Milwaukee Wave beat Syracuse Knights 15-12

MILWAUKEE -- The Milwaukee Wave came out ahead in the seesaw game in their first trip to Syracuse this year beating the Knights 15-12. After six lead changes, the Milwaukee Wave’s balanced offensive approach and never quit attitude propelled them to the win. The 10-1 Wave has the best record in the league and sit atop the Central Division.

Nelson Santana got the Knights on the board first giving them a 2-0 lead only 1:07 into the first quarter. Shortly thereafter Andriy Budnyy made it 4-0 for the Knights after a great volley from the right side. The Wave got the first power play of the night as the Knights Nelson Santana was sent to the box. The Wave cashed in on the power play as Marco Terminesi scored a 3 –point goal which deflected in cutting the Knights lead to 4-3 which is how the quarter ended. The Wave’s Jonathan Greenfield found the back of the net after a great diagonal pass by Marcio Leite giving the Wave their first lead of the night. The Knights’ Slavisa Ubiparipovic capitalized on a power play after Jonatan Santon was sent to the penalty box, giving them the lead back. Although the Knights have struggled on power plays recently, they went 2 for 2 in the quarter after J.P. Rodrigues was sent to the penalty box. The Knights’ Jeffrey Hughes scored giving them an 8-5 lead. The Wave fought back with Matt Stewart going high and over the head of the Knights goalkeeper bringing the Wave to within 1 with seconds left in the half.

The Wave and Knights both come out aggressive playing tight defense in the second half with the quarter scoreless until midway through the quarter. Joe Hammes scored first with an assist from Nick Perera giving the Wave a 9-8 lead. Perera fires a laser giving the Wave their biggest lead of the game at 11-8. The seesaw game continued with the Knight’s Hughes answering with his second goal of the night on a rebound. Ryan Pierce gave the Knights the lead back with a goal at the end of the quarter giving them back the lead at 12-11. The Wave regained the league early in the fourth quarter when veteran Greg Howes netted a goal. Stewart scored his second goal of the night on Leite’s third assist of the night giving the Wave a 15-12 lead and ultimately the win.

The Milwaukee Wave plays on the road in Rochester on Monday and head Wichita for three games before returning home on January 29th.