Around the National Lacrosse League for the games of Week Twelve, 21-22 March 2009. (Summaries are based on best-available information and may be amended as necessary.)

Rochester Knighthawks at Toronto Rock
Saturday, 7:00 PM - Air Canada Centre
Inside: Game Stats | Discuss the Game

Lewis Ratcliff scored five goals as the Rock rolled over the Knighthawks, 16-10.

Rochester (4-6) twice took early one-goal leads, but its 2-1 advantage at mid-quarter quickly became a 4-2 deficit after Ratcliff, Craig Conn and Luke Wiles scored in succession for the Rock, which then carried a 5-3 lead to the second quarter.

Toronto (4-7) maintained its torrid pace after the change of ends, with Rob Marshall and Bill McGlone scoring for a 7-3 lead. Goals by Bobby McBride and Shawn Williams pulled the Knighthawks closer, but the Rock regained the five-goal lead on two late goals by Ratcliff.

Ratcliff scored again to begin the second half, finishing off a natural hat trick and all but burying the Knighthawks. McGlone made it a 12-5 game a few minutes later, but the Knighthawks strung together three straight goals to finish the period down by four goals.

The Knighthawks could not carry their momentum into the fourth quarter, as Conn scored early, Peter Lough at mid-quarter, and the Rock lead was back at a comfortable half-dozen goals. From there, the Rock defense bent a few times but never allowed the Knighthawks to put together a rally.

Williams finished as the game's top scorer, tallying seven points (1 goal, 6 assists) in defeat. Wiles (3 goals, 3 assists) led the Rock offensively.

Portland LumberJax at Buffalo Bandits
Saturday, 7:30 PM - HSBC Arena
Inside: Game Stats | Discuss the Game

Nine unanswered Bandit goals turned a tight game into a 14-4 rout of the LumberJax.

Portland (5-4) had a 2-1 lead late in the first quarter before John Tavares and Cory Bomberry stepped up for the Bandits, scoring late to end what would be the last LumberJax lead of the game.

The 'Jax did tie the game a few minutes into the second quarter, on a Derek Malawsky goal, but Bomberry and Roger Vyse scored soon after, putting Buffalo (8-3) ahead to stay.

Cory Conway cut the deficit to 5-4 with a goal 5:46 into the second half. Almost immediately, the Bandits got on a roll and never looked back -- Mike Accursi and Bomberry nudged the lead to 7-4, then Tavares gave it a good push with two goals to close out the period.

Sean Greenhalgh scored twice in the fourth quarter, along with singles from Tom Montour and Vyse, as the LumberJax failed repeatedly to get back on the scoreboard.

Tavares topped the stat sheet with seven points, on four goals and three assists. Five players had two points each for Portland.

Colorado Mammoth at Calgary Roughnecks
Saturday, 9:30 PM - Saddledome
Inside: Game Stats | Discuss the Game

Playmaker extraordinaire Josh Sanderson keyed a 5-0 Roughnecks third quarter that was more than enough to drop the Mammoth, 13-10.

The teams alternated goals throughout the first quarter, with Calgary (8-2) finishing the period with a 3-2 lead after a goal by Tracey Kelusky, his second tally in less than six minutes.

Neither team was able to break the pattern until deep into the second quarter. Seconds after a Gavin Prout goal pulled Colorado (5-5) even at 5-5, Nolan Heavenor put the Riggers back in front, followed by teammate Kaleb Toth a short time later.

Two goals by Brian Langtry just before intermission brough the score level again, this time at 7-7, but the Roughnecks dominated play coming out of the break, scoring all five goals in the period. Sanderson had the primary assist on four of the goals, including a pair by Scott Ranger.

Prout found rope a minute and a half into the fourth quarter, cutting the Riggers' lead to four goals. Tyler Crompton slashed the lead to 12-9 less than a minute later.

Calgary tightened up after that, holding the Mammoth off the scoreboard until its own Dane Dobbie scored with just under seven minutes to play. A late Jed Prossner goal brought Colorado back within three, but the Mammoth could improve no further.

Sanderson (1 goal, 6 assists) and Prout (3 goals, 4 assists) each finished with seven points, leading all scorers.

Edmonton Rush at San Jose Stealth
Saturday, 10:30 PM - HP Pavilion
Inside: Game Stats | Discuss the Game

The Stealth scored the final three goals, rallying to defeat the Rush, 11-10.

After conceding a goal to Ian Hawksbee two minutes in, San Jose (4-7) took a 2-1 lead on goals by Jeff Zywicki and Alex Turner, but fell behind by the end of the first quarter after Dan Teat and Jim Quinlan netted goals for the Rush.

Edmonton (3-8) extended its lead to 4-2 early in the second quarter, but soon coughed up its advantage, falling into a 5-5 tie midway through the period. Edmonton did close strong, scoring three straight goals to take an 8-5 halftime lead.

A pair of Zywicki goals, along with a late Frank Resetarits tally, helped the Stealth pull to within 10-8 by the end of the third quarter, then goals by Cam Sedgwick and Paul Rabil early in the fourth quarter made it a 10-10 tie.

The score stayed level for seven minutes, until Rabil connected with Colin Doyle for his only goal of the game -- the game-winner, as it turned out, as Matt Roik and the San Jose defense turned Edmonton away for the final 54 seconds.

Zywicki finished with three goals and four assists, for a game-high seven points. Callum Crawford had five points (1 goal, 4 assists) for the Rush.

Minnesota Swarm at Colorado Mammoth
Sunday, 8:00 PM - Pepsi Center
Inside: Game Stats | Discuss the Game

Jed Prossner and Jamie Shewchuk scored four goals each as the Mammoth swatted the Swarm, 13-11.

Minnesota (5-6) dominated the early scoring, going ahead 4-0 after ten minutes on goals by Chad Culp, Kevin Ross, Aaron Wilson, and Sean Pollock. However, late-first-period goals by Shewchuk and Tyler Crompton cut the deficit to a more manageable 4-2.

Kevin Ross scored early in the second quarter for the Swarm before Colorado (6-5) took control, running off four straight goals of its own (Chris Gill, Shewchuk, Brian Langtry and Prossner), ending the first half with a 6-5 lead.

Prossner scored again to begin the second-half scoring, but Wilson and Ross netted the next two goals, tying the game at 7-7. Colorado got the next four goals, though, Gill scoring twice as the Mammoth snagged an 11-7 lead after three quarters.

The fourth quarter started with yet another four-goal run, this one by the Swarm. Kevin Buchanan's goal a minute into the period was followed by tallies by Wilson, Pollock, and Wilson again, forging an 11-11 tie with just under seven minutes to play.

The tie was short-lived -- Prossner scored 45 seconds later to put Colorado back in front, and Shewchuk added an insurance goal late.

Shewchuk finished with eight points (4 goals, 4 assists), leading all scorers. Wilson (4 goals, 2 assists) and Pollock (2 goals, 4 assists) netted six points each for the Swarm.