The Albany Attack held off a late comeback and spoiled Lindsay Sanderson's debut as head coach of the Ottawa Rebel, winning this Saturday matinee matchup by a score of 18-17.

John Madigan opened the scoring for the Attack at 1:19. Josh Sanderson made a pass from the wing that went behind his intended target but Madigan made a nice cross-handed catch, brought it back to his forehand, and scored after faking Rebel goalie Matt Disher.

Cam Woods went off for holding at 1:52 but the Rebel power play couldn't convert in the first half of the advantage. The Attack penalty killers then forced a good save out of Disher and a foul out of Rory Graham for checking from behind at 3:15.

The four-on-four play produced action. Nick Trudeau hit the near pipe from the doorstep after faking Disher out of his jock. Doug Noganash tied the game up, scoring on a breakaway just two seconds before Woods was due to return. Ottawa killed the ensuing power play but took another penalty for too many men just 32 seconds after Graham got out. They killed off the time on that one but gave up a three-on-none eight seconds later and Woods finished at 7:55 to restore the Attack lead.

Josh Sanderson took just seven seconds to convert a power play with Noganash going into the box at 9:41.

Trudeau and Andrew Guindon were sent off for roughing at 10:54 and the Rebel took advantage of the four on four again. Stephan Evans followed up on a juicy rebound to score after Rob Blasdell saved Chris Konopliff's initial shot at 12:07. Konopliff and Shaydon Santos got into it right after that goal and they each got two minutes for roughing.

Josh Sanderson scored at 12:54 when picked off an outlet pass from Disher, who had come out of the goal. Sanderson bore down on Disher after the intercept, faking shots as the keeper backpedaled. By the time they got back to the net, Disher was so off balance that Sanderson just picked the open area. Trudeau scored just thirteen seconds later, getting a pick from Dan Teat and firing a bouncer in from the point.

Jamie Raffan scored on a rebound from a Blasdell save with just under a minute to go and Ryan Painter scored a gift with one second remaining. Albany had pulled Blasdell for an extra attacker in the final seconds. Mike Regan started out with the ball deep in his own end but fumbled it on his first steps because of a hard cradle that was too hard for its own good. The ball came right to Painter, who just rolled it into the empty net from across the center line.

Both goalies looked pretty good in the first quarter but Disher looked great in the second. He gave up only one goal and made thirteen saves, including a clean breakaway and a point blank quick stick on a wing to crease feed. More importantly, the Rebel scored three goals to take a surprising 7-6 lead into the halftime break. Kyle Laverty tied the game at 6:11 and Jaime Roy scored on a breakaway at 6:38 that started with a blocked shot in the defensive end. Roy has shown impressive speed and control in clears and transitions this year. Trudeau had the lone tally for the Attack coming at 7:17 but Dan Marohl restored the lead just twelve seconds later. There was no scoring in the latter part of the quarter and Disher went to the locker with 22 saves.

Noganash scored just fourteen seconds into the third quarter. He got a clean breakaway right off the draw. Blasdell made a big save but Noganash chased the rebound into the corner, circled back to the wing, and fired it home on the second attempt. Madigan answered for Albany at 1:58 but Evans sparked a four-goal run for the Rebel with a terrific individual effort. He beat Jim Moss one on one with a quick inside roll and dove across the top of the crease to reach across long side and stuff it into the top corner at 3:17.

Konopliff scored at 4:07 and that signaled Blasdell's exit. Brandon Miller fared no better, as he looked cold on his first chances. He was greeted rudely, giving up goals to Evans after just ten seconds and to Painter after another twenty-four. Rosyski finally stopped the bleeding with his first of the game at 5:41 and Ryan Sanderson got Albany back to within three at 7:15.

The teams had played twenty-five minutes of penalty-free lacrosse at that point. Tempers finally flared with D.J. Serr and Phil Sanderson going off for roughing at 7:23. The Rebel would take advantage of the four -on-four yet again. Mike Benedict took a feed from Evans and scored on a diving shot across the top of the crease at 8:04. Dan Teat would come right back for the Attack, scoring less than a minute later.

Woods went off for two minutes at 10:24 but Moss scored shorthanded just 23 seconds later. Phil Sanderson got called for holding at 11:20 to give the Rebel a five on three and it took just 25 seconds for them to cash in. Painter actually wasn't unmarked when he scored on a tremendous athletic play. He took a feed on the crease from the top with his back to the goal and seemed to catch, spin, leap, and stuff the ball into the top corner all at once while shedding his defender.

Ottawa had a three-goal lead late in the third quarter with some power play time left and their veteran goalkeeper looking strong. Then it hit the fan for them. Teat scored shorthanded at 12:06 and Roy got caught for checking from behind at 12:31 to wipe out the rest of the advantage. But wait, there's more! Serr decided to deck one of the Albany players as the officials were assessing the penalty to Roy, so now the Attack have a four-on-three advantage. Josh Sanderson makes them pay in just fifteen seconds. Phil Sanderson emerged from the box at 13:20 to start another power play and it took the Attack just 22 seconds to convert that one. The Rebel were not satisfied with a tie game so they went on another man down stint, via Jason Tasse's slashing minor at 14:25. Josh Sanderson made quick work of things again, taking just seventeen seconds this time.

Ottawa ended the quarter down a goal with Disher looking overwhelmed and wanting to get out of the game. The break gave Disher a chance to compose himself and he would head back in to start the fourth. Albany gave the Rebel an opportunity after just 20 seconds when Phil Sanderson went off for slashing but Rosyski scored shorthanded just over a minute later. Trudeau scored at 3:07 to put the Attack back up by three and that signaled the end for Disher. He had collapsed after a stellar first half.

Brandon Miller had settled down since getting into the action and Andrew Leyshon came in hot. These two young net minders were fun to watch today. Leyshon made thirteen saves and the only goal he gave up was Rosyski's game-winner. That goal capped a run of seven in a row but Leyshon had stopped the bleeding. It was now a four-goal lead with six minutes to go.

Andrew Guindon sparked the Ottawa comeback with a very intelligent play. He pushed the ball up the floor in transition beating his man by a step and heading for goal. When Moss came off the bench to prevent the break, Guindon turned to feign peeling off but still had a step on the other man. As soon as Moss reacted by looking away, Guindon sprang back towards the goal surprising both defenders and Miller in goal. He put his shot top shelf at 10:45. Graham scored next at 11:21 and when Benedict followed 31 seconds later we had a one-goal game late in the fourth quarter.

The Attack took the full thirty seconds on the next possession and dumped to the corner but Ottawa threw the ball away on the clear. Albany took another thirty seconds and the Rebel again failed to clear after gaining possession. It seemed they were trying to give the game away. With under a minute to go, Woods gained possession along the boards and the Albany bench immediately called timeout. Raffan took a run at Woods just as play is being halted and all hell broke loose. The officials had Raffan for charging and the Albany players came on to the floor to huddle up for the timeout. Woods decided he's not taking that and went back at Raffan. That sparked everyone coming into the fray including the Albany bench.

The brawl was avoided and the officials tagged Graham for being the first one off the benches to join the altercation. Raffan got minors for charging and roughing. Woods just got roughing. Albany finished the game on the power play by standing around and Ottawa decided not to pressure. When the shot clock ran out, Ottawa called timeout. They pulled Leyshon, set up a play, and got it up the floor, but never got a shot off. Albany escaped and Ottawa fizzled.

Joe's three stars: first star to Rosyski, for his four-goal, three-assist showing that included the game-winning goal; second star to Josh Sanderson, who matched Rosyski in goals and assists; and third star to Nick Trudeau, with three goals and four assists.

BOX SUMMARY
                                      1  2  3  4     TOT
Ottawa Rebel (1-5)                    4  3  7  3  --  17
Albany Attack (5-2)                   5  1  9  3  --  18

OTTAWA REBEL                  ALBANY ATTACK
               G - A   PTS                   G - A   PTS
Evans          3 - 4     7    Rosyski        4 - 3     7
Painter        3 - 2     5    J Sanderson    4 - 3     7
Benedict       2 - 3     5    Trudeau        3 - 4     7
Guindon        1 - 2     3    Teat           2 - 4     6
Serr           0 - 3     3    Madigan        2 - 0     2
Noganash       2 - 0     2    Regan          0 - 2     2
Konopliff      1 - 1     2    Santos         0 - 2     2
Marohl         1 - 1     2    Moss           1 - 1     2
Roy            1 - 1     2    Woods          1 - 1     2
R Graham       1 - 0     1    R Sanderson    1 - 0     1
Laverty        1 - 0     1    Beisel         0 - 1     1
Raffan         1 - 0     1    Cochrane       0 - 1     1
                              Fannell        0 - 1     1
                              P Sanderson    0 - 1     1

Shots on goal           46    Shots on goal           66
Saves made by (GA)      48    Saves made by (GA)      29
   Disher (17)       35          Blasdell (10)     19
   Leyshon (1)       13          B Miller (7)      10
Penalties               15    Penalties               11
Penalty Minutes         38    Penalty Minutes         22
Power Play Chances      11    Power Play Chances      14
Power Play Goals         1    Power Play Goals         4
   Painter           1           J Sanderson        3
                                 Rosyski            1
Shorthanded Goals        0    Shorthanded Goals        3
   (None)                        Moss               1
                                 Rosyski            1
                                 Teat               1
Loose Balls             98    Loose Balls             84
   Evans             15          Moss              10
   Disher            11          Rosyski           10
   Serr               9          Fannell            8
                                 Teat               8
Faceoffs Won            20    Faceoffs Won            18
   Graham       (20-17)          Moss         (10- 6)
   Raffan       ( 0- 1)          Fannell      ( 8-14)

   *** STATS OFFICIAL BY VERIFY WITH ALBANY ATTACK ***