Monday, May 19, 2008

Chicago Machine Goalie Mike Gabel Named MLL Goalkeeper of the Week


Major League Lacrosse, the premier professional outdoor lacrosse league, announced Monday that it had named Chicago Machine goalkeeper Mike Gabel as its Goalkeeper of the Week for the week ending May 18, 2008, according to MLL Commissioner David Gross.

Gabel was named as the Goalkeeper of the Week for the second time in his MLL career after leading the Machine to a 10-9 victory over San Francisco on Sunday afternoon. He made 19 saves, including 10 in the first half, to lead the Machine to the first season-opening victory in the team’s three-year history. With 32 seconds left in the fourth quarter, he made a game-saving stop to protect the Machine’s one-goal lead. For his effort, the MLL also named Gabel their “Bud Light Player of the Game.”

Denver Outlaws face-off specialist Geoff Snider was honored as the League’s Defensive Player of the Week and Rochester Rattlers attackman Jeff Zywicki was named Offensive Player of the Week.

The Chicago Machine faces the LA Riptide this Sunday, May 25 in Los Angeles. Fans can follow the live web broadcast of the game on ESPN360.com. The game will also be broadcast on Comcast Sportsnet on Monday, May 26, at 3 pm CDT. The team returns home for a Sunday, June 1, 2008, matchup with the Washington (DC) Bayhawks. Game time is 3:30 pm at Toyota Park. Tickets and information are available at www.chicagomachine.com or by calling the ticket hotline at (312) 255-1540.

About the Chicago Machine
The Chicago Machine is Chicago’s outdoor professional men’s lacrosse team, members of the Western Conference of Major League Lacrosse (MLL). Now in their third season, the Chicago Machine plays at TOYOTA PARK, 15 minutes southwest of downtown Chicago. Led by head coach John Combs, the team has top players from nationally ranked college programs such as Notre Dame, Cornell, UMass, Virginia, Navy and Syracuse. The Chicago Machine opens their third season at home on Sunday, May 18, 2008, against conference rival San Francisco Dragons. Season tickets and individual game tickets are now available. For game schedule, ticketing, team and player information, visit www.chicagomachine.com.

About Major League Lacrosse
Major League Lacrosse, a 10-team professional outdoor lacrosse league, was founded in 1999 by fitness entrepreneur Jake Steinfeld, CEO of Body by Jake Global L.L.C., and founding partners Dave Morrow, a former champion lacrosse player and now CEO of Warrior Lacrosse, a leading global provider of innovative and high performance lacrosse equipment; Timothy B. Robertson, former CEO of The Family Channel and the current chairman of Bay Shore Enterprises, L.L.C., an investment holding company with activities in international media and Internet technology ventures; and Jim Davis, Chairman of New Balance. The MLL commenced play in June of 2001. The MLL is comprised of two conferences. The Eastern Conference contains the original six teams, Boston, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Rochester and Washington. The Western Conference debuted in the 2006 season with MLL expansion franchises Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Additional league information can be found at www.majorleaguelacrosse.com.
Media Contacts: Josh Cole, Chicago Machine, (312) 255-1522, jcole@chicagomachine.com
Kevin Boyer, (312) 588-3713, Kevin.Boyer@allterrain.net