NEWARK – The New Jersey Ironmen kept their championship hopes alive with a spectacular overtime victory over the Milwaukee Wave at the Prudential Center. Lucio Gonzaga blasted home a three-point missile, sending the home crowd into an uproar twenty-seven seconds into the extra session.

The Ironmen raced out to a 6-2 halftime edge on the strength of strong play between the pipes by goalie Brett Phillips. Phillips received support in the first period when Rey Martinez converted a Chile Farias pass for the opening points of the game.

New Jersey added to their lead in the second period as Tim O’Neill completed an Irish tally with the assist from Evan McNeley and Gonzaga blasted his first goal of the day. Milwaukee got on the board with 1:04 remaining in the half on a goal by Nilson Pernambuco.

The lack of scoring dissipated in the second half as the two teams combined for 11 points in the third period. The Ironmen seemed to ice the game when goals by Tim O’Neill and Randi Patterson pushed the lead to 10-2, 4:51 into the period.

A goal by Giuliano Oliviero pulled the Wave to 10-4, but McNeley blasted a pass from Gonzaga to push the lead to 12-4. Milwaukee closed the gap with a three-point goal by Troy Dusoky with 1:35 remaining in the third period.

The 12-7 Ironmen lead disappeared in the final 5:07 of regulation as the Wave capitalized on a penalty- filled quarter by the Ironmen. New Jersey served 14 penalty minutes in the final quarter as the Wave scored a two-point goal (Sabich) and a three-point goal (Delevski) to force the extra session.

The overtime goal by Gonzaga gave the Ironmen their second overtime win (in three tries) on the season. The win kept the Ironmen within 1-1/2 games behind the league leading Detroit Ignition for the league championship. The Ironmen have an excellent opportunity to make up ground as the Ignition travel to the Prudential Center Friday with championship implications on the line.

Tickets are available now by calling 1-800-IRONMEN or visiting www.njironmen.com.