TONIGHT’S GAME OVERVIEW
The high-flying Rochester Knighthawks (6-7) look for their third straight win tonight as they close out the season series against the Las Vegas Desert Dogs at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nevada. The matchup is slated for a 10:30 p.m. ET start 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
A win tonight would not only extend Rochester’s current win streak to a season-long three straight games but would also complete the season sweep over the Desert Dogs, whom the Knighthawks previously defeated back on opening night by way of a narrow 14-12 margin. Connor Fields (3+7) and Ryan Smith (5+3) led the charge offensively, leading the Knighthawks to their fourth straight season-opening win dating back to the 2021-22 campaign as well as the first in franchise history against Las Vegas in their third all-time meeting. Riley Hutchcraft turned aside 50 of the 62 shots he faced for his first win of the season and seventh of his career while Landon Kells took the loss for Las Vegas after a 58-save performance. The Knighthawks fell one shot shy of tying their single-game record of 73 shots set last March in a game against Panther City. Rochester, however, remains winless in Las Vegas having dropped a 12-7 decision in its only other visit to Sin City on March 25, 2023. The two teams converge at a point in the season where one looks to continue its climb up the NLL standings for a chance at locking in a playoff appearance for the third straight year while the other look to snap out of a downward slide in the hopes of salvaging its season. The Knighthawks, who have seemingly returned to their winning ways, have won three of their last four to move up to seventh place while Las Vegas has dropped four of its last five coming into tonight. Making matters worse, the struggling Desert Dogs have been held to eight or fewer goals in three of those losses, including a season-low five goals in their most recent loss to Halifax last week. The team’s current second-half slump has resulted in a rapid plummet to the bottom of the NLL standings and a last-place tie with Albany.
LAST TIME OUT
The Knighthawks dominated from start to finish, storming out to a quick 3-0 first-quarter lead and never looking back on their way to doubling up the Albany FireWolves a week ago at Segar & Sciortino Field at The Blue Cross Arena. The win was Rochester’s third straight over Albany dating back to last season, improving the Knighthawks to 6-1 all-time against their intrastate rival. Additionally, the win snapped a season-long four-game skid at home and gave Rochester back-to-back wins for the first time all season. Connor Fields (2+5) and Ryan Smith (4+3) each led the way offensively with seven points, with Fields factoring in on four of Rochester’s first five goals of the contest, scoring twice and notching the primary assist on the others. Smith, meanwhile, scored three of his four goals on the power-play as the Knighthawks scored a season-high five power-play goals. Smith is now second in the NLL with 32 goals, including a league-best 11 power-play tallies. Ryan Lanchbury (2+4) and Thomas McConvey (1+4) also had big nights for the Knighthawks, who picked up their first win at home since opening night. Rylan Hartley made his fourth straight start since returning to the lineup from an injury that sidelined him for the entire first half of the season. Hartley, who picked up his third win in four starts, finished with 36 saves, including 10 in the opening quarter when he kept the FireWolves off the scoreboard.
LLORD OF THE BLOCKS
Just a week after setting the new franchise record for blocked shots in a season (27), veteran defenseman Ian Llord is now in pursuit of yet another record, needing just three more blocked shots to surpass the NLL’s single-season mark set by Las Vegas defenseman James Barclay, who had 29 during the 2022-23 season. Llord’s 27 blocked shots tie him for most in the league with former Knighthawks captain Paul Dawson. Additionally, the 18-year pro ranks second amongst all team defensemen with 46 loose ball recoveries, second in caused turnovers (8) and tied for second in points (3). A three-time NLL champion, Llord played parts of seven seasons with the original Knighthawks franchise, helping Rochester complete the three-peat with titles in 2013 and 2014. He and fellow defenseman Brad Gillies are the only two players on Rochester’s active roster to have played for both Knighthawks franchises.
FIELDS INCHING CLOSER TO HISTORY
Over the last two and a half seasons, Knighthawks forward 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 leading the NLL in scoring with 84 points (27+57) in 13 games, Fields is just 16 points away from becoming the first-ever American player in league history to reach the 100-point mark in three consecutive years. A two-time Second Team All-Pro selection, Fields recently surpassed Kevin Buchanan for eighth all-time in scoring amongst American players following his nine-point effort in the 15-10 win over Calgary during Week 13. Fields’ 432 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 also continues to lead all forwards with 116 loose ball recoveries, will likely move into seventh all-time among the NLL’s top American-born players, sitting just two points back of Drew Westervelt.
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 13 games this season, Rochester is averaging an NLL-best 81.69 shots per game while also allowing the fourth-most shots-against per game (75.77). Coming into this weekend, Rochester has outshot the opposition in 23 of its last 31 games going back to last season, including all but four on the road. Collectively, the Knighthawks also own two of the NLL’s top seven shooting forwards in Connor Fields, and Ryan Smith, who rank first and seventh in the NLL, respectively. 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 175 shots on goal through his first 13 games game of the current season. With the addition of Smith (124), Ryan Lanchbury (115) and Thomas McConvey (106), the Knighthawks are the only NLL team to have four different players with more than 100 shots.
THE HART OF THE MATTER
It should come as no surprise that Rochester’s recent success coincides with the return of highly touted goaltender Rylan Hartley. After missing the first half of the season due to injury, 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. Since then, Hartley, who recently surpassed 2,000 career minutes played, has won three of his last four starts and five of his last six dating back to April 20 of last season. Over that span, Hartley has totaled 195 saves on 252 shots faced, good for a 9.72 goals-against average and a .774 save percentage, while also holding the opposition to fewer than 10 goals in half of his six appearances. 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.
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 (111). He’s also tied with Georgia’s Ed Comeau, his former head coach, for third all-time in career games coached (235). 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 30-49 record with the expansion-era Knighthawks, whom he’s led to back-to-back playoff appearances, as well as a 111-124 record all-time over his 14 combined seasons in Rochester.
