TONIGHT’S GAME OVERVIEW
The Rochester Knighthawks (1-3) look to avoid a fourth straight loss at the hands of the two-time defending NLL champion Buffalo Bandits (2-0) as the intrastate rivals close out their season series Saturday at KeyBank Center in downtown Buffalo. Opening face-off is slated for 6:30 p.m. and will be carried live on Big 107.3 FM as well as ESPN2, ESPN+ and TSN+. The matchup will also be available to viewers on NLL+, a free direct-to-consumer streaming platform which provides instant global access to all 126 live regular-season games and every playoff matchup as well as increased access to highlights, full game replays and exclusive league content during the season.
SEASON SERIES SNAPSHOT
The head-to-head matchup over the years has historically favored the Bandits, who have claimed eight of the first nine contests between the two teams dating back to the Knighthawks’ inaugural 2019-20 campaign, including all four meetings at KeyBank Center in Buffalo. Rochester’s only win against Buffalo over that span came back on Jan. 20, 2023 during the team’s franchise-best six-game win streak to open the 2022-23 campaign. The Bandits opened their season in convincing fashion earlier this month in Rochester, utilizing an eight-goal fourth quarter and an 11-point effort from Dhane Smith to run away with a 15-7 win back on Dec. 7 at Segar & Sciortino Field at The Blue Cross Arena, subsequently handing the Knighthawks their first of three straight losses. The Bandits, who will raise their 2024 championship banner commemorating their sixth league title as part of their home-opening festivities tonight, are looking to become just the second team in league history to win three straight championships, joining the original Mike Hasen-led Knighthawks franchise. Bandits veteran goaltender Matt Vinc, who backstopped Rochester during that unprecedented run, could potentially become the first player in league history to win three consecutive titles with two different teams.
LAST TIME OUT
The Knighthawks nearly came back from a six-goal deficit in a wild back-and-forth affair with the Saskatchewan Rush that quite literally came down to the final seconds, but ultimately came up short in a 14-12 loss last Saturday at Segar & Sciortino Field at The Blue Cross Arena. Ryan Lanchbury led the Knighthawks offense for the third straight week, producing a team-best seven points (3+4) while he and Ryan Smith (3+1) both notched a hat trick for Rochester, which has suffered three straight defeats after winning the season-opener. Connor Fields (1+4), who topped all players with 13 loose balls and all Knighthawks with 11 shots on goal, Chad Tutton (0+2), Turner Evans (0+2) and Tyler Biles (0+2) all recorded multi-assists outings. Curtis Knight and Thomas McConvey both scored twice to go with an assist while Brad Gillies (1+1) and Taylor Jensen (0+1) completed the scoring. Goaltender Riley Hutchcraft earned his fourth straight start in the crease, stopping 32 of the 43 shots he faced while Kevin Orleman (0-0-0) made 11 saves in 14 minutes of relief.
FROM FRIEND TO FOE
As the Bandits begin their second straight title defense, they do so with a pair of familiar faces in defensemen Paul Dawson and Thomas Whitty. Both former Knighthawks recorded a point in their return to Rochester earlier this month, with Dawson scoring his first goal as a Bandit and Whitty tallying his first point with the team in their first matchup against the Knighthawks. Named the first captain in franchise history, Dawson spent parts of three seasons with the Knighthawks and another seven with the original Knighthawks franchise from 2013-19, winning back-to-back NLL championships. Dawson added a third league title this past spring after being acquired by the Bandits back in March and re-signed a one-year deal to remain in Buffalo. In all, Dawson played 156 career games in Rochester, totaling 51 points on 17 goals and 34 assists. Tonight will be his 269th career appearance, moving him into eighth all-time in league history in gamed played. The 19-year pro also needs three more points to reach 100 in his career. Whitty, meanwhile, played 44 games with the expansion-era Knighthawks from 2019 to 2024, earning 13 points while also helping the team to back-to-back playoff appearances.
COMING IN HUTCH
Knighthawks goaltender Riley Hutchcraft has emerged as the NLL’s early leader in saves through his first four games of the season. The veteran netminder has stopped 174 of the 219 shots he’s faced, good for a .795 save percentage that ranks 13th in the NLL. Hutchcraft, who’s one of only three goaltenders with more than 150 saves this season, also ranks second in minutes played (225) and sixth with an 11.98 goals-against average. Dating back to last season, Hutchcraft has made 40-plus saves in his nine of his last 19 starts, including three straight to open the second half of the 2023-24 season. He also has two games of 50 or more saves over that same span, including in Week 1 of this season as well as 52-save performance in the 18-12 win over Albany back on March 9, which remains a career-high for the seventh-year netminder.
SHOOTING GALLERY
The Knighthawks, who closed out the 2023-24 regular season leading the NLL in shots per game with 81.44 and were the only team that averaged more than 80 per contest, are again at the top of the league in terms of shooting efficiency again in 2024-25. Through the first four games this season, Rochester is averaging an NLL-best 82 shots per game while also allowing the most shots-against per game (83.75). Coming into this weekend, Rochester has outshot the opposition in 15 of its last 22 games going back to last season, including all but three on the road. The Knighthawks have also topped the 70-shot mark twice over that span, the most recent of which came in the season-opening win over Las Vegas back on Nov. 30 when they came within a shot of matching their single-game franchise record of 73. Individually, Knighthawks forward Connor Fields, who averaged nearly 15 shots per game last season on his way to establishing a new league record (267), is already on pace to duplicate the effort with an NLL-best 56 shots on goal through his first four games game of the current season.
HASEN ON THE MOVE
Leading the Knighthawks into their fifth season of the expansion-era is an all-too-familiar face in head coach Mike Hasen. Last season, Hasen became just the sixth head coach in NLL history to reach 100 career wins, doing so by way of a 13-11 win over Vancouver on Dec. 23. The year prior, Hasen, a 2023 Coach of the Year candidate, coached his 200th regular-season game in Las Vegas, a feat only five others in league history have accomplished before him. He became just the sixth head coach – and third that season behind Georgia’s Ed Comeau and Calgary’s Troy Cordingley – to have coached 200 National Lacrosse League games. Hasen also owns the distinction of being the only member of the prestigious group, which also includes Paul Day, Darris Kilgour and Derek Keenan, to reach the mark having spent his entire career in the same city. One of the most decorated coaches in league history, Hasen is certainly no stranger to Rochester, having previously served as head coach of the former Knighthawks franchise from 2011 to 2019. In nine seasons behind the bench with the original Knighthawks, Hasen guided Rochester to an 81-75 regular season record while leading the team to six playoff appearances. The Knighthawks also finished among the top two teams in the East Division six different times under Hasen, including each of the first five seasons (2011-2015). Hasen’s most successful run at the helm of the Knighthawks came from 2012-14 when he made National Lacrosse League history by leading Rochester to an unprecedented three straight Champion’s Cups. He remains the only NLL bench boss to accomplish the feat. Hasen, who was named the NLL’s Coach of the Year in 2011 following his first season behind the bench, boasts a 25-45 record with the expansion-era Knighthawks, whom he’s led to back-to-back playoff appearances, as well as a 106-120 record all-time over his 14 combined seasons in Rochester. Hasen currently ranks fourth all-time in league history in games coached (226) and sixth in career coaching wins (106). He needs just two more wins to surpass Troy Cordingley for fifth all-time.
BROTHERLY LOVE IN BUFFALO
The biggest rivalry in the National Lacrosse League wouldn’t be complete without players facing their former teams or a family reunion between two different sets of siblings. Knighthawks goaltender Kevin Orleman and Bandits goaltender Steve Orleman, once former teammates in both Georgia and New York, now find themselves standing on opposite sides of the floor for the second time in their respective careers. Steve, who’s Kevin junior by three years, was acquired by the Bandits in September of 2023 after spending his first two seasons with the New York Riptide. Steve enjoyed a breakout rookie season in 2022-23, posting a 6-11 record with a 12.10 goals-against average while breaking the NLL rookie record for saves (656). He also set the NLL rookie goaltending record for minutes played (987) and was named to the NLL All-Rookie Team. Kevin, meanwhile, missed all last season with an injury. He, too, was acquired from the Riptide in December of 2023 in a trade that sent forward Stephen Keogh to New York. Kevin was originally a second-round selection of the Buffalo Bandits in the 2016 NLL Entry Draft. Additionally, Knighthawks defenseman Taylor Jensen is the younger half-brother of NLL reigning MVP Josh Byrne. Jensen, a two-time NCAA Division III National Champion who played his collegiate lacrosse at nearly Rochester Institute of Technology, is 0-4 lifetime against Byrne and the Bandits.
SCOUTING THE BANDITS
The Bandits, who are coming off their second bye week of the season, return home after earning their second straight road win following an 18-7 blowout win over the Ottawa Black Bears on Dec. 13. The powerhouse trio of Josh Byrne (2+8), Dhane Smith (2+7) and Chase Fraser (2+4) combined for 25 points in the win, keeping Buffalo one of four teams to remain unbeaten on the season. The decisive win marked the first time since 2015 and the fifth time in franchise history that the Bandits have recorded back-to-back regular-season wins by a margin of eight or more goals. More impressively, Buffalo has combined for a 21-goal margin of victory, including its 15-7 win over Rochester earlier this month.
