Around the National Lacrosse League for the games of Week Seventeen, 18-19 April 2008. (Summaries are based on best-available information and may be amended as necessary.)

Chicago Shamrox at New York Titans
Friday, 7:30 PM - Madison Square Garden
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Casey Powell was among three Titans to record a hat trick in a 14-7 win over the Shamrox.

Chicago (5-8) repeatedly took one-goal leads in first quarter, only to let the Titans tie the game moments later. A Mat Giles goal with 2:38 left proved to be the difference in the period as the Shamrox led, 4-3.

Jordan Hall tied the game for New York (8-6) midway through the second quarter, then struck again 38 seconds later for the Titans' first lead. Goals by Jeff Ratcliffe and Powell extended the lead to 7-4 at halftime.

New York continued piling on the third quarter. After a Derks goal for the Shamrox, Powell scored twice and Pat Maddalena potted a goal for a 10-5 Titans lead.

Mike McLellan and Maddalena scored early in the fourth for New York, effectively sealing the win.

Maddalena led the Titans offensively with 3 goals and 6 assists; Powell and Hall each had 3 goals and 4 assists. Derks paced the Shamrox with 2 goals and an assist.

Edmonton Rush at Colorado Mammoth
Friday, 9:00 PM - Pepsi Center
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Gord Nash made 31 saves and held the Rush scoreless for over forty minutes as the Mammoth romped to a 15-4 victory.

Jimmy Quinlan put Edmonton (4-10) in front 1-0 early, but it was the last of the Rush offense for quite some time, as the Mammoth piled on six goals, three by Jamie Shewchuk, by the end of the first period.

Colorado (8-6) continued hammering away in the second quarter, taking an 11-1 halftime lead on goals by Jason Wulder and Brian Langtry, among others.

The Mammoth's lead became an outrageous 14-1 midway through the third quarter, and remained there until Brendan Thenhaus scored with 26 seconds left in the third quarter.

Their long scoring drought now ended, Edmonton exploded for two goals in the fourth quarter, one each from Mike Grimes and Mike Hominuck. Nick Carlson tallied an incredibly useless goal for Colorado in the closing minutes.

Gavin Prout led all scorers with eight points (1 goal, 7 assists), while Shewchuk alone tied the Rush in goals (4 goals, 3 assists). Quinlan (1 goal, 1 assist), Hominuck (1 goal, 1 assist), and Randy Daly (2 assists) led Edmonton offensively.

Portland LumberJax at San Jose Stealth
Friday, 10:30 PM - HP Pavilion
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Peter Morgan's goal 3:52 into overtime not only gave the LumberJax a 12-11 victory over the Stealth but also launched them back to the postseason.

A quiet first quarter ended at 1-1 after Frank Resetarits scored for San Jose (8-7) at 11:35 and Dan Dawson responded about a minute later.

The second quarter was much livelier, with the Stealth running out to a 5-2 lead on consecutive goals by Cam Sedgwick, Gary Rosyski and Peter Veltman. Portland (6-9) rallied, though, as Derek Malawsky and Dawson scored late in the half to cut the gap to 5-4.

Dawson scored again to open the third quarter, tying the game at 5-5, but the Stealth quickly slipped ahead again, 7-5. Portland then rattled off five straight goals, two by Cory Conway, in taking a 10-7 lead.

Rosyski scored late in the third quarter for the Stealth, then Colin Doyle and Kyle Sorensen combined the tie the game 68 seconds into the fourth quarter.

Doyle scored a minute and a half later to put San Jose ahead again, 11-10, a lead which held up until Brodie Merrill scored with 2:39 left in regulation.

The teams combined for eight shots on goal in overtime before Morgan connected; the win clinches a playoff spot for the LumberJax, who won the Western Division in 2006, their inaugural season, but finished a league-worst 4-12 a year ago.

With nine points (4 goals, 5 assists), Dawson led all scorers. Doyle had 3 goals and 3 assists for the Stealth.

Chicago Shamrox at Buffalo Bandits
Saturday, 7:30 PM - HSBC Arena
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Mark Steenhuis and Mike Accursi scored four goals each as the Bandits defeated the Shamrox, 13-9.

Chicago (5-9) dominated the first-quarter scoring, taking a 3-0 lead on goals by Bill McGlone, Mat Giles and Josh Wasson. However, a goal by Mike Accursi with 35 seconds left in the first period and another three minutes into the second brought the Bandits to within a goal.

Buffalo (9-6) then struck for another three in quick succession, with John Tavares, Steenhuis and Accursi all scoring within the next 90 seconds. Two Jonas Derks goals tied the game at 5-5, but the Bandits netted another three before halftime.

The Bandits kept pouring it on in the third quarter, scoring three more times, including a Steenhuis tally just five seconds into the half.

Kevin Dostie scored 1:48 into the fourth quarter, extending the Bandits' lead to 12-5, before Josh Wasson finally ended Chicago's long scoring drought (28:34). Goals by McGlone, Cody Jacobs and Brad Self pulled the Shamrox to within three with five minutes to the play, but Buffalo's defense buckled down and held Chicago scoreless the rest of the game.

Tavares led all scorers with six points, on a goal and five assists. Derks (2 goals, 2 assists) and Jacobs (1 goal, 3 assists) had four points each for the Shamrox.

New York Titans at Philadelphia Wings
Saturday, 7:30 PM - Wachovia Center
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Pat Maddalena had a hand in all but one Titans goal in an 11-8 upset over the Wings.

After playing to a 2-2 tie over the opening ten minutes, New York (9-6) opened a 4-2 lead on late-period goals by Maddalena and Mike McLellan.

McLellan scored again to begin the second quarter, but Athan Iannucci soon had Philadelphia (9-6) back within a goal at 5-4, scoring midway through the second quarter and again 23 seconds into the third quarter.

New York dodged the threat by scoring the next three goals, two by Maddalena sandwiching one from Brendan Mundorf. However, the Wings pulled back to within a goal by the early moments of the fourth quarter, on goals by Geoff Snider, Shawn Nadelen and Iannucci.

McLellan and Iannucci soon exchanged goals, then Maddalena and Greg Peyser scored late to put the game away.

Maddalena finished with ten points, on four goals and six assists; the only Titans goal he did not have a hand in was Peyser's tally with six seconds left in the game. Iannucci led the Wings in scoring with four goals and an assist.

Rochester Knighthawks at Minnesota Swarm
Saturday, 8:00 PM - Xcel Energy Center
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Scott Evans scored four goals as the Knighthawks defeated the Swarm, 11-8.

Evans scored twice in the first five minutes, staking Rochester (8-7) to a 2-1 lead. However, Sean Pollock and Dan Marohl scored for Minnesota (9-5) later in the first quarter, for a 3-2 lead.

John Grant and Evans combined to put the Knighthawks ahead, 4-3, early in the second quarter, after which the Swarm alternated goals with Rochester's Shawn Evans over the remainder of the period, for a 6-6 halftime tie.

Grant scored twice in the first five minutes of the third quarter and Scott Evans struck late for a 9-7 lead. Andy Secore pulled the Swarm within a goal at 3:49 of the fourth quarter, but Shawn Evans scored to lessen the threat and Steve Toll netted an insurance goal in the closing minutes.

Shawn Williams quietly earned the title of top scorer, dishing out six assists for the Knighthawks. Pollock (1 goal, 3 assists) and Chad Culp (4 assists) had four points each for the Swarm.

Toronto Rock at Calgary Roughnecks
Saturday, 9:30 PM - Saddledome
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Tracey Kelusky scored 2:56 into overtime, giving the Roughnecks a 12-11 come-from-behind victory over the Rock.

Lewis Ratcliff, returning to the Saddledome for the first time since being traded by the Roughnecks a month ago, singlehandedly staked Toronto (7-8) to a 3-0 lead in the first five minutes. That lead was slashed to just a goal by the end of the period, following Rigger goals by Tracey Kelusky and Curt Malawsky.

The Rock again netted three straight goals to start a period, turning tallies by Mike MacLeod, Cam Woods and Blaine Manning into a 6-2 lead. Again, Calgary (6-9) wiped out just about all of it by halftime, with former Rock players Kaleb Toth and Josh Sanderson scoring to pull the Roughnecks to within 6-5.

Aaron Wilson scored early in the third quarter for Toronto, but the goal was quickly cancelled out by one from Scott Ranger. Peter Lough scored midway through the quarter, but again, Calgary cut the gap to one.

Ratcliff closed out the third-quarter scoring, restoring the Rock's two-goal lead -- which became a three-goal lead when Jim Veltman struck 25 seconds into the fourth period.

Goals by Mike Carnegie and Sanderson brought the Roughnecks to within 11-10, then Ranger forced overtime with a goal at 12:25.

Kelusky (2 goals, 4 assists) and Ratcliff (4 goals, 2 assists) tied for the game high in points, six.

By winning (combined with Edmonton's loss this evening), Calgary has clinched a postseason berth. Toronto, conversely, was eliminated from playoff contention with the loss, marking the first postseason without the Rock in ten years.

Colorado Mammoth at Edmonton Rush
Saturday, 9:30 PM - Rexall Place
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Jamie Shewchuk scored four goals as the Mammoth again defeated the Rush, 13-8.

Just like last night's game, Edmonton (4-11) scored first (Mike Hominuck) and then surrendered a handful of goals to Colorado (9-6). Jed Prossner scored twice in the period for the Mammoth, who led 4-1 after fifteen minutes.

Fortunately for the Rush, it took considerably less than forty minutes (as happened last night) for Edmonton to score again, a Dan Teat tally 1:55 into the second quarter. Chris McKay scored seconds later, pulling the Rush to within 4-3. Shewchuk soon scored a pair for the Mammoth, who carried a 7-5 lead to intermission.

After trading goals in the third quarter, Colorado opened a 12-7 lead with 5:40 left in regulation, with Gavin Prout scoring twice.

Shewchuk led all scorers, tallying seven points on four goals and three assists. Jim Quinlan dished out five assists for Edmonton.