A Washington Stealth Fan Blog
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The game between the Portland Lumberjax and the Colorado Mammoth was closer than anyone anticipated. The Jax took the Mammoth to OT in their second home game of the season. The final score was 11-12 with Jason Wulder for the Mammoth with the game-winning goal.
All-in-all, this was one of the best lacrosse games I have seen in person (the best was the 2007 western semi-final game in Colorado). The officiating was horrible; the calls that really drove me crazy were the checks to players heads while they were on the ground, with the ball, that went uncalled. The 6322 fans were loud and knew when to boo and cheer, without being prompted by the stadium announcer. There were a few too many dropped passes, Peter Morgan had so many I have to call him out by name, but he wasn’t alone.
Goalie play was outstanding last night. Gee Nash led the Mammoth defense with another great game. What can I say? I hate playing against Nash because he is so good. The Lumberjax started Matt King in cage, which was a decision I applaud. King is seeing the ball really well and his defense stepped up, holding the powerful Mammoth offense to 45 shots on goal. King, for his part had one sick save. The Mammoth worked him back and forth in front of the goal about three times and he ended up making a stick save while falling to the opposite side. It should make the Sportscenter Top Ten Plays of the week….
Defense play was strong by both teams. They had few penalties, which was nice since it allowed the game to have nice flow and tempo. Brodie Merrill made a difference for the Jax. Not only did Merrill score in the game, but it seemed none of the Mammoth offenders wanted to take Merrill one-on-one to the goal.
In transition, both teams were aggressive. The Jax were ready for this style of play from the Mammoth and were almost always on the turf to prevent any cherry picking. The Lumberjax were not shy about shooting in their transition game, but were seldom successful in putting it in the back of the net.
As I posted in my preview, Wulder and Shewchuk were effective from down low. Carey was deadly accurate, on one goal pinging the top corner from just inside the white line. Langtry netted three goals. Prout showed the Lumberjax fans why he is one of the premier players in the league with a burner from up top.
Dawson was a key player in the Jax offense, but thankfully didn’t have to carry the whole team this week. Although, that might have been because the Mammoth defense knew how to stop him since the Mammoth coach Bob McMahon used to coach Dawson in Arizona. Ryan Powell, Derek Malwasky, Peter Jacobs, and Scott Stewart helped him out.
Player sightings at PDX today included Brian Langtry and John Gallant.