TONIGHT’S GAME OVERVIEW
The Rochester Knighthawks (4-6) look to continue their winning ways tonight following the bye week as they head north of the border to close out their season series with the surging Saskatchewan Rush (6-2) at SaskTel Centre. The 8:00 p.m. ET contest will be the second and final meeting between the two teams this season and will be carried live on Big 107.3 FM as well as ESPN+ and NLL+. The contest 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.
SEASON SERIES SNAPSHOT
The Knighthawks look to avoid the season sweep at the hands of the Rush, who following a wild back-and-forth affair, ultimately prevailed with a 14-12 win in the waning seconds of the previous meeting between the two teams back on Dec. 21 in Rochester. The Knighthawks, trailing 13-7 in the fourth quarter, scored five straight goals, including a pair from Ryan Smith, to pull within one, but Matt Hossack’s game-clinching goal with 13 seconds remaining in regulation abruptly ended Rochester’s comeback bid while subsequently handing the Knighthawks their third of what would be a season-long four-game losing streak. Ryan Lanchbury led the Knighthawks offense for the third straight week, producing a team-best seven points (3+4) while he and Smith (3+1) both notched a hat trick. 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-assist outings. The loss would also be the first of three straight at home decided in the closing seconds of regulation. Both teams are coming off the bye week and both are coming off wins in their previous outings in Week 10. After going on a 7-0 run to open the game and keeping San Diego off the board for the entire first half, the Rush held on for a 12-8 win in San Diego. Elsewhere, the Knighthawks got back in the win column with their first-ever win in Philadelphia and their second win in three games. While home turf hasn’t been overly friendly this season to the Knigthhawks, who are just 1-4 within the confines of Segar & Sciortino Field at The Blue Cross Arena, Rochester has won three straight on the road to open the new year to inch closer to a playoff position. Saskatchewan, meanwhile, has been one of the most dominant teams at home this season. Through their first four games at home, the Rush boast a 3-1 record, second-best to only the reigning NLL champion Buffalo Bandits, and have outscored the opposition by a 52-42 margin. Saturday’s matchup also features two of the NLL’s top four shooting teams with Rochester continuing to lead the way in both shots for (828) and shots per game (82.80). Colorado is the next closest team in shots with 704, meaning the Knighthawks have at least 124 more shots than any other team across the NLL. After putting up 68 shots in the win over San Diego, Saskatchewan comes into the weekend ranked fourth in the league with 77.00 shots per game through it first eight contests of the season.
LAST TIME OUT
The highly anticipated return of goaltender Rylan Hartley coupled with a strong first-half performance powered the Knighthawks to a 15-12 victory over the Philadelphia Wings at Wells Fargo Center to open the month of February. The win was Rochester’s third straight on the road and the team’s first in Philadelphia after dropping its previous three visits to the Keystone State since the expansion-era began. Dating back to last season’s finale against the Wings, Rochester has earned two consecutive victories, outscoring Philadelphia 27-15 over that span, after going winless through the first six meetings. Connor Fields and Ryan Lanchbury combined for four goals, 17 assists and 21 points while Fields also totaled 16 shots and 13 loose ball recoveries as Rochester won the third time in five games. Ryan Smith and Thomas McConvey each netted a hat trick, rookie Graydon Hogg (2+0) picked up his first multi-goal effort and Kyle Waters (1+1), Matt Gilray (1+1), and Josh Medeiros (0+2) all had multi-point performances. Hartley, who made his season debut after spending the first nine weeks of the campaign sidelined due to injury, finished with 32 saves to earn the win while facing eight shots in each quarter apart from the second where he saw seven.
THE HART OF THE MATTER
After missing the first half of the season due to injury, Rylan Hartley returned between the pipes on Feb. 1 at Philadelphia, backstopping the Knighthawks to their third straight road win and fourth overall of the season. Hartley, who needs just 22 more minutes to reach 2,000 for his pro career, has won each of his last three starts dating back to April 20 of last season. Over his current three-game win streak, Hartley has totaled 99 saves on 124 shots faced, including more than 30 in each game, good for an 8.33 goals-against average and a .798 save percentage over that span. His best performance in that stretch came in last year’s regular-season finale when he and the Knighthawks held the Wings to just three goals in a dominant 12-3 win to lock up a playoff berth for the second consecutive year.
FIELDS CHASING DOWN HISTORY
Over the last two and a half seasons, Connor Fields has rapidly evolved into arguably one of the most dynamic and elite scorers in the National Lacrosse League, most notably among American-born players. Entering the weekend ranked third in scoring with 64 points (20+44) in 10 games, Fields remains on pace to become just the first-ever American player in league history to hit the mark in three straight years. A two-time Second Team All-Pro selection, Fields recently surpassed Dan Marohl for ninth all-time in scoring amongst American players following his 11-point effort in Week 10 against Philadelphia, Fields’ 412 career points are also third-most among active American-born players, trailing only Toronto’s Tom Schreiber and Philadelphia’s Joe Resetarits, a former Knighthawk in the previous organization. Averaging nearly six and a half points per game this season, Fields, who continues to lead all forwards with 94 loose ball recoveries, could potentially move into eighth all-time among the NLL’s top American-born players, sitting just 10 points back of Kevin Buchanan.
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 in 2024-25. Through the first 10 games this season, Rochester is averaging an NLL-best 82.80 shots per game while also allowing the third-most shots-against per game (76.90). Coming into this weekend, Rochester has outshot the opposition in 21 of its last 28 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. Collectively, the Knighthawks also own two of the NLL’s top three shooting forwards in Connor Fields, and Ryan Smith, who rank first and third in the NLL, respectively. 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 136 shots on goal through his first 10 games game of the current season. Fields and Smith are also the only duo in the NLL to each have more than 100 shots this season.
ROAD WARRIORS
While the Knighthawks seemed to have struggled a bit at home through the first half of the season, the opposite can be said on the road. On the heels of their 15-12 win over Philadelphia entering the bye week, the Knighthawks have won each of their last three road contests since the turn of the new year, marking the team’s longest streak in franchise history. Rochester, playing its second of a season-long three-game road swing, has outscored the opposition 41-30 over that span while twice keeping them to fewer than 10 goals. Connor Fields has amassed half of his team-high 64 points on the road while Ryan Lanchbury, who ranks fourth in the NLL in overall scoring, has recorded 30 of his 61 points outside of Rochester. Additionally, two of Riley Hutchcraft’s three wins this season have come as a visitor.
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, who recently surpassed Troy Cordingley for fifth all-time in career coaching wins (109). He’s also one game back of Ed Comeau for fourth all-time in career games coached (232). 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. 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. 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 28-48 record with the expansion-era Knighthawks, whom he’s led to back-to-back playoff appearances, as well as a 109-123 record all-time over his 14 combined seasons in Rochester.
