Matt Panetta took a pass from Darren Lowe, went in on a breakaway, and beat Albany goalie Rob Blasdell over the left shoulder at 3:17 of the extra session to give the New York Saints a 17-16 win tonight over the expansion Attack (1-2). The loss was Albany’s second overtime defeat of the year.

The Attack had a 16-14 lead but couldn’t hold off New York (2-2) and forward Chris Panos. With 4:34 left in the fourth quarter, Panos scored his seventh goal of the season, then tied the game at 16 with his fourth goal of the game with just 1:30 to go. The fourth-year veteran was named Game MVP, also adding two assists.

Albany’s Ted Dowling looked great with a total of six goals, with three in the first quarter and two in the final frame. Dowling’s first three goals, combined with two goals by Cordingley, put Albany ahead at the end of the first quarter, 5-3. Jonas Derks, Panos, and Mark Frye scored goals for the Saints in the opening quarter.

The Saints came back in the second period with five straight goals by Roy Colsey, Panetta, Mike Benedict, Frye and Jimmy Keenan. After a pair of Albany scores, New York took an 8-7 lead into halftime.

At the start of the second half the teams traded goals. Panos, Frye and Pat McCabe for the Saints, and Dallas Squire and Josh Sanderson for the Attack (Squire twice in the third period).

At the end of the third quarter, it was quite apparent the Saints are still troubled with face-offs. The Saints had lost 22 of 26 face-offs at this point, and the only difference in this game compared to their opening season loss to Pittsburgh were the ground balls. The Saints showed plenty of hustle and tenacity.

The fourth quarter allowed both teams to display some incredible stick work and shooting. Andrew Whipple scored first for Albany, then the Saints' Jason Wulder scored followed by a real sweet shot by McCabe, on a great shot. Dowling then caught Saints goalie Chris Levis on a screen shot. Levis hurt himself trying to reach the ball with a leg split, but it was too late.

The Attack's Dowling and Kilgour scored to put Albany ahead, 15-14. The Saints’ power play unit was very weak tonight and the inevitable happened. Dowling puts Albany in the lead 16-14 with a short-handed goal, and it looked like curtains for the Saints.

With 4:34 left, New York's Panos scored a fancy one and then managed to tie the score at 16-16 with 1:30 left in the game. The teams traded some last minute shots and timeouts, but the game went into overtime with the score tied at 16-16. With 3:17 left in the overtime period, Matt Panetta scored the winning goal with his patented bounce shot from out front. He appeared to catch Rob Blasdell going down to his knees with the ball apparently rising over his shoulder, or through the five hole.

The game, played before 5,803 in Nassau Coliseum, was the first of two straight on the road for Albany, who had been idle since a 21-19 home win over Pittsburgh on 14 January. The Attack has a matinee engagement in Buffalo next Saturday. The Saints will visit Philadelphia on Saturday night.

BOX SUMMARY
                                  1  2  3  4 OT     TOT
Albany Attack (1-2)               5  2  5  4  0  --  16
New York Saints (2-2)             3  5  3  5  1  --  17

ALBANY ATTACK                 NEW YORK SAINTS
               G - A   PTS                   G - A   PTS
Dowling        7 - 4    11    Panos          4 - 2     6
J Sanderson    3 - 1     4    Panetta        2 - 3     5
D Kilgour      1 - 3     4    Colsey         1 - 4     5
Cordingley     2 - 1     3    Frye           3 - 1     4
Rosyski        1 - 1     2    D Lowe         0 - 3     3
Whipple        1 - 1     2    Derks          2 - 0     2
D Squire       1 - 0     1    McCabe         2 - 0     2
Blasdell       0 - 1     1    Keenan         1 - 1     2
Codd           0 - 1     1    Wulder         1 - 1     2
                              Langton        0 - 2     2
                              M Benedict     1 - 0     1
                              K Lowe         0 - 1     1

Shots on goal           57    Shots on goal           58
Saves made by           41    Saves made by           41
   Levis                         Blasdell
Penalties               11    Penalties               12
Penalty Minutes         22    Penalty Minutes         24
Power Play Chances       6    Power Play Chances       6
Power Play Goals         4    Power Play Goals         4

*** STATS OFFICIAL BY VERIFY WITH NEW YORK SAINTS ***

A National Lacrosse League press release contributed to the game summary. Thanks to NYsaints.com for providing the game stats.