A season in any professional sport is a process. It’s a process for the coaches, players, staff, and even fans. One thing each person in those categories has had to deal with of late is patience within the process. That’s easier said than done, especially when trying to sum up the first 11 games of the Rochester Knighthawks’ 2023-24 campaign.
Win three, lose six, win two. Talk about ups and downs.
Through it all, the ‘Hawks bare a 5-6 record. Despite being a game under .500, the team sits a win shy of what would be the eighth and final playoff spot in the new NLL Unified Standings. The process hasn’t always been easy, but it’s paid off in two straight weeks. After dropping three of six games by fewer than three goals, Rochester has unloaded on a pair of teams ahead of them in the standings, dropping a combined 37 goals on Panther City (6-6) and Albany (10-3).
“We’ve been good early,” said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen following an 18-12 win over Albany Saturday night. “We took it to them in the second half and that’s something we’ve been waiting for. We stepped up our game and didn’t stop. It’s great to see.”
Earlier in the season, Rochester has seen leads vanish in the fourth quarter. Collapses in pockets of play due to a lack of 60-minute efforts. The last two weeks have been different stories.
“It’s the way we’re progressing. They’re (the players) building expectations and setting standards we need to continue to build on.”
“There’s no smooth sailing for any team in any season,” said Connor Fields, whose coming off a combined 25 points (9+16) over the two wins. “We knew there was going to be ups and downs this season. We took our bumps and bruises and had a couple tough losses, but we knew this was going to be a huge part of the season for us. To get two wins against two playoff-caliber teams is just huge for our confidence. When we have that, we know we can play really good lacrosse.”
Fields, in particular, has been a driver for Rochester. The second-year Knighthawk and fifth-year pro is third in league scoring with 85 points, averaging over seven points per game. His current pace projects Fields to finish upwards of 139 points, shattering his previous career high-112 points set a season ago.
But Fields isn’t the only one posting eye-popping digits. Ryan Smith, whom the Knighthawks drafted third overall in 2020, is third in the NLL with 36 goals. It’s a career-high for the Robert Morris product, smashing his 35 goals posted in 17 games two season ago. His first of five goals scored Saturday marked his 100th in a Rochester jersey.
En route to his 1️⃣1️⃣ points on Saturday knight…
Fieldsy took flight and scored with pinpoint accuracy 🎯 pic.twitter.com/Afk3fZAit2
— Rochester Knighthawks (@RocKnighthawks) March 12, 2024
“He’s a confident kid that understands and enjoys the pressure that’s on him,” said Hasen. “He feeds off it. He’s carrying the load. We constantly say it’s not on him, but he’s doing a good job of taking it and running with it. He’s starting to become a guy that when we need something, it’s going to him and he’s fulfilling it.”
Four different Knighthawks scored hat tricks Saturday at Segar and Sciortino Field at The Blue Cross Arena, but it wasn’t all goal-scorers who put up big numbers. Ryan Lanchbury, who Knighthawks general manager Dan Carey acquired early in the season, posted a career-best 12 assists. Those dozen helpers aren’t just a high-water mark for Lanchbury, but for the franchise as a whole. Fields temporarily held the record after an 11-assist outing at Panther City, but aside from Lanchbury, no Knighthawks player has achieved such a feat.
“When you got five guys moving the ball and moving their feet every shift, it’s going to make it hard on the defense to key in on one guy,” said Lanchbury. “It’s tough to really get sucked into a player. The ball comes swinging to me or somebody else. We get the ball flying around so well. We’ve got seven guys ready to go every night. I’m not going to get all those assists if guys aren’t cutting and getting open on the floor and finishing with the ball. It makes my job pretty easy. It’s a pretty special group.”
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Check out the full breakdown👇https://t.co/YD3zJ9Fvh6 pic.twitter.com/Lxm28gzl2z
— NLL (@NLL) March 11, 2024
Two games in a 72-game hockey season may not seem that significant, but two games in the 18-game National Lacrosse League season can make or break you. It’s why the pressure was set internally from the Knighthawks locker room in Panther City and at home against Albany. Their patience, which was challenged throughout a six-game losing streak, has paid off. But the work isn’t over yet.
A FireWolves team who sits second in the league was dominated by a ‘Hawks team trying to scratch its way back into playoff contention. These teams meet again next week, this time with the setting shifting to Albany.
“I like our overall game,” said Hasen. “Our offense is clicking. The last couple of games we have finally been rewarded for the work we’ve been putting in, but the biggest thing for us now is focusing on next week. They (Albany) kind of faded out in that second half and we caught them on a back-to-back weekend. Now we have to be ready next week when they’re just as fresh as we were.”
A sweep over the Empire State’s top lacrosse team would be quite the statement. We’ll see if the Knighthawks can pull it off come Saturday night at MVP Arena.
