John Grant scored three goals and added three assists, as the Rochester Knighthawks defeated the Albany Attack, 12-9, Saturday night at the Blue Cross Arena.

Shawn Williams added two goals and three assists for Rochester. Pat O'Toole picked up the win between the pipes with 31 saves.

Albany was led by Dan Teat and Josh Sanderson, who each had two goals and one assist. Rob Blasdell recorded 36 saves for the Attack.

The game was a defensive battle, with Rochester leading 3-2 after one quarter and 4-3 at halftime. No player had more than one goal in the first half, with Sanderson, Mike Regan and Jim Moss scoring for the Attack, and Grant, Cory Bomberry, Chris Schiller and Tim Soudan striking for the Knighthawks.

The Knighthawks outscored the Attack 2-0 in the third quarter en route to the victory. Williams scored a power-play goal with 9:14 remaining in the quarter, and Grant increased the lead to 6-3 eight minutes later.

The game opened up tremendously in the fourth quarter, with each side scoring six goals. Williams began the period with a power play marker, but the goal was matched two minutes later by Sanderson.

After a Rusty Kruger goal, Rochester ran off three straight goals to take a 10-5 lead. However, the Attack came back with one last blast, scoring three goals in two minutes to cut the lead to two goals.

Andrew Turner and Casey Zaph scored late to put the game out of reach.

Rochester improves to 3-2, while the Attack drops to 2-4. The two teams play again tommorow in Albany at 4:00 PM, in the second game of the home-and-home series.

BOX SUMMARY
                                      1  2  3  4     TOT
Albany Attack (2-4)                   2  1  0  6  --   9
Rochester Knighthawks (3-2)           3  1  2  6  --  12

ALBANY ATTACK                 ROCHESTER KNIGHTHAWKS
               G - A   PTS                   G - A   PTS
J Sanderson    2 - 1     3    Grant          3 - 3     6
Teat           2 - 1     3    S Williams     2 - 3     5
Beisel         1 - 2     3    D Malawsky     0 - 4     4
Parkin         1 - 1     2    Co Bomberry    2 - 0     2
Regan          1 - 1     2    Soudan         2 - 0     2
Woods          0 - 2     2    Turner         1 - 1     2
Kruger         1 - 0     1    Zaph           1 - 1     2
Moss           1 - 0     1    O'Toole        0 - 2     2
Rosyski        0 - 1     1    Schiller       1 - 0     1
Trudeau        0 - 1     1    Hasen          0 - 1     1
                              Hollenbeck     0 - 1     1
                              T Jenner       0 - 1     1

Shots on goal           40    Shots on goal           48
Saves made by           36    Saves made by           31
   Blasdell          36          O'Toole           31
Penalties                6    Penalties                3
Penalty Minutes         12    Penalty Minutes          6
Power Play Chances       2    Power Play Chances       5
Power Play Goals         1    Power Play Goals         3
   J Sanderson        1          S Williams         2
                                 Co Bomberry        1
Shorthanded Goals        0    Shorthanded Goals        0
Loose Balls             63    Loose Balls             79
   P Sanderson       11          O'Toole            9
   Rosyski            8          S Williams         9
   Woods              7          Hollenbeck         8
                                 Thorpe             8
Faceoffs Won            15    Faceoffs Won            12
   Santos       (11- 6)          Thorpe       (10- 8)
   Moss         ( 3- 6)          Soudan       ( 1- 0)
   P Sanderson  ( 1- 0)          Co Bomberry  ( 1- 7)

 *** STATS OFFICIAL BY VERIFY WITH ROCHESTER K'HAWKS ***

Craig Rybczynski contributed to this game report.