Week 13 proved to be a fun one in the National Lacrosse League, especially for the Rochester Knighthawks. While the Knighthawks prevailed 11-10 in their first overtime effort of the year, the unexpected heroics of transition player Brad Gillies helped push the team to their fifth straight win at home this season and now Rochester looks to take on a streaking Toronto Rock team this upcoming weekend.
We take a look it all, and more, with Knighthawks general manager Dan Carey in this week’s edition of Hawk Talk.
TAKING OUR TIME TO GET THE WIN
Quite literally though.
This past Saturday was the second-longest game in NLL history at 74:02. The only other game that took longer to complete happened back on Feb. 20, 2010, when the Boston Blazers beat the Orlando Titans 12-11 in 76:06 when Blazers forward Sean Morris tallied the game-winner.
Second longest game in NLL history 🤯 https://t.co/rubaTKjhCr
— Rochester Knighthawks (@RocKnighthawks) February 26, 2023
“I felt like I was playing,” joked Carey when asked about the adrenaline that came with Saturday night’s thrilling 11-10 overtime win. “I was just as exhausted watching. You could tell that both teams were leaving it all out there and I think it goes to show the type of athletes that we have in the National Lacrosse League.”
“It definitely was entertaining to watch, but you’re kind of going off of adrenaline at that point. To our fans, and anybody else watching, it was a very entertaining game.”
GILLIES GOING ALL OUT
For just the second time in his seven-year career, Gillies produced a hat trick on Saturday night against the Riptide with his third goal of the night proving to be the gamer-winner.
“He was a guy that you could see that had a lot of energy,” said Carey when asked about Gillies in the overtime affair.
Ok, but we cannot stop watching this OT winner from last night 🤩 pic.twitter.com/Escc33lYcp
— Rochester Knighthawks (@RocKnighthawks) February 26, 2023
The teams traded chances in the extra period for the first 14 minutes, which featured several grade-A scoring opportunities and timely saves from each netminder before Gillies grabbed a loose ball out of midair in the defensive zone following a forced turnover caused by fellow defenseman Matt Bennett. The veteran defenseman sprinted down the field towards the Riptide cage before beating Orleman for the game-winning goal with 58 seconds left.
“He (Gillies) does such a great job,” continued Carey when asked where the offense opened up for Gillies on Saturday. “He has a motor. That guy works out and trains really hard and you can tell and we saw that at the end of a full overtime period.”
Who else would it be!?
Brad Gillies is your @IdeDealerships Player of the Game from Saturday. pic.twitter.com/7THLLP7thR
— Rochester Knighthawks (@RocKnighthawks) February 27, 2023
Not a bad night for a defensive player who’s second on the team in scoring among transition players with 12 points on six goals and six assists. It seems Gillies’ second professional hat trick came at the perfect time for the Knighthawks to come out with another massive win on the year.
ROCK AND ROLLING INTO THE WEEKEND
The Knighthawks head north of the border this weekend to close out their season series against the Toronto Rock and its expected to be another very good matchup. The red-hot Rock are riding a seven-game win streak and haven’t lost since dropping an 11-7 decision in Rochester earlier this season.
“They’re a complete team,” began Carey when asked where Toronto was looking the most fluid
right now. “Their goaltender (Nick Rose) is having a career year and that says a lot because he’s been great for a long time.”
Along with Rose between the pipes, the Rock have a lot of other familiar faces on their roster that the Knighthawks need to be aware of like forward Tom Schreiber, while bringing in newcomers like forward Corey Small. With the versatility that the Rock will bring not just on their offense, but their defense as well, Carey emphasized how well-rounded the Rock truly are and how difficult they’ll be to take stop on their home turf.
“They have a very well-rounded team. I think they’re one of, if not ,the most complete team in our league. We’ve got our hands full, and we were lucky enough to have beaten them here at home, so it’s going to be a different test for us (on the road).”
The Knighthawks hit the road for a pair of contests beginning on Friday, Mar. 4 at FirstOntario Centre against the red-hot Rock. The 7:00 p.m. matchup will be the second of two scheduled meetings between the two rivals this season and will be carried live on Big 107.3 FM as well as ESPN+.