Minnesota Swarm (0-1 H 0-1 A 0-0)
	Chicago Shamrox (2-0 H 1-0 A 1-0)

Swarm Succumb to Shamrox Fourth Quarter Rally

Saturday, January 13, 2007
St. Paul, Minnesota
Attendance: 10,544

Game Links

In front of the record home opening crowd of 10,544, the Minnesota Swarm were outscored 5-2 in the fourth quarter and fell to the Chicago Shamrox 11-10 on Saturday Night. The Swarm, with the loss, falls to 0-1 and a fourth place tie in the East Division with the Toronto Rock. The expansion Chicago Shamrox are now 2-0 and find themselves all alone in first place in the East division after a second consecutive weekend of play in the National Lacrosse League.

The Swarm started strong as they often have in their three year history. Sean Pollock got the first goal of the season for the hometown team, just 54 seconds into the game. Continuing on through the first half, the Swarm controlled play on both ends and goaltender Nick Patterson was stopping shots from all comers. Up 7-4 after a goal by Scott Stewart with 1:07 left in the 2nd Quarter, the Swarm were looking to finish the 1st half strong but Shamrox worked their last possession just liked the drew up it with Chris Panos scoring with three seconds left to go, to give the Swarm only a two goal advantage at 7-5.

Both teams came out in the 2nd half going up and down the floor, but Patterson and Shamrox goaltender Brandon Miller continued to consistently swat away all comers. Only a goal by the Swarm' s Chad Culp and the Shamrox' s Bill McGlone got past the netminders in the third quarter as the Swarm began play in the 4th up 8-6.

Unfortunately for the Swarm, Spencer Martin crashed the net and Miller late in the third which got Martin sent to the box for goalie interference. With the minor penalty still in effect at the beginning of the fourth, the Shamrox capitalize on the power play with another Panos goal. The Swarm went a man down soon after again and the Shamrox' s Jon Harasym, a former Swarm, tied the game at eight. Swarm captain Ryan Cousins got the ball on a breakaway to put the Swarm back up by one. The Shamrox, as I mentioned earlier tied the game on the power play but the man-down defense came through as Thomas Montour scooped up a loose ball and took it in past Patterson to tie it 9.

The Swarm' s Brock Boyle put the Swarm back up 10-9 with one of his patented break away goals but the Shamrox, who have been able to practice quite a bit more than the Swarm the last two months leading up to the season, seemed to have an little extra in the gas tank. Two of the big rookie transactions, Josh Wasson-McQuigge and Cody Jacobs, gave confirmation to Shamrox executives, that they made the right decision to draft both in September. Wasson got the goal to tie the game at 10 and Jacobs got a pass from behind the net from fellow rookie Bill McGlone and put it past Patterson to give the Shamrox the game-winner.

The Swarm offense didn' t execute well in the 2nd Half and that is a cause for concern. Often in the first two seasons, there have been long stretches in games, where the Swarm seem to flail helplessly running their offense. Generally, it seems they pass to much leaving themselves with a low percentage shot with only a precious few seconds left on the shot clock. This game is all about quick passing from one player to another because if you don' t move the ball, you will get crushed by the defender. The Swarm are a very good passing team but they carry it to the extreme some times. The offense is well-balance but there isn' t really a superstar goal-scorer ala John Grant or Colin Doyle. Keep in mind, that the Swarm have only practiced once as a team since the exhibition game against Portland in Victoria, British Columbia on December 16th. As Head Coach Duane Jacobs said in the NLL weekly news conference last Wednesday, there will be some rust and they will have to shake it off quickly. However, it looked like the rust reappeared in the fourth quarter.

Players after the game were extremely disappointed in the way they lost and that they lost to a team they don' t believe is better than them. Also, the players aren' t to thrilled to start the home part of the schedule with a loss as they have in all of the first three seasons. Thankfully for the Swarm, Jacobs was calmly focused on the next game against Rochester on Friday at the Xcel Energy Center, saying these games happen but there' s always the next game.

The Swarm shook the line up a bit with prominent players like Kasey Beirnes, Jamie Taylor, Eric Pacey and face-off specialist Mark Miyashita scratched. Either Beirnes and/or Taylor could have been of much help offensively but they should be in the line up against Rochester. Forward Dean Hill, who didn' t play either, believes he will be in the line up on Saturday when the Swarm travel to Buffalo and defenseman Ashton McLean, who was signed by the Swarm, late last week should see some time on the floor this upcoming weekend. McLean, who looks like will wear #6, will replace Eric Perkins on the roster. Perkins, sports anchor from KARE-11, suited up for the Swarm to get out the word on the team and to raise money through ticket sales proceeds for Courage Center. Perkins started the game and quickly came off. He was in on another face off later in the first half and served a penalty for illegal substitution in the fourth quarter.

The Swarm will play two next weekend. They will start at home on Friday, January 19th at 7:00 pm CST against the Rochester Knighthawks (2-1). After that game, they will travel to Buffalo to play the Bandits (1-2) on Saturday, January 20th at 6:30 pm CST. The game in Buffalo will be the beginning of four consecutive road games for the Swarm which will see them travel to Calgary, Portland and New York before hosting New York on Saturday, February 18th at 7:00 pm CST.

The Swarm were lead in scoring by Scott Stewart who scored one goal and three assists. Boyle led the team in goals with two and Patterson saved 43 of 54 shots.

48-Scott Stewart 1g 3a
15-Spencer Martin 1g 2a
19-Chad Culp 1g 2a
44-Ryan Ward 1g 2a
10-Brock Boyle 2g
11-Kelly Hall 1g 1a
17-Sean Pollock 1g
18-Andrew Biers 1g
50-Ryan Cousins 1g
8-Rory McDade 1a
93-Nick Patterson 1a 43 saves on 54 shots
16- Noah Talbot 5 lb (loose balls)
23-Jon Sullivan 2 lb
47-Travis Hill 9 of 21 on face offs
55-Michael Kilby 6 lb
77-Riley Kemp 4 lb
66-Eric Perkins 2 PIM

Team Stats	Sv/S	PIM	PP	SH	S	SOG	LB	FO
Minnesota	43/54	12	2/4	0	74	53	59	13/25
Chicago	43/53	10	3/5	1	67	54	60	12/25

#	Minnesota	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	S	SOG	LB	FO
8	Rory McDade	0	1	1	0	0	0	3	3	2	0-0
10	Brock Boyle	2	0	2	4	0	0	5	5	0	0-0
11	Kelly Hall	1	1	2	0	1	0	11	6	1	0-0
15	Spencer Martin	1	2	3	2	0	0	5	4	3	0-0
16	Noah Talbot	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	5	0-0
17	Sean Pollock	1	0	1	0	0	0	8	6	2	0-0
18	Andrew Biers	1	0	1	0	0	0	5	4	8	4-4
19	Chad Culp	1	2	3	0	0	0	12	5	2	0-0
23	Jon Sullivan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0-0
44	Ryan Ward	1	2	3	0	0	0	12	10	3	0-0
47	Travis Hill	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	8	9-21
48	Scott Stewart	1	3	4	0	1	0	8	7	4	0-0
50	Ryan Cousins	1	0	1	2	0	0	2	2	9	0-0
55	Michael Kilby	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	6	0-0
66	Eric Perkins	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0
77	Riley Kemp	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0-0
93	Nick Patterson	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0
1	Matt Disher	Back Up Goaltender - Did Not Play
12	Eric Pacey	Did Not Dress
22	Kasey Beirnes	Did Not Dress
39	Mark Miyashita	Did Not Dress
40	Jamie Taylor	Did Not Dress
73	Dean Hill	Did Not Dress
#	Minnesota	MIN	GA	Saves	Shots	Dec
1	Matt Disher	0:00	0	0	0
93	Nick Patterson	60:00	11	43	54	L 0-1
#	Chicago	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	S	SOG	LB	FO
4	Carter Livingstone	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0-0
7	Kyle Dupont	0	1	1	0	0	0	2	2	2	0-0
9	Bryan Kazarian	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	15	10-17
11	Mike Hobbins	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	3	2	0-0
13	Jason Clark	0	7	7	0	0	0	5	5	5	0-0
16	Jon Harasym	2	4	6	0	1	0	12	9	3	0-0
18	Josh Wasson	2	2	4	0	0	0	8	4	3	0-0
19	Darryl Gibson	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	6	0-0
22	Cam Woods	1	0	1	2	0	0	3	3	6	0-0
26	Mike Kirk	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	0-0
27	Mat Giles	0	1	1	4	0	0	4	3	3	2-8
33	Bill McGlone	1	1	2	0	0	0	7	5	2	0-0
35	Brandon Miller	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0
41	Zach Heffner	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	3	0-0
55	Chris Panos	4	0	4	0	2	0	15	13	0	0-0
63	Thomas Montour	1	1	2	0	0	1	2	1	3	0-0
88	Cody Jacobs	0	0	0	2	0	0	4	4	1	0-0
43	Derek Collins	Back Up Goaltender - Did Not Play
10	Phil Montgomery	Did Not Dress
21	Brad Holbrough	Did Not Dress
25	Drew Candy	Did Not Dress
81	Matt Marchildon	Did Not Dress
91	Corey Leigh	Did Not Dress
#	Chicago	MIN	GA	Saves	Shots	Dec
35	Brandon Miller	60:00	10	43	53	W 2-0
43	Derek Collins	0:00	0	0	0

Scoring
Time	MN	CHI	Team	Goal	1st Assist	2nd Assist	Notes
1st Quarter
0:54	1	0	Minnesota	Sean Pollock	Rory McDade	Scott Stewart
7:54	2	0	Minnesota	Andrew Biers
9:02	3	0	Minnesota	Spencer Martin	Ryan Ward
9:29	4	0	Minnesota	Brock Boyle	Chad Culp
13:35	4	1	Chicago	Chris Panos	Jason Clark	Jon Harasym	PP
2nd Quarter
0:15	4	2	Chicago	Josh Wasson	Jason Clark	Mat Giles
4:36	5	2	Minnesota	Ryan Ward	Scott Stewart	Nick Patterson
4:57	5	3	Chicago	Cam Woods	Thomas Montour
5:40	6	3	Minnesota	Kelly Hall	Ryan Ward	Scott Stewart	PP
8:56	6	4	Chicago	Jon Harasym	Mike Kirk	Jason Clark
13:53	7	4	Minnesota	Scott Stewart	Kelly Hall	Chad Culp	PP
14:57	7	5	Chicago	Chris Panos	Josh Wasson	Bill McGlone
3rd Quarter
4:44	8	5	Minnesota	Chad Culp	Spencer Martin
6:43	8	6	Chicago	Bill McGlone	Jon Harasym	Jason Clark
4th Quarter
1:17	8	7	Chicago	Chris Panos	Jon Harasym	Jason Clark	PP
3:29	8	8	Chicago	Jon Harasym	Jason Clark	Josh Wasson	PP
3:46	9	8	Minnesota	Ryan Cousins
8:09	9	9	Chicago	Thomas Montour			SH
10:29	10	9	Minnesota	Brock Boyle	Spencer Martin
11:01	10	10	Chicago	Josh Wasson	Jason Clark	Kyle Dupont
11:31	10	11	Chicago	Chris Panos	Jon Harasym		GWG

Penalties
Time	Team	Player	Penalty	Bench	Duration
1st Quarter
1:43	Minnesota	Brock Boyle	Holding		2:00
13:08	Minnesota	Brock Boyle	Goalie Interference		2:00
2nd Quarter
5:26	Chicago	Mat Giles	Holding		2:00
9:30	Chicago	Bryan Kazarian	Slashing		2:00
13:20	Chicago	Mat Giles	Interference		2:00
3rd Quarter
4:33	Minnesota	Mike Kilby	Roughing		2:00
4:33	Chicago	Cody Jacobs	Roughing		2:00
14:37	Minnesota	Spencer Martin	Goalie Interference		2:00
4th Quarter
2:46	Minnesota	Ryan Cousins	Roughing		2:00
5:47	Minnesota	Eric Perkins	Illegal Substitution	X	2:00
7:38	Chicago	Cam Woods	Checking from Behind		2:00

Referees
Crew Chief	Assistant Referee	Technical Referee
Bill Fox	Joseph Jastrzemski	Jeff Dolan