Franchise History
The expansion LumberJax got off to a slow start in their first year, but later turned their season around and made it to the playoffs with an 11-5 record. The LumberJax finished first in their division, becoming the only expansion team to win their division in the 20-year history of the NLL. The LumberJax season ended with a loss in the opening round of the playoffs to the Arizona Sting.
The LumberJax were less successful in their sophomore season, finishing last in the West Division with a 4-12 record.
In their third year, the LumberJax finished with a sub-500 record for the second straight year (6-10), but were able to enter the playoffs as the fourth-seed in the West.
The LumberJax won their first playoff game in franchise history on May 4, 2008, an 18-16 victory over the San Jose Stealth at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. Dan Dawson scored 7 goals and added 5 assists for a total of 12 points, all team playoff records. They then defeated the Calgary Roughnecks in the Western Division Final 16-12, to earn their first ever trip to the Champion's Cup, which took place Saturday, May 17, 2008 at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York against the Buffalo Bandits at 7:30 PM Eastern. The LumberJax lost 14-13.
On May 4, 2009 the team announced it would be leaving Portland after four seasons of play due to financial concerns. Future options were said to be moving the franchise to another city or selling it to new owners; however on July 7, 2009, a dispersal draft was held for Portland's players, essentially shutting down the franchise.
Read more about this topic: Portland Lumber Jax
Famous quotes containing the words franchise and/or history:
“To-day women constitute the only class of sane people excluded from the franchise ...”
—Mary Putnam Jacobi (1842–1906)
“Anyone who is practically acquainted with scientific work is aware that those who refuse to go beyond fact rarely get as far as fact; and anyone who has studied the history of science knows that almost every great step therein has been made by the “anticipation of Nature.””
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)