada Centre
Inside: Game Stats | Discuss the Game

Jamie Taylor broke an 8-8 tie with four minutes left, helping the Rock to an 11-8 win over the Bandits.

Mark Steenhuis gave Buffalo (3-4) an early lead at 5:48, but Kasey Beirnes tied the game a minute and a half later. Josh Sanderson and Blaine Manning tacked on last-minute goals for a 3-1 Rock lead.

Buffalo tied the game at 3-3 midway through the second quarter, but again, Toronto (4-3) struck late, on a Taylor goal at 10:32 and a Wilson tally with two seconds to go in the half.

Wilson scored again to begin the second half, extending the Rock's lead to 6-3. John Tavares the goal back for Buffalo four minutes later, but Beirnes soon restored the three-goal advantage for Toronto.

Buffalo rattled off three straight goals to begin the fourth quarter, tying the game at 7-7 with twelve minutes to play. Peter Lough put the Rock back on top moments later, but Roger Vyse tied the game again with 7:15 to play.

Taylor then scored what turned out to be the game-winner, with insurance goals by Ryan Benesch and Chris Driscoll to follow.

Wilson (2 goals, 4 assists) and Manning (1 goal, 5 assists) led Toronto with six points each. Steenhuis, Tavares and Vyse recorded identical two-goal, one-assist outings for the Bandits.

Philadelphia Wings at Colorado Mammoth
Friday, 9:00 PM - Pepsi Center
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Athan Iannucci scored five goals, including the game-tying and game-winning tallies, as the Wings slew the Mammoth, 15-13.

Colorado (5-1) had the better of things in the first quarter, allowing Merrick Thomson to score twice for the Wings but netting five of their own in between. In the run, Gavin Prout scored once and chipped in three assists.

Philadelphia (4-0) erased most of the deficit in the second quarter, as Iannucci scored twice, Thomson completed his hat trick, and Rob Van Beek netted a goal. Colorado got goals from Dan Carey and Jason Bloom, enough for a 7-6 halftime lead.

Colorado opened some breathing room in the third quarter, going ahead 11-8 with five minutes to play. The Wings rallied to within a goal, but Carey scored late, making it a 12-10 game after three periods.

The Wings surrendered one more goal to start the fourth quarter, then started chipping away at the Mammoth's lead. Jake Bergey started the run at 4:32, with Jamie Rooney tacking on a goal less than a minute later.

Iannucci's critical goals came at 5:33, just 13 seconds after Rooney, and 6:59. Rooney then scored again with just over six and half minutes to play, giving the Wings a two-goal cushion they successfully rode to victory.

Iannucci led all scorers with eight points, on five goals and three assists. Carey (3 goals, 3 assists) and Prout (2 goals, 4 assists) each had six points for Colorado.

Minnesota Swarm at Buffalo Bandits
Saturday, 7:30 PM - HSBC Arena
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Cory Bomberry's goal with 2:45 remaining snapped a 14-14 tie and propelled the Bandits to a 16-14 win over the Swarm.

Bomberry made his presence felt from the get-go, scoring a goal and dishing out an assist as Buffalo (4-4) moved out to a 3-2 lead after one quarter.

The second period, though, was far different, as Minnesota (6-1) pumped out seven goals, two in the final 51 seconds, and grabbed a 9-6 halftime lead. Each goal came from a different player, including Craig Point, Andy Secore, Chad Culp and Ryan Ward. Roger Vyse scored twice in the period for the Bandits,

Buffalo turned the tables in the third quarter, scoring all five goals to jump in front, 11-9. Brandon Swamp scored twice in the period; Ian Llord, Dan Teat and John Tavares added singles.

Culp and Ward scored early in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 11-11. After a Delby Powless goal put the Bandits back out in front, Minnesota got two more goals (Secore and Darren Halls) for a 13-12 advantage.

Goals by Vyse and Tavares restored the lead for Buffalo with 4:08 to play, but Sean Pollock tied the game a minute later. Bomberry's tally 30 seconds later gave the Bandits a lead they would not relinquish; Mark Steenhuis later added an insurance goal.

Vyse led all scorers with three goals and four assists. Ward and Secore each tallied two goals and four assists for the Swarm.

Calgary Roughnecks at Rochester Knighthawks
Saturday, 7:35 PM - Blue Cross Arena
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John Grant and Scott Evans scored four times each in the Knighthawks' 15-12 victory over the Roughnecks.

After an early exchange of goals between Grant and Jeff Shattler, Rochester (3-3) ran off four straight goals, two by Grant and one each from Shawn and Scott Evans. Lewis Ratcliff then scored in the final second for the Riggers.

Calgary (2-4) slipped even further behind in the second quarter, able to do nothing more than alternate goals with Rochester. Scott Evans netted a goal just before halftime to give the Knighthawks an 8-4 lead.

Six minutes into the third quarter, it was 10-4, courtesy of a pair from Mat McLeod. Calgary then came alive, scoring four straight goals (two by Scott Ranger) to end the third quarter down just 10-8.

Grant and Evans clan combined to put down the Riggers in the fourth quarter, scoring a combined four goals to take a 14-10 lead with four minutes to play. Calgary netted a couple late goals but never again seriously challenged.

Grant finished with a ten-point night (4 goals, 6 assists); Scott Evans added 4 goals and 4 assists, while brother Shawn had a hat trick. Ratcliff netted 2 goals and 3 assists for Calgary.

New York Titans at Chicago Shamrox
Saturday, 8:00 PM - Sears Centre
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The Titans withstood a seven-goal fourth-quarter onslaught to defeat the Shamrox, 14-9.

Although Chicago (1-4) scored first, a Lindsay Plunkett tally at 3:27 of the first quarter, New York (3-4) was in control the entire first half.

Jordan Hall scored twice in the opening frame as the Titans led 4-1 after one period and knocked down another five goals in the second to take a 9-1 halftime advantage.

New York got one more goal to begin the third quarter, then finally surrendered a goal to Chris Panos at 13:58 -- a whopping 40 minutes, 31 seconds after the Plunkett goal.

Curiously enough, that got Chicago rolling. The Shamrox ran off four consecutive goals to begin the fourth quarter, getting to within 10-6, but after the home side stopped scoring, the visitors got fired up again.

Pat Maddalena and Brendan Mundorf (each finishing off a hat trick) put the Titans ahead by six, with under seven minutes to play. Chicago netted another three goals, but it wasn't nearly enough.

Maddalena (3 goals, 4 assists) and Casey Powell (2 goals, 5 assists) shared top scoring honors for the Titans. Jonas Derks, meanwhile, paced Chicago with a goal and five assists.

Edmonton Rush at Portland LumberJax
Sunday, 6:00 PM - Rose Garden
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Dan Dawson, Ryan Powell and Brodie Merrill all had hat tricks as the LumberJax stopped the Rush, 14-8.

After an early exchange of goals between Powell and Dan Stroup, Portland (2-5) took control offensively, ending the period up 3-1 on late goals by Spencer Martin and Dawson.

The LumberJax continued hacking at Edmonton (0-5) in the second quarter, stretching their lead to 7-1 with five minites left in the first half. A.J. Shannon finally got the Rush back on the board with 3:07 to play, ending a goalless drought of over 21 minutes.

Stroup and Chris Gill scored for Edmonton to begin the third quarter, but before the Rush could even think of staging a comeback, Portland ran off three straight goals, two in the final 46 seconds of the period, to restore its six-goal cushion.

Edmonton made another small run early in the fourth, getting back two goals, but the LumberJax countered with three of their own, ending any chance the Rush had.

Dawson led all scorers with nine points, adding six assists to his three goals. Stroup had four goals, half of Edmonton's offensive output, while Shannon and Mike Accursi each had a goal and four assists.