Sunday, January 15, 2012
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Matt Clare had a hat trick, including the game-winning goal in the fourth quarter, as the Norfolk SharX took their second consecutive victory with a 12-11 win against the Syracuse Silver Knights in front of 2,421 fans on Sunday evening at the Oncenter War Memorial. Norfolk goalkeeper Jamie Lieberman recorded 38 saves to lead the SharX to victory.
The SharX opened the scoring midway through the first quarter with a goal by Clare from the right side. Clare added a second, from 3-point range, to make it 5-0 and Miguel Ferrer also struck from 3-point range before the end of the first quarter as his shot took a deflection off a Silver Knights' defender before finding the net. Brandon Massie gave the SharX a 10-point lead with just under four minutes to play in the half before Jeff Hughes put the Silver Knights on the board with 32 seconds to go before the break to give his side a little momentum trailing 10-2.
The Silver Knights rode that momentum into the second half. Nelson Santana opened the third-quarter scoring run on a cross from Hughes to make it 10-4, and J.D. Gruenwald added a 3-pointer just over a minute later. The Silver Knights cut the deficit to one point as Ryan Hall scored 23 seconds later before Hughes, who had a five-point night to draw level with Slavisa Ubiparipovic for a team-high 42 points this season, gave Syracuse its first lead of the night with six minutes remaining in the quarter, 11-10.
After being held scoreless in the third quarter, Norfolk regained the lead 2:54 into the fourth quarter as Clare completed his hat trick, and Lieberman and his defense made the lead hold up. Lieberman had 19 saves in either half, while the SharX also blocked 21 shots.
The Silver Knights used Santana as a sixth attacker, in for goalkeeper Bryan O’Quinn, to bolster the attack in the final minutes, but despite a flurry of chances in the closing seconds, the Silver Knights could not find the game-winning goal.
The Silver Knights will complete the three-game home stand this Saturday, January 21, at 7 p.m. when they take on local rival the Rochester Lancers at the War Memorial at the Oncenter.