The Rochester Rattlers lead the Long Island Lizards 16-10 in the fourth quarter tonight at Mitchel Field. The win was only the second opening-day win in the Rattlers' eight-year history. The victory was also the first road opening-game win in franchise history. Jeff Zywicki had a monster opening night as he scored six times and added one assist. John Grant also added four goals and Casey Powell chipped in four assists. Powell now needs just seven points to pass Mark Millon as the league’s all-time points leader. Grant also recorded a point for a franchise record 50th straight game. Mike Levin also made history, earning his 14th win as a Rattler to become the team’s all-time leader. He also scored the second goal of his career and made 18 saves. The Levin goal sparked the offense as Rochester went on to scored nine of the game’s next 11 goals. The Rattlers ended the game on a 7-0 run and outscored the Lizards 5-0 in the final quarter. Long Island got three-point efforts from Chris Fiore (3+0), Stephen Berger (2+1) and Keith Cromwell (1+2). Nick Murtha took the loss in a nine-save effort. The Rattlers opened the game with three straight goals after Fiore made it 1-0 early in the first frame. Long Island, however, erased a 3-1 first-quarter lead to take a 7-6 lead after two quarters. Berger and Frank Resetarits had two goals each in the six-goal second frame. Rochester chipped away at the lead in the third quarter and got energized by an end-to-end rush and finish by Levin to make it 8-7 at 3:36. After a big save by Levin, Chris Schiller tied it just 43 seconds later. Long Island would hold two one-goal leads in the third before Rochester reeled off a 7-0 run to end the game. Grant and Zywicki each netted three goals, while Joe Walters added a single tally to secure the Rattler win. The Rattlers’ home opener is set for Saturday, May 31st against the two-time defending champion Philadelphia Barrage at 7:30 p.m.
