Prior to Saturday night's game at Capital Centre, one of the topics discussed by those in the press box was a play from 1975, when the legendary John Grant scored a goal in the old NLL on a behind-the-back shot from the point.

Wouldn't it be ironic if this game, between the Rochester Knighthawks and Washington Power, ended the same way? Guess what -- it did.

Paul Gait brought back memories of Grant, scoring a game-winning, behind-the-back goal from that same distance three minutes into overtime, giving Washington its first victory of the season, 13-12, in front of a crowd of nearly 3,000 fans witnessing the first game played here since the last days of the Washington Wave, in 1989.

The game began in the favor of the Power, with Kip Fulks scoring less then a minute in. Rochester's Curt Malawsky soon answered back, evening the game at one, but Washington went on a 5-2 run to grab a commanding 6-3 lead after one quarter. The top-rated Knighthawks would, before long, live up to expectations, with Shawn Williams' three goals leading a Rochester comeback. Derek Malawsky would not relent, setting up one great play after another, picking up five assists. Rochester had tied the game at eight by the end of the third quarter.

Then the real game began. The offense turned it up a notch and the goalies kept pace. Washington reclaimed the lead early with a "Gait-to-Gait" goal. The teams traded goals, the Power holding an 11-10 lead with only four minutes to play. Trailing by a single goal, Duane Jacobs delivered a death blow to his own team, picking up a two-minute goaltender interference penalty. It looked like the Knighthawks needed to score the game-tying goal shorthanded. The Power easily took advantage of the power-play, however, taking a stronghold on the game with a 12-10 lead and only two minutes to play.

Washington began running out the clock on every possession, but still getting some great scoring opportunities. Pat O'Toole, though, turned up the heat and made some big saves. Jacobs was able to cut the lead to a goal with over a minute to play, but with Washington winning the faceoff and running out the clock again, the Knighthawks would only have ten seconds to attempt a game-tying goal. Rochester coach Paul Day sent his top six attackers on the floor for the final play. John Grant, Jr. -- son of the aforementioned legend -- sprinted the ball up the floor and looked for Williams inside, but he was double-teamed, leaving Cory Bomberry wide open. With only 2.3 seconds remaining, Bomberry settled for an outside rocket shot that bounced past Devin Dalep. Rochester had sent the game into overtime.

After a few big saves from both O'Toole and Dalep, Rochester called a timeout and planned a potential game-winning play. The play worked as planned, except that Dalep continued to play like a brick wall, recording one of his 43 saves. After some more back-and-forth action, Washington called a timeout and went for the kill itself. The Power also had broken through the Rochester defense, but could not put the ball past Pat O'Toole. Paul Gait recovered the rebound, retaining possession for the Power with a full thirty seconds on the shot clock. As he trotted the ball back towards the point line, Gait surprised everyone by blindly shooting a back-hand laser right past O'Toole for the win.

Paul Gait easily took Game MVP honors, with five goals and five assists in the second game of his season-long farewell tour (he will retire after the season). Del Halladay had a goal and four assists, and Matt Shearer chipped in a goal and five assists of his own for the Power. Grant led Rochester with five assists, and Cory Bomberry had three goals and one assist. Washington (1-1) has a week off to prepare for its second home game, against the New Jersey Storm (1-2). Rochester falls to 1-1, also with a week off, but the Knighthawks need to prepare for hosting the defending NLL champion Philadelphia Wings (0-1).

BOX SUMMARY
                                   1  2  3  4 OT     TOT
Rochester Knighthawks (1-1)        3  3  2  4  0  --  12
Washington Power (1-1)             6  2  0  4  1  --  13

ROCHESTER KNIGHTHAWKS         WASHINGTON POWER
               G - A   PTS                   G - A   PTS
Williams       3 - 2     5    P Gait         5 - 5    10
D Jacobs       2 - 3     5    Shearer        1 - 5     6
Grant          0 - 5     5    Halladay       1 - 4     5
Co Bomberry    3 - 1     4    G Gait         2 - 2     4
D Malawsky     0 - 4     4    Sims           1 - 2     3
C Malawsky     2 - 1     3    Fulks          2 - 0     2
Hollenbeck     1 - 1     2    Cantebene      1 - 0     1
Sweet          1 - 1     2    Brothers       0 - 1     1
Abrams         0 - 2     2    

Shots on goal           55    Shots on goal           67
Saves made by           54    Saves made by           43
   O'Toole           54          Dalep             43
Penalties               10    Penalties                7
Penalty Minutes         20    Penalty Minutes         14
Power Play Chances       5    Power Play Chances       8
Power Play Goals         4    Power Play Goals         6
Loose Balls             80    Loose Balls            118
   O'Toole           17          Dalep             22
   Thorpe             9          G Gait            13
   Grant              7          P Gait            12
   D Jacobs           7
Faceoffs Won             9    Faceoffs Won            19
   Co Bomberry  ( 6-10)          Cantabene    (10- 4)
   Soudan       ( 2- 6)          Brothers     ( 9- 5)
   Thorpe       ( 1- 3)          

 *** STATS OFFICIAL BY VERIFY WITH WASHINGTON POWER ***