(Rochester, NY)… The Rochester Knighthawks rose to the challenge Friday night, rallying from early deficits to knock off the Philadelphia Wings, 16-13, at Xfinity Mobile Arena. With the win, the Knighthawks swept the two-game series with the Wings.
“This was a character win,” said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen about his team’s resilience.
Rochester, in the first half of a back-to-back, are heading home for a Saturday game against the Buffalo Bandits. Rochester didn’t let the looming thought of the defending NLL champions stop them from focusing on their Friday game.
NLL MVP Connor Fields (3+6) led the way for Rochester with nine points. He became the seventh American-born player to score 500 points in the NLL and also added 13 loose-ball recoveries on the night. Ryan Lanchbury (2+6) was just behind him with an eight-point night, and Thomas McConvey (3+1) notched a hat-trick. Ryan Smith (2+1) and Kyle Waters (0+3) each notched three points.
The Knighthawks also scored a trio in transition, creating offense. Matt Gilray found the back of the net twice in the second quarter while blocking four shots. Jeremy Thompson added a goal and an assist, while Jake Piseno added two assists and seven loose-ball recoveries to his totals. Nathan Kapp made his NLL and Knighthawks debut at the faceoff dot. He was 50 percent against the Wings, Nick Rowlett, going 16 for 32.
Riley Hutchcraft got the start in net but was relieved by Rylan Hartley in the second quarter. Hutchcraft finished the game with 13 saves in 17 minutes, while Hartley earned the win and made 26 saves in 43 minutes.
Philadelphia opened the first quarter with the return of Michael Sowers to the active roster, scoring three of his four goals in the first 15 minutes. After falling behind 5-1 late in the first quarter and 7-3 early in the second, the Knighthawks regrouped and stormed back. Rochester netted five of the next six goals to tie the game at eight to end the second.
“I think we did a lot of good things right from the beginning,” said McConvey, “The shots weren’t falling there, but we knew they were coming and stuck to the process. Eventually, they started falling. I thought we played a great game offensively.”
The Knighthawks found their stride in the second quarter after Gilray gave them a jump start in transition. He stayed on the floor in a broken transition play and set up by the Wings’ goal, Tyler Biles scooped up the ground ball by the benches and lobbed an easy primary assist for a catch and shoot from Gilray. That goal got a response from the Wings, but it was followed by a three-goal run that brought the Knighthawks within one, 7-6, as McConvey, Hogg, and Fields all found the back of the net.
After a Philly goal, the Knighthawks clawed back again with Ryan Smith tallying on the power play from Fields at 13:36 to make it 8-7. Matt Gilray scored his second of the first half, connecting for a goal with one second to play in the first half.
“It felt good to put the ball in the net,” said Gilray. “It has been a couple games. I try focus on defense first, but it’s nice to score.”
The Knighthawks didn’t miss a beat rolling from their buzzer beater in the second quarter into the third. Despite Joe Resetarits’ goal, Rochester scored five of the next seven and took a two-goal lead into the fourth quarter. Lanchbury netted his lone goal before Josh Medeiros and Zed Williams each found opportunities on broken plays.
Medeiros caught a perfect pop from Kapp off a faceoff win and took a full head of steam to score five-hole on Wings’ goalie Nick Damude. Williams got a chance shorthanded in the offensive zone and didn’t like the respect he got from the Wings’ defense, as he had enough space to bury a goal. That was the last one of the night scored against Damude as he left the floor for Deacan Knott.
Rochester was in the driver’s seat heading into the final 15, leading 13-11 with their first two-goal lead of the night. They once again kept their foot on the gas and made it a five-goal run, which carried over into the fourth. Thompson got the Knighthawks started in the final frame as he blew past Brennan O’Neill to get to a loose ball and drove for a one-on-none, which he buried, to keep the lead going.
Fields finished his hat trick before Lanchbury hit an empty-netter to seal the win. Philadelphia scored a couple in the final minutes, but it didn’t change the outcome.
“It makes the bus ride a little sweeter, but it’s just one of two,” said McConvey. “We just have to get rehydrated and refueled for tomorrow. It’s the defending champs coming into our building, so we have to be ready.”
The Knighthawks will host the Buffalo Bandits on Saturday at 7 p.m. on Chopper’s birthday. Fans can celebrate their favorite mascot’s birthday, along with some of his mascot buddies. There will be face painters, balloon artists, and a coloring area for kids. For tickets, fans can go online to www.rochesterknighthawks.com or call (585) 400-HAWK (4295).