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SALT LAKE CITY – The 10th-ranked Westminster College men's lacrosse team will host in-state rival Utah in a Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference Tournament quarterfinal game on Sat. The action between the fourth-seeded Griffins and fifth-seeded Utes will begin at 1 p.m. from Dumke Field.
 
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Saturday's game will be broadcast live on Griffins TV. Tim Haslam will handle the play-by-play with Steve Nelson serving as the analyst. Live Stats will also be available for the game. Links for all of the live features are available at www.WestminsterGriffins.com/coverage.aspx. Updates will also be provided on Twitter by following @wc_griffins or @GriffinLAX.
 
GRIFFIN NOTES
Westminster enters the postseason after compiling a 10-5 record during the regular season. The Griffins went 1-3 in RMLC action to earn the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament. They are coming off back-to-back wins at Boise State and versus Washington last weekend in Boise, Idaho.
 
The Griffins are averaging 14.73 goals per game this season and they have scored in double figures 11 times. They are attempting 42.1 shots per game and putting 59.3 percent of those shots on cage. Westminster has scored on 59.1 percent of their shots on cage and they assist on 48.4 percent of the goals scored. They have gone 23-of-55 (41.8 percent) on man-up chances.
 
At the defensive end, Westminster opponents average 8.0 goals per outing while they attempt 32.2 shots. Westminster has only allowed six opponents to score in double figures this season. The opposition puts 59 percent of their shots on goal and they score on 42.1 percent of those chances. Griffin opponents have 13 goals in 56 man-up opportunities (23.2 percent) this season.
 
Westminster has won 55.7 percent of the face-offs taken and they have an 83.8 clearing percentage. The Griffins also maintain a 492-404 edge in ground balls during the year. They limit the opposition to 69.8 percent clearing and have seen 234 turnovers from the opposition while causing 109 of them.
 
GRIFFINS IN THE POSTSEASON
The Griffins have had astonishing success in the postseason in the program's Division II history. Westminster is 12-2 all-time in the RMLC Tournament with five D2 titles. This will be their first appearance in the Division I tournament. When you factor in the MCLA National Championship, Westminster has gone 24-8 all-time in postseason play.
 
CHECKING THE POLLS
Westminster moved up in the MCLA Coaches' Top 25 Poll once again this week as they check in at No. 10 in the 10th edition of the poll that was released on Tuesday. The Griffins have now improved their position in the poll five-straight weeks and eight times overall this season. They started the year with a No. 24 ranking in the preseason poll and they sat at No. 18 in the March 18 poll.
 
RECORD BREAKERS
Two Griffins moved themselves to the top of the career leaders charts at Westminster with their performances over the past two weeks. Collin Madsen became the Westminster all-time leading scorer with 197 career points with six points against Boise State and then seven more versus Washington. Madsen ranks fourth in school history with 113 goals and third with 84 assists.
 
Kyle Postler became the school's career leader in assists with his two helpers at Colorado on April 11. Poster then tallied five assists against Washington to move his career total to 99 entering Saturday. He ascended to the top of the career chart in just his junior year. Postler also ranks fourth in Griffin history with 185 points and sixth with 86 goals.
 
OFFENSE NOTEBOOK
>Postler leads all Griffins with 55 points this season.
>He is tied for second on the team with 27 goals.
>He has recorded five hat tricks during the year and led the team in goals on five occasions.
>Postler tallied four goals in the loss to Arizona on March 13 and four more against Utah.
>He also leads the team with 28 assists on the year.
>Postler tallied at least three assist in a game four times.
>Against Utah Valley on March 6, Postler recorded a season-high six assists.
>He contributed five assists in the win over Washington last Sat.
> Madsen is second on the squad with 51 points.
>He has scored 27 goals and recorded 24 assists.
>He has at least one goal in every game with nine multi-goal games.
>He has notched an assist in 14 of the 15 games played with five multi-assist outings.
>Josh Holland leads Westminster with 35 goals and 101 shots.
>He has scored a goal in five-straight outings.
>Holland has five hat tricks this season and he has led the team in goals during seven contests.
>He has scored a team-high eight goals with the man-advantage.
 
GOALIE NOTEBOOK
>Chris Burckle has started 14 games in cage for the Griffins this season.
>He has made 131 saves with a .557 save percentage in 673 minutes played.
>His goals-against-average for the season 9.27.
>Burckle has eight games with at least 10 saves during the year.
>The senior posted 17 saves in a 10-8 win at UNLV on Feb. 21.
>He recorded 15 saves – including nine in the second quarter – against Arizona on March 13.
>Ben Tourek has appeared in eight games (one start) and played 229 minutes.
>He has made 34 saves while allowing 16 goals for a .680 save percentage.
>Tourek has a 4.19 goals-against-average for the season.
 
MISCELLANEOUS NOTEBOOK
>Jake Berard has taken the 243 of the team's 379 face-offs this season.
>He has notched 153 wins for a .630 face-off percentage.
>Berard also leads the team with 89 ground balls.
> Spencer Huso leads the team with 15 caused turnovers.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Should the Griffins win on Saturday, they would face top-seeded Colorado in a semifinal game on May 2 at 7 p.m. MDT. The semifinals and championship games will be played at Walker Field on the Colorado Mesa campus in Grand Junction, Colo