The Washington Power paid a visit to Long Island on Friday night and came away with a convincing 17-12 victory over the New York Saints.

Paul Gait, playing his final season in the National Lacrosse League and, barring any possible playoff games, making his final appearance at the Nassau Coliseum, scored the game-winning goal in the fourth quarter. That goal, as well as four more and four helpers, earned him MVP honors.

Kris Bryde was top scorer for the Saints with four goals and four assists.

The story of the game, however, was the second period, when Washington scored five unanswered goals. This came after a relatively even first period, where each side scored three goals. The Power's five in a row was all the more significant, as they held the Saints to no goals in the quarter. New York never recovered from the deficit as the teams produced identical goal totals for the remaining two periods.

New York had briefly cut the Power’s lead to four at 3:38 of the fourth quarter when Scott Self, breaking quickly off the bench, worked a nice give-and-go with Gavin Prout for the tally.

That would be as close as the Saints could get, however, as the "other" Gait, twin brother Gary, scored his second of the night on a clean breakaway. The play developed after Prout was caught holding on to the ball too long, neither shooting nor passing; was triple-teamed, and coughed up the ball.

The game was also punctuated by numerous scrums and fights, and in general, it was a very chippy contest. The Saints' leading scorer, Roy ("The Rocket") Colsey, appeared to be in a particularly foul mood and this contributed to his less-than-spectacular results on the score sheet. Just seven minutes into the game, he and Washington’s Brian Reese were sent off after a jousting match. Moments after that, New York’s Rusty Kruger and the Power’s Paul Cantabene went at it and were sent off as well. Kruger felt Cantabene took liberties with his goaltender, whacking him too hard behind the net when both were pursuing a loose ball.

Seconds after Colsey served his two minutes, he went directly after John Gallant and drove him to the carpet, pummeling him in the process. This time it would be a five-minute rest for fighting. Washington was more than happy to enjoy the power play time and, as would be the story all night, cashed in nearly every time on the man advantage.

The rough and less-than-sportsmanlike play continued deep into the second period, when, with just under two minutes to go, a full-out battle between the sides erupted. Washington’s Kip Fulks instigated the throw-down, earning himself a ten-minute major for hitting from behind into the boards. New York’s Bryde and Tom Naglieri were active participants in this battle and earned sit down time as well.

The final heavyweight battle of the night would come with six minutes remaining in the contest, when Naglieri again squared off, this time with Washington’s Jon Brothers. "Knuckles" would beat Brothers in this showdown, but it was of little consolation to the Saints, considering the score.

The teams meet again on Saturday evening in Washington.

BOX SUMMARY
                                      1  2  3  4     TOT
Washington Power (5-2)                3  5  4  5  --  17
New York Saints (4-4)                 3  0  4  5  --  12

WASHINGTON POWER              NEW YORK SAINTS
               G - A   PTS                   G - A   PTS
P Gait         5 - 3     8    Prout          2 - 5     7
G Gait         3 - 4     7    K Bryde        4 - 1     5
Halladay       3 - 3     6    Kruger         3 - 2     5
F Jenner       2 - 1     3    Colsey         1 - 3     4
Cantebene      1 - 2     3    Derks          1 - 1     2
Sims           1 - 2     3    Rosa           1 - 0     1
Brothers       1 - 0     1    Dairon         0 - 1     1
Wills          1 - 0     1    S Self         0 - 1     1
Horsey         0 - 1     1    
Reese          0 - 1     1    

Shots on goal           59    Shots on goal           62
Saves made by           50    Saves made by           42
   Dalep             50          Nash              42
Penalties               14    Penalties               11
Penalty Minutes         42    Penalty Minutes         31
Power Play Chances       5    Power Play Chances       7
Power Play Goals         5    Power Play Goals         4
   Halladay           2          K Bryde            1
   G Gary             1          Colsey             1
   P Gait             1          Kruger             1
   F Jenner           1          Prout              1
Shorthanded Goals        0    Shorthanded Goals        0
Loose Balls             83    Loose Balls             79
   Dalep             12          Nash              12
   Sims              10          Kruger             9
   Cantabene          8          McCabe             9
                                 Prout              9
                                 Rosa               9
Faceoffs Won            13    Faceoffs Won            20
   Cantabene    (11-11)          Ghedina      (19-13)
   Brothers     ( 2- 9)          Kruger       ( 1- 0)

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