(August 19, 2012)… Rochester Knighthawks Brad Self and Cory Vitarelli each had three points Sunday night to lead the Peterborough Lakers to a 10-6 victory over the Six Nations Chiefs. The Lakers grabbed a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Major Series Lacrosse Finals.

It was a wild game that featured a six-goal second period in the second straight game for the Lakers. Peterborough goalie Tyler Carlson even scored an empty-netter in the third period. But the real story was the performance of Brad Self, who scored both his goals in the second period, as the Lakers rallied from a 3-1 deficit.

“It's always nice to contribute. That's what’s good about our team. Everyone contributes in some way and sometimes it’s more noticeable when you score, but right now everyone is contributing to the team in some way,” said Self.

He fueled the comeback with a shorthanded goal at 7:02 to cut the deficit to 3-2. He then set up a power-play tally from Jim Purves at 14:15 and the game was tied. The Lakers would add goals by Mark Steenhuis and Shawn Evans to move in front 5-3. Vitarelli and John Grant Jr. earned assists on the Evans’ goal at 15:39. Six Nations tried to battle back with a goal by Knighthawk Stephen Keogh to cut the deficit to 5-4 with 1:09 to play in the second. Self again scored a key goal as he beat Tyler Carlson with 40 seconds to play. But the Lakers were not done as John Tavares scored with five seconds left to make it 7-4.

In the third, it was another Knighthawk who got in on the scoring as Vitarelli scored from Carlson at 4:19. Knighthawk Cody Jamieson countered for the Chiefs to make it 8-5 at 7:48. Grant and Six Nations’ Roger Vyse traded goals before Carlson scored an empty-net goal with 1:11 to play in the contest.

“It was pretty cool to see a goalie score,” said Self. “It was a nice ending to a real solid game for us and especially Tyler.”

The Chiefs missed an opportunity to even the series after jumping out to a 3-1 lead in the second period. Six Nations opened the game with the first goal at 5:58 from Knighthawk Alex “Kedoh” Hill. Peterborough tied the game at one at 10:20 as Grant (2+2) scored his first of the game. Six Nations, however, regained the lead with back-to-back power-play goals by Colin Doyle and Jamieson, who also assisted Doyle’s goal, to finish with three points (2+1). Doyle led the Chiefs offensively with four points (1+3), while Keogh chipped in three points (1+2). Goalie Brandon Miller made 51 saves in the loss. The Chiefs’ roster also included Knighthawks Craig Point, Sid Smith and Travis Hill.

Game Three is set for Tuesday, August 21st at 8:00 p.m. at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena.