TORONTO – The National Lacrosse League trade deadline is today, March 14 at 5:00 PM Eastern.
The Toronto Rock, sitting in second place in the NLL East Division, have not made a deal since the February trade that sent Mat Giles to Edmonton in exchange for a 2006 draft pick.
Other NLL teams began retooling their rosters last week, and some of those trades have already reaped rewards. A move last Friday that sent Mike Regan from San Jose to Philadelphia in exchange for Luke Wiles and Chad Thompson paid off for both squads this weekend. Regan, in his first game with the Wings, which was also his first of the season, scored five points (3g, 2a) in helping Philadelphia rebound from a Friday loss to defeat the Rochester Knighthawks 16-12 on Saturday.
In San Jose, Wiles a rookie forward, scored four points (2g, 2a) helping the Stealth edge out the Edmonton Rush 12-11 on Saturday. Forward Jason Clark was released by Arizona and quickly signed by the Edmonton Rush. Clark scored five points (1g, 4a) in his debut for Edmonton on Saturday.
Other notable transactions from the weekend include a trade that sent veteran forward Ted Dowling back to Calgary from Portland, in exchange for rookie forward Ryan Marshall. Marshall played for Portland on Sunday night against Colorado, and scored two points (1g, 1a) in the LumberJax 12-11 win.
Dowling did not play in Calgary’s 15-14 overtime win over Colorado on Saturday. The Roughnecks also activated rookie Callum Crawford on Friday, moving him from the Injured Reserve to the active roster. Crawford scored a goal in Calgary’s overtime win over Colorado.
San Jose released veteran forward Curt Malawsky on Friday and Malawsky was quickly snatched up by the Arizona Sting on Saturday. Malawsky played for the Sting on Saturday night in Portland and scooped up four loose balls.
The Rush also signed defenseman and faceoff man Rob Williams who played two games for Calgary earlier this season. The Rush also released forward Shane Pederson and placed Peter Gut on the Injured Reserve list.
Other League News From Week 11
The Buffalo Bandits fell to the Toronto Rock 10-8 on Saturday night, it was the second consecutive game the Bandits were held to under ten goals. It was the first time since March of 2002 that Buffalo was held to under ten goals in two consecutive games. Head coach Terry Sanderson picked up his 50th career coaching victory.
The win for Toronto was their seventh out of their last eight games. The Rock are now a half game behind Rochester for the East Division lead. The entire East Division is within a game and a half of the lead. Rochester (7-4) leads, Toronto (7-5) is in second, Philadelphia (6-5) is in third, and Minnesota (5-5) and Buffalo (4-4) round out the division.
In Philadelphia, two-time all-pro and veteran forward Jake Bergey played his 100th career game, all were played with the Wings. In his career 100 regular season games, Bergey has totaled 436 points on 197 goals and 239 points.
The Portland LumberJax swept their Week Eleven games downing the Arizona Sting 12-10 and the Colorado Mammoth 12-11. The weekend sweep pushes the expansion club into a three-way tie for the top of the West Division. Portland, Calgary and Arizona all boast West Division best records of 5-4.
Colorado (5-5) and San Jose (4-4) trail the leaders by a half game, placing five of the six West Division squads within a half game of first in the Division.
Week Eleven Results
Friday, March 10
Arizona 13, Edmonton 9
Rochester 17, Philadelphia 8
Saturday, March 11
Toronto 10, Buffalo 8
Philadelphia 16, Rochester 12
Portland 12, Arizona 10
Calgary 15, Colorado 14 (OT)
San Jose 12, Edmonton 11
Sunday, March 12
Portland LumberJax 12, Colorado Mammoth 11
