The New York Lizards beat the Denver Outlaws in exhilarating fashion Saturday night as Kyle Hartzell netted the game winning goal in overtime. Both teams have records of 9-5, however, the Outlaws have home field advantage in next week’s semifinal game despite the loss.
The first quarter got off to an exciting start as the Outlaws scored three of the first four goals of the game. Drew Snider scored two goals during the run while Chris Bocklet recorded the other. Rob Pannell cut the lead in half with a little under two and a half minutes to go.
The Lizards responded in a big way in the second quarter as they outscored the Outlaws six to three. Thanks to goals from four seperate players, the Lizards scored four of the first five goals until both teams traded two goals a piece. Rob Pannell and Ned Crotty each had big parts in both runs while Eric Law had two goals in the second quarter. The first half ended 8-7 with the Lizards in the lead.
The second half was a stark contract from the first half of the game as goals were at a premium. In the third quarter, the teams combined for four goals with each team scoring two goals a piece heading into the fourth quarter. It could’ve been more if not for Drew Adams standing on his head while being bombarded from point blank range.
The Outlaws tied the game 2:27 into the last quarter with an Eric Law goal. Then the goalies on both teams stood tall as the next goal wasn’t scored until there were five minutes remaining as Michael Kimmel put the Lizards ahead 11-10. The Outlaws responded soon after thanks to John Grant Jr. scoring off a feed from Zack Greer to tie things up at 11. Both teams got a last chance to win but couldn’t get a good shot off.
The game finally ended when Kyle Hartzell came down the field and beat Schwartzman low to give the Lizards the 12-11 win in overtime.
Eric Law and Drew Snider had three goals a piece for the Outlaws while Schwartzman saved 14 shots on the night. For the Lizards, Drew Adams was unbelievable as he saved 22 shots on the night! On offense, four players scored two goals a piece for the Lizards in Ned Crotty, Rob Pannell, Jo-Jo Marasco and Michael Kimmel all tickling the twine.
Meanwhile, Greg Gurenlian showed the young Brett Hiken how to faceoff in the MLL as he won 18-of-27 on the night while Hiken went 9-of-22.
Because the Lizards did not win by five or more goals, they will travel to Denver in an instant rematch. Denver enters the playoffs as the No. 2 seed while the Lizards are the No. 3 seed. Meanwhile, the other game will feature the No. 1 seeded Rochester Rattlers vs the No. 4 Ohio Machine.
