TONIGHT’S GAME OVERVIEW
Winners of five straight, the high-flying Rochester Knighthawks (9-7) can potentially lock up their third straight postseason appearance tonight as they close out their season series with the Ottawa Black Bears (7-8) at Segar & Sciortino Field at The Blue Cross Arena. The 7:00 p.m. matchup will be the second and final meeting between the two teams this season and will be carried live on Big 107.3 FM and ESPN+ in addition to being available to viewers on NLL+, a new streaming platform which provides instant global access to every game as well as highlights, full game replays and exclusive league content.
PLAYOFF PICTURE
Unlike last season where the Knighthawks had to defy the most improbable of odds and overcome a slim 3.13% chance of qualifying for the playoffs on the final day of the regular season, this year’s Knighthawks team is in a much more favorable position heading into the penultimate week of the 2024-25 campaign. As of this morning, Rochester, which has won five straight and eight of its last 11 games since the turn of the new year, will clinch a playoff spot for the third straight year with a win over Ottawa tonight coupled with a San Diego loss to Halifax. Should the Knighthawks emerge victorious, not only will they reach the 10-win mark for the second time in three years, but they will also become just the third team to secure a postseason berth.
LAST TIME OUT
A back-and-forth affair between two of the hottest teams in the NLL went the distance, but it was the Knighthawks emerging in the closing seconds of regulation to pull out a thrilling 14-13 win over the visiting San Diego Seals this past Saturday at Segar & Sciortino Field at The Blue Cross Arena. Rochester built a 12-6 lead with 8:32 left in the third quarter before San Diego rattled off four consecutive goals and seven of the next eight to tie the game at 13-13. Ryan Smith played hero for the Knighthawks, coming out of the timeout to score the game-winner with 11 seconds remaining in regulation to cap a five-goal night. Smith also added an assist while Ryan Lanchbury posted a team-high seven points (1+6). It was a big night of milestones for Rochester, with Lanchbury, Connor Fields (3+2), and head coach Mike Hasen earning accolades. Lanchbury notched his 200th career point and 150th assist in the first quarter before reaching the 100-point mark for the first time in his career later in the half. Fields eclipsed 200 career goals to make it a 9-4 game in the second quarter, completing his hat trick early in the third. Goaltender Rylan Hartley made 40 stops for Rochester, earning his fifth win in seven games.
SMITH NAMED NLL’S BEST FOR WEEK 18
The National Lacrosse League named Ryan Smith the Gatorade Canada NLL Player of the Week for Week 18. Smith was the driving force behind Rochester’s 14-13 win over the San Diego Seals on Saturday, scoring a team-high five goals – including the game-winner with 11 seconds remaining – and adding an assist while leading the Knighthawks to their fifth straight victory. The win was also the first in franchise history over the Seals and vaulted the Knighthawks up to fourth place in the NLL’s unified standings. Smith is currently tied for the league lead with 43 goals, including an NLL-best 16 power-play tallies, and ranks among the league’s top 20 point-getters with 75 points while appearing in all 18 games this season. Currently in his fourth season with the Knighthawks, the Burlington, Ontario, native has totaled 308 points (157+151) and 325 loose ball recoveries in 68 career games with Rochester. Smith also holds the all-time (46) and single-season (16) franchise records for power-play goals.
SCORING IN BUNCHES
There has certainly been no shortage of goals over the last several weeks for the Knighthawks, who continue to find the back of the net at a sweltering pace. Rochester has exploded for 106 goals dating back to its 15-12 win over Philadelphia on Feb. 1, including 82 goals over its current season-long five-game win streak, the most in the NLL by a single team over that span. Last month, the Knighthawks became just the second team this season to score 21 goals in a game, matching a season-high previously achieved by Calgary back on Feb. 16 in a win which also came against Las Vegas. The March 7 thrashing of the Desert Dogs marked the 106th time in league history in which a team has scored 21 or more goals in a contest. The league record for goals in a game by one team is 32, set on Nov. 24, 2001 by Montreal in a 32-17 drubbing over Calgary. That game also holds the record for total combined goals in a game with 49. The Knighthawks continue to lead the NLL in scoring with 206 goals, and coming off last week’s win over San Diego, have scored at least 10 in each of their nine wins this season, including reaching the 15-goal mark on five different occasions.
HAVING A FIELD DAY…OR YEAR
The milestones just keep coming and coming for Knighthawks forward Connor Fields, who over the last three seasons has quite impressively evolved into arguably one of the most dynamic and prolific scorers in the National Lacrosse League. Just two weeks after becoming the first American-born player in NLL history – and second overall – to post three consecutive 100-point seasons in the 18-8 win at Ottawa, he added yet another milestone in last week’s 14-13 win over San Diego. Following his five-point effort, which included his 200th career NLL goal, Fields joined elite company when he became just the fourth player ever to record at least three 110-point seasons, a feat previously achieved by only Mark Matthews, Shawn Evans and Buffalo’s Dhane Smith. Fields, who’s totaled 26 points over his last three games, enters the final month of the season one point behind Smith for the NLL scoring lead with 110 points while ranking fourth in goals (41) and fifth in assists (69). A two-time Second Team All-Pro selection, Fields recently surpassed Drew Westervelt for seventh all-time in scoring amongst American players and his 458 career points are also third-most among active American-born players, trailing only Toronto’s Tom Schreiber (592) and Philadelphia’s Joe Resetarits (848), a former Knighthawk in the previous organization. Averaging nearly seven points per game this season, Fields, who continues to lead all forwards with 136 loose ball recoveries, has scored at least one goal and recorded at least one assist in all 51 games he’s appeared in for Rochester.
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 16 games this season, Rochester is averaging an NLL-best 81.25 shots per game. Coming into this weekend, Rochester has outshot the opposition in 26 of its last 34 games going back to last season, including all but four on the road. Fields, who averaged nearly 15 shots per game last season on his way to establishing a new league record (267), remains on pace to duplicate the effort with an NLL-best 223 shots on goal through his first 16 games of the current season. He remains the only player this season with more than 200 shots and has 31 more than the next closest player in Ottawa’s Jeff Teat. With the addition of Ryan Smith (157), Ryan Lanchbury (137) and Thomas McConvey (132), the Knighthawks are one of only two NLL teams to have four different players with more than 100 shots.
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 earlier this season surpassed Troy Cordingley for fifth all-time in career coaching wins (114). He continued his climb up the NLL’s all-time coaching ranks last week when he was behind the bench for his 238th career regular-season game, surpassing Paul Day, his former assistant coach in Rochester, for third all-time in career games coached. 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 33-49 record with the expansion-era Knighthawks, whom he’s led to back-to-back playoff appearances, as well as a 114-124 record all-time over his 14 combined seasons in Rochester. Coming into this weekend, he’s five wins away from passing Day for fourth all-time in wins.
