TONIGHT’S GAME OVERVIEW
The Rochester Knighthawks (1-4) look to avoid a fifth straight loss at the hands of the undefeated Georgia Swarm (4-0) as the two clubs faceoff Saturday at Gas South Arena for the only time this season. Opening face-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. and will be carried live on Big 107.3 FM as well as ESPN+ and NLL+. 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.
SEASON SERIES SNAPSHOT
The two clubs split the 2023-24 season series with earning a victory on the road. After being outscored 5-1 in the third quarter, the Knighthawks flipped the script in the final frame, holding the Swarm to just a single goal in an 11-10 win in the previous meeting between the two teams back on April 19 at Gas South Arena. Connor Fields (4+4) recorded a natural hat trick as part of a four-goal night to go with four assists. Ryan Smith (2+2) tallied a pair of goals and two helpers while Matt Gilray (0+2) and former Swarm Ryan Lanchbury (0+3) each contributed multi-assist efforts. Goaltender Rylan Hartley (1+1) picked up his first victory of the season in his sixth appearance as he stopped 36 of the 46 shots he faced. The win was the first of two Rochester had during the final week of the 2023-24 campaign, which ultimately helped pave the way for a second straight playoff appearance. In the opening contest of the head-to-head series, the Knighthawks had a furious second-half rally before it came up just short as the Swarm pulled away in the final 25 seconds of regulation for a 14-12 win on Feb. 10 at Segar and Sciortino Field at The Blue Cross Arena. Prior to the loss, the Knighthawks had won three straight over the Swarm after earning the season sweep in 2022-23, including back-to-back wins in Georgia over that span. Rochester scored 47 goals in the three wins over the Swarm, the most against an opponent in a three-game span, including a franchise-best 19 goals in the 19-18 win back on March 12 of last season. With 37 combined goals, it was the highest scoring game in the NLL last season. Rochester’s three-game win streak against Georgia, which conversely claimed the first three meetings between the two teams, is also the longest in franchise history against any single opponent.
LAST TIME OUT
The Knighthawks fell behind early and were never able to fully recover in a 13-6 loss to the two-time defending NLL champion Buffalo Bandits last Saturday at KeyBank Center. Connor Fields led all Rochester players with five points (2+3) while Curtis Knight (2+1) also registered a multi-goal outing. Ryan Lanchbury (0+4) and Ryan Smith (1+2) both logged multi-assist performances for Rochester, which suffered its fourth straight defeat despite outshooting Buffalo 68-58. Thomas McConvey (1+1) and Kyle Waters (0+1) closed out the scoring. Goaltender Riley Hutchcraft earned his fifth straight start in the crease, stopping 43 of the 55 shots he faced while Kevin Orleman finished with a pair of saves.
BACK TO WHERE IT BEGAN
Knighthawks forward Ryan Lanchbury returns to Georgia after spending his rookie season with the Swarm in 2022-23. Lanchbury, who was drafted second overall by Georgia in the 2021 NLL Entry Draft, completed his first season with the Knighthawks in 2023-24 after being acquired by Rochester during Week 2 of last season. He tallied career-highs in goals (20), assists (66) and points (86) in 17 contests with Rochester while also collecting 41 loose balls. He topped all Knighthawks in assists and ranked third and fifth in goals and points, respectively. Through the first five games of the 2024-25 campaign, Lanchbury paces all Knighthawks in both assists (17) and points (26) while his 71 shots and nine goals are third-most. In addition to Lanchbury, Ethan O’Connor and goaltender Kevin Orleman both spent time in the Peach State with O’Connor winning a championship with Georgia in 2017. In four seasons with the Swarm (Georgia/Minnesota), O’Connor tallied 24 points (6+18) and 325 loose balls in 68 games while appearing in six postseason contests from 2015-2018. Orleman went 1-2 in eight games with Georgia from 2019-20.
COMING IN HUTCH
Knighthawks goaltender Riley Hutchcraft has emerged as the NLL’s early leader in saves through his first five games of the season. The veteran netminder has stopped 217 of the 274 shots he’s faced, good for a .791 save percentage that ranks 11th in the NLL. Hutchcraft, who’s one of only two goaltenders with more than 200 saves this season, also ranks second in minutes played (283) and ninth with a 12.10 goals-against average. Dating back to last season, Hutchcraft has made 40-plus saves in his 10 of his last 20 starts, including three straight to open the second half of the 2023-24 season. He also has two games of 50 or more saves over that same span, including in Week 1 of this season as well as 52-save performance in the 18-12 win over Albany back on March 9, which remains a career-high for the seventh-year netminder.
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 five games this season, Rochester is averaging an NLL-best 84.40 shots per game while also allowing the most shots-against per game (82.40). Coming into this weekend, Rochester has outshot the opposition in 16 of its last 23 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. 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 98 shots on goal through his first five games game of the current season.
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. 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 25-46 record with the expansion-era Knighthawks, whom he’s led to back-to-back playoff appearances, as well as a 106-121 record all-time over his 14 combined seasons in Rochester. Hasen currently ranks fourth all-time in league history in games coached (227) and sixth in career coaching wins (106). He needs just two more wins to surpass Troy Cordingley for fifth all-time.
A SIDE OF SISSELBERGER
Earlier this week, the Knighthawks signed transition man/face-off specialist Mike Sisselberger to a one-year contract for the remainder of 2024-25 season. Sisselberger was selected by Rochester (22nd pick) in the 2024 NLL Dispersal Draft of the Panther City Lacrosse Club roster of players back in September. Originally a third-round pick (52nd overall) in the 2023 NLL Entry Draft, Sisselberger did not appear in a game with Panther City last season, instead opting to play as a fifth-year graduate student at Lehigh University, where he solidified himself as one of the top face-off specialists in Division I. In 48 games with the Mountain Hawks, the Center Valley, Penn., native recorded 11 points (7+4) while also winning 742-of-1094 face-off attempts for a .678% success rate. Sisselberger is a two-time Patriot League Faceoff Specialist of the Year, earning the honors in back-to-back seasons, in addition to being a two-time First Team All-Patriot League selection in 2021 and 2022. Sisselberger finished the 2021 season garnering First Team All-American accolades from the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) and Inside Lacrosse. Over his five seasons at Lehigh University, the 5-foot-9, 220-pound defenseman was a six-time Faceoff Specialist of the Week winner, a Patriot League single-season record, a three-time USILA National Team of Week honoree and was nominated for the Tewaaraton Award as the nation’s top player in Division I lacrosse.
SCOUTING THE SWARM
A win tonight would solidify Georgia’s best-ever season opening with a 5-0 record, a feat unmatched in franchise history. The Swarm’s last 4-0 start occurred in 2017, a season that culminated with the franchise’s first and only NLL championship. Georgia’s balanced offensive attack has produced 47 goals on 286 shots across four games. Lyle Thompson leads the team with 22 points (12+10), while Andrew Kew (19), Bryan Cole (15) and Brendan Bomberry (15) are not far behind. Brett Dobson, a 2023 All-Rookie Team selection, currently leads all goaltenders in wins (4) and ranks fifth with a 10.13 goals-against average.
