The Rochester Knighthawks (1-1) hung in with the Buffalo Bandits (1-0) for three full quarters, even taking a one-goal lead midway through the third, but a dominant effort by the two-time defending NLL champs in the final frame was the dagger in a 15-7 loss Saturday at Segar & Sciortino Field at The Blue Cross Arena.
With the Knighthawks trailing 7-6 after three quarters, the Bandits pulled away in the fourth, going on an 8-1 run to deny Rochester its second straight win to begin the season.
Ryan Lanchbury produced a team-best four points (2+2) while former Bandit Connor Fields recorded a multi-goal (2+0) effort along with a game-high 16 shots for Rochester. Turner Evans and Thomas McConvey both notched a goal and two assists. Ryland Rees (1+0), Curtis Knight (0+1), Chad Tutton (0+1), Matt Gilray (0+1), Josh Medeiros (0+1), and Ryan Smith (0+1) all logged one point each to complete the scoring.
How in the world did Fields beat Vinc on this one???
Knighthawks: 5
Bandits: 4 pic.twitter.com/ydGX1KGmeD— NLL (@NLL) December 8, 2024
Goaltender Riley Hutchcraft appeared in his second contest, stopping 47 of the 62 shots he faced. Hutchcraft made double digits in saves in each of the first three quarters before stopping nine shots in the final frame, upping his season total to 97 through his first two games of the young season. Netminder Kevin Orleman made his season debut, but did not face a shot in 58 seconds of action.
The dynamic duo of Dhane Smith and reigning NLL MVP Josh Byrne combined for 16 points, including 11 from Smith. Kyle Buchanan contributed three goals while five-time NLL champion and eight-time NLL Goaltender of the Year Matt Vinc made 54 saves to begin Buffalo’s title defense.
FIRST QUARTER
Four minutes into the contest, the Knighthawks were whistled for a 10-second violation. Despite being held off the scoreboard immediately on the next possession, the Bandits used a save by Vinc to kickstart their next transition.
Buffalo’s netminder grabbed the ball to the right of his cage and quickly snapped it nearly the length of floor for Dylan Robinson. As he approached the net, he floated a pass to a streaking Tehoka Nanticoke, who beat Hutchcraft with 10:20 left in the frame.
Before the end of the first quarter, Rochester, who were outshot 13-7, successfully cleared off a 5-on-3 shorthanded situation for 1:44 to keep the game 1-0.
SECOND QUARTER
To start the second, while on a delayed Bandits’ penalty, McConvey positioned himself in the middle of the Buffalo defense. The second-year forward’s initial shot went wide of the net, but after gathering Lanchbury’s next pass, he patiently waited then snapped a shot to even the score.
After the goal, Buffalo’s dynamic duo of Byrne and Smith factored in on the final three tallies to conclude the half with one goal and two goals, respectively, while giving the visitors a 4-1 advantage.
THIRD QUARTER
Facing a three-goal deficit to start the third quarter, Rochester emerged from the half by scoring four straight unanswered goals to take a 5-4 lead in the first eight minutes.
Evans, who appeared in his 100th pro game last week against Las Vegas, ignited the run as he buried his second tally of the campaign from Lanchbury and Smith 3:23 into the frame.
While Rees and Lanchbury both scored 17 seconds apart from one another, Fields concluded the frenzy as he gave Rochester its only lead of the night with a shorthanded marker at the 8:11 mark.
The Bandits responded with two of their own to flip the 5-4 deficit into a 6-5 advantage before Fields countered back with his second of the night from Evans and Gilray.
Buffalo closed out the quarter as MacKay restored the lead in the final minute of play with his first of the campaign from Smith and Byrne also while shorthanded.
FOURTH QUARTER
The visitors used the late-goal momentum for a dominant fourth, first using three straight goals from Buchanan, Nanticoke and Dhane Smith to build a 10-6 lead with just over nine minutes to play in regulation.
While Lanchbury made it a three-goal game to temporarily stop the run at the 6:39 mark, Buffalo closed out the 15-7 victory with five consecutive tallies, including back-to-back goals from Buchanan and a pair of empty-netters in the final 7:55.
UP NEXT
The Knighthawks hit the road for the first time this season as they travel to Western Canada to face the Vancouver Warriors on Friday, Dec. 13 at Rodgers Arena. The 10:00 p.m. ET contest will be the only meeting of the season between the two teams and will be carried live on Big 107.3 FM as well as ESPN + and NLL+.
