Mohegan — Evan Kirk had 32 saves in the first half for the New England Black Wolves, 46 in all, flashing signs all over the place that he, indeed, is the National Lacrosse League's reigning Goalie of the Year.

But, according to Kirk, it's not always easy to be the team with the lead.

“Most times it gets close. You get down a little bit. You don't work as hard,” Kirk said. “… As much as that sounds strange.”

The Black Wolves, looking for their second straight win after an 0-3 start, led the Rochester Knighthawks 4-1 at halftime Friday night with an over-the-shoulder goal from Shawn Evans and a little magic from Kirk. It was 8-3 Black Wolves on a goal by Pat Saunders with 4 minutes, 14 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Then, overtime.

Chad Culp, in his first year with New England, scored the game-winner for the Wolves 1:53 into sudden death overtime before a crowd of 4,543 at Mohegan Sun Arena. Culp's goal, assisted by Evans and Jay Thorimbert, gave the Black Wolves a 10-9 victory, its second straight one-goal win at home.

Culp also scored to give New England a 9-8 lead with 3:31 to play in regulation, but Rochester's Joe Resetarits evened things with 39 seconds left to play and the Knighthawks using an extra attacker, forcing the overtime.

Culp scored two goals and Evans and Kevin Crowley also had two each for New England, which avenged a 15-8 loss against the Knighthawks in the season-opener in Rochester. Evans added four assists and Saunders three for the Black Wolves.

“It was nothing real definable,” New England coach Glenn Clark said of the Rochester comeback. “Nothing global. It was a bunch of little things. They made a few plays. They were on a roll, just like we were on a roll.”

Culp, who played last season for the NLL runners-up Buffalo Bandits and signed a free-agent contract with the Black Wolves during the offseason, now has seven goals and nine assists since arriving in New England — “he's more than delivered on his end,” Clark said.

“Shawn Evans was backing his man in,” Culp said of the game-winner, off a backhand pass from Evans. “I saw my guy was looking to cheat. … I was lucky enough to catch it.

“It's been great (with the Wolves). I love the howl (at Mohegan Sun Arena). It's a real tight-knit group, a family so to speak, a family away from home. We've got a good offensive group up there.”

The Knighthawks, also 2-3, were playing without former NLL MVP Cody Jamieson, a forward, who announced Thursday that he will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL.

Rochester showed a spark, however, down 8-3, getting goals from Kyle Jackson on a power play, Stephen Keogh and Jackson again with 1:12 in the third quarter to pull within 8-6. Cory Vitarelli scored in transition to start the fourth quarter and Keogh scored with a fist pump as he tied the game with 11:18 to play.

Kirk then had back-to-back rapid-fire saves on Rochester's next possession, the second one off the toe of his left foot, and the Black Wolves settled in.

“That is not easy for me,” Clark said with a laugh as he entered the interview room following the game. “… We didn't have a timeout (during Rochester's run, due to an earlier New England challenge flag), so you've got to do a lot of adjusting on the go.

“We stuck to the plan. We followed the process.”

Rookie Seth Oakes, selected by the Wolves with the eighth overall pick in this year's NLL Draft, scored his first career goal in the league, something which pleased Clark.

“It's a man's league. For a young guy to come in, it takes a long time to climatize to this game.”

The Wolves will play next Saturday at Georgia.

v.fulkerson@theday.com