TONIGHT’S GAME OVERVIEW
The new iteration of the oldest rivalry in the 38-year history of the National Lacrosse League will be renewed tonight as the Rochester Knighthawks (1-0) go up against the two-time defending NLL champion Buffalo Bandits (0-0) in an intrastate showdown at Segar & Sciortino Field at The Blue Cross Arena. The 7:00 p.m. contest will be the first of two scheduled meetings between the two teams this season and will be carried live on Big 107.3 FM as well as ESPN+. 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. The service is designed to enhance fan access and engagement with box lacrosse as the league continues to expand its global reach.
SEASON SERIES SNAPSHOT
The head-to-head matchup over the years has historically favored the Bandits, who have claimed seven of the first eight 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 begin the season looking to become just the second team in league history to win three straight championships, joining the original Mike Hasen-led Knighthawks franchise.
LAST TIME OUT
A back-and-forth affair between the Knighthawks and Las Vegas Desert Dogs saw the two teams go goal for goal in the first half until Rochester used a four-goal run in the third quarter to pull away and held on for a 14-12 season-opening win this past weekend at Segar & Sciortino Field at The Blue Cross Arena. The duo of Connor Fields and Ryan Smith combined for 18 points, with Fields posting a team-high 10 points and his counterpart contributing five goals as the Knighthawks picked up their first in franchise history over Las Vegas. The win also extended Rochester’s season-opening win streak to four games dating back to its 13-12 overtime win over the New York Riptide to open the 2021-22 campaign. Even more impressively, including last week’s outcome, the Knighthawks have scored no fewer than 13 goals in each of their last four season-opening wins, including back-to-back home-opening victories with 14 goals each. Goaltender Riley Hutchcraft earned the first start of the season, finishing with 50 saves, the second-most in his tenure as a Knighthawk. It was also a night of milestones for the Knighthawks despite it being the first game of the season, beginning with veteran forward Curtis Knight recording his 500th career point on his first-quarter goal. The matchup also represented the 100th professional game for fellow forward Turner Evans, who’s in his fifth season with Rochester and is one of only two original Knighthawks to have been with the team since its inception ahead of their inaugural campaign in 2019-20. Finally, last week’s win was also a homecoming of sorts for veteran defenseman Ian Llord, who made his highly anticipated return to Rochester while debuting with the expansion-era Knighthawks. A three-time NLL champion, Llord, who appeared in his 250th career NLL game, joined fellow defenseman Brad Gillies as the only two players on Rochester’s active roster to have now played for both Knighthawks franchises.
THE FIELDS FACTOR
It should come as no surprise that Connor Fields enters Week 2 of the 2024-25 season leading the league in scoring following his 10-point performance in Rochester’s season-opening win over the Desert Dogs. A two-time Second Team All-Pro selection, Fields picked up right where he left from last season, erupting for three goals and seven assists, marking the forward’s fourth game with 10 points or more over his last 19 games dating back to last season. Fields, who’s coming off his second straight 100-point season, factored in on four of Rochester’s first seven goals before recording a point on each of the team’s third-quarter tallies. In addition to being the league’s top point-getter, he also leads the NLL with 17 shots on goal. In 68 career NLL games with Rochester, Buffalo and San Diego, Fields has amassed 358 points (163+195) and 488 loose ball recoveries in addition to 26 points (10+16) in nine career postseason appearances. The 6-foot-0, 180-pound forward was originally a first-round selection (10th overall) of the San Diego Seals in the 2018 National Lacrosse League Entry Draft.
DAYS OF DAWSON
As the Bandits begin their second straight title defense, they do so with a familiar face in defenseman Paul Dawson, who makes his first return to Rochester since being traded to Colorado midway through the 2022-23 season. Named the first captain in franchise history, the 19-year pro 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.
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, have outshot the opposition in 15 of their last 19 games going back to last season, including all but two on the road. The Knighthawks have also topped the 70-shot mark twice over that span, the most recent of which came in last week’s season-opener against Las Vegas 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 17 shots on goal through his first game of the current season.
HASEN BACK AT THE HELM
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 25-42 record with the expansion-era Knighthawks, whom he’s led to back-to-back playoff appearances, as well as a 106-117 record all-time over his 14 combined seasons in Rochester. Hasen currently ranks fourth all-time in league history in games coached (222) and sixth in career coaching wins (106). He needs just two more wins to surpass Troy Cordingley for fifth all-time.
THE BROTHERS ORLEMAN
The biggest rivalry in the National Lacrosse League wouldn’t be complete without players facing their former teams for the first time or a family reunion between brothers. 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 first 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.
SCOUTING THE BANDITS
The Bandits, who open their season tonight following a Week 1 bye, return 17 players from last year’s championship squad, including reigning NLL Most Valuable Player Josh Byrne and three-time NLL All-Pro selection Dhane Smith. Byrne, who enters his seventh season with the Bandits since going first overall to Buffalo in the 2017 NLL Entry Draft, is coming off his first 100-point season in 2023-24 when he set career-highs in goals (53), assists (82) and points (135) before adding 34 points during Buffalo’s run to its second straight NLL championship. Byrne finished the year leading the league in scoring while ranking second in assists and third in goals behind only Rochester’s Connor Fields and Ottawa’s Jeff Teat. Smith, the other half of the dynamic duo, is back for his 12th season with the Bandits. The two-time NLL champion and two-time NLL MVP led the league in assists for the second straight year with 101, breaking his own record, and topped the 100-point mark for the third consecutive season and seventh time overall since 2014-15. The Bandits have arguably one of the greatest goaltenders of all-time in Matt Vinc. An eight-time NLL Goaltender of the Year, the 19-year veteran spent eight seasons with the previous Knighthawks franchise, backstopping the team to three straight NLL championships. Should the Bandits capture their third straight title later this season and match the feat of the original Knighthawks, Vinc will become the only player in league history to win three straight championships with two different teams.