The last thing he wants to see is the Portland Lumberjax winning the National Lacrosse League championship tomorrow (Saturday, 7:30 p.m.) in Buffalo. Where Paul's problem arises is that his brother Dan plays for the Lumberjax and will be taking his third run at his first Champions Cup.

"I'm definitely not rooting for his team," said Paul, a defender on the San Jose Stealth, which was upset by the Lumberjax in the opening round of the playoffs. "I'd like him to win but I won't be going out to celebrate with his team afterward."

Portland's 18-16 win over the division-leading Stealth began a Cinderella playoff run by the 6-10 Lumberjax. It also made for anxious times in the family's Oakville home, where Julie and Joe Dawson knew one of their sons was about to see his season end.

"I think it's hardest on our parents," Dan said. "My brother's my best friend and a great competitor, but if he had to run over me to win a championship, he would. And I would do the same."

Fortunately for their parents' peace of mind, Paul wasn't assigned to shut down his brother when their teams went head to head. And as expected, each did everything he could to make sure it was his team that advanced.

Paul scores first NLL goal

Paul scored his first NLL goal to give San Jose a 9-4 lead in the quarterfinal matchup. Originally drafted as a goaltender, he made the switch to defender in the summer with Brampton's senior A team. He took a liking to the position -- which he had played in hockey with the Oakville Blades -- and returned to the pro ranks for his rookie season looking to crack the roster on defence, though he knew it was a risk.

At 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, he definitely had the size to make life miserable for opposing forwards. Scoring goals, however, was an entirely different matter.

"We usually leave the scoring to the O (offence) guys or the transition guys," the 22- year-old said of his goal. "The defence always jokes about it. We called it the Turtle Derby for the guys who hadn't scored yet, so it was nice to come out of the season with at least one."

Dan, on the other hand, is one of those expected to score. It was why Portland picked him first overall in the dispersal draft of players from the Arizona Sting, which suspended operation for a year. He rewarded the Lumberjax by finishing 10th in league scoring with 38 goals and 81 points in 16 games.

"(Paul) had a great goal and it got his team going and gave them a lift but I used it for inspiration, too," said Dan. "I thought, 'I'd better answer.'"

And he did, with his third goal of the game less than two minutes later. It was the first of five straight by Portland as it rallied to tie the game. Dan would score three more in the second half to finish with a career-high seven goals and 12 points to lead his team to victory.

He followed that up with five goals and five assists as Portland beat Calgary, who had pulled off its own upset of second-seeded Colorado, 16-12. The win meant the 26-year-old would be playing for the league title for the third time in four years. Like the previous two Champions Cup finals with Arizona, Portland will enter the game against the Buffalo Bandits as the underdog -- a fact that doesn't deter Dawson, despite losses to Toronto and Rochester in the previous finals.

"In the NLL, with the playoffs being a one-game shot, anything can happen,"he said. "A lot of people counted us out. We've got great players and they've stepped up their game in the playoffs. I've tried to tell the guys there's a reason we're here and it's not because of luck."

That doesn't mean Dawson would turn down any assistance from Lady Luck, though.

"This is my third kick at the can," he said. "Hopefully, the third time is a charm."