NLL: Jax Attack While Analysts Learn
The Portland Lumberjax, became the first expansion team in NLL history to clinch a division, by defeating the Minnesota Swarm last Saturday. On Saturday, April 22, the Jax will face the Arizona Sting who they split the regular season series with as they chase the ultimate goal of becoming NLL Champions. ?Personally, I don?t look back at the regular season. It is important to look ahead and take it one game at a time,? said goaltender Dallas ?The Ultimate,? Eliuk about the season split with the Sting and facing them in the first round. Eliuk went on to say, ?personally, I have to continue to make stops.?
For the regular season, Eliuk finished with a 6-3 record. Even with his success, stats don?t matter, ?I feel pretty good. We are in first place. I used to look at statistics, but now they don?t really mean anything.?
If someone was to look at the roster the Jax have played the season with, they are fairly young compared to other teams. One of those younger guys is Matt King, ?It?s as much being around as it is giving advice. Matt has ability to dominate in this game,? said Eliuk.
In front of Eliuk will be the person who is for sure the Rookie of The Year, the ?Next BIG Thing,? Brodie Merrill, ?I played with Brodie back in the Canadian Summer League and the WLA. I saw his potential back then. And obviously, I?d heard of Derek and the kind of coach he was. I couldn?t have been anymore enthused about the scenario,? said Eliuk when asked about his feeling coming to Portland.
When the game starts Saturday, the Jax will have to key on a few people, ?Our coaching staff does a great job and the Sting are a solid team. Whoever they point out, is who our team will attack,? said Eliuk. The Sting are going to come out with five or six top players who can put the ball in the net, ?Craig Conn and Dan Dawson will be top players for them. Of coarse Craig is notorious for preforming in the playoffs,? said Coach Derek Keenan. The Jax will have an answer though when it comes to challenging Dawson, ?Rich has great feet and has an incredible amount of physical play which is a great match up,? said Keenan about Richard Morgan. ?With the weight and size it?s really an unstoppable force, having all three. You know one of them will be open,? said Eliuk about the Morgan brothers.
One reason the Jax were able to clinch the division and blow away most analyst has to be credited to familiar faces, ?In the meaning of the word, ?expansion? we are an expansion team, but I was able to bring a lot of our core group from Anaheim as well as pickup key additions in Bruce Alexander and Dallas, and picking up Brodie was a great deal for us. If Angela had bought the Anaheim team, we wouldn?t have gotten Brodie in the draft. Everything has fallen into place perfectly,? said Keenan.
In closing, there are many lessons for those out there who doubt first year teams and place them low in polls. Before you do that, take time to study the following: coaching philosophies of the people behind the bench, players on the roster, other teams, and the schedules.
Side Notes
* Eliuk had this message for fans, ?Support your team, because it?s the fans who will take this game to the next level.?
* Keenan and his coaching staff have signed contract extensions with the Jax.
* Peter Morgan currently leads the team in points with 54.