TONIGHT’S GAME OVERVIEW
A week after suffering arguably their toughest loss in franchise history, the Rochester Knighthawks (2-5) finally have a shot at redemption tonight in what the National Lacrosse League is calling a highly anticipated rematch against the Halifax Thunderbirds (2-3) at Scotiabank Centre. Game time is slated for a 6:00 p.m. ET start 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 home-and-home series shifts north of the border tonight as the Knighthawks look to avoid the season sweep at the hands of the Thunderbirds for the second straight year. The head-to-head matchup over the years has historically favored the Thunderbirds, who, coming off last Saturday’s win in Rochester, have been victorious in seven of the first eighth contests between the two teams dating back to the Knighthawks’ inaugural 2019-20 campaign, including all four meetings north of the border. Halifax comes into the matchup having won three straight over Rochester with last week marking the first time in those three encounters in which the Thunderbirds failed to hold the Knighthawks to fewer than 10 goals. After finishing as the top two shooting teams across the NLL last season, Rochester (82.71) and Halifax (78.80) are again at the head of the pack this season, ranking first and third in the league in shots per game, respectively. Following their 19-goal output last week against Rochester, the Thunderbirds have vaulted into third in the NLL in goals-per-game (14.20) and currently own the third-best power-play in the league after converting on 11 of their 20 opportunities on the man-advantage, good for a 55.0% success rate.
ROLL THE HIGHLIGHT REEL
The highest scoring game in the National Lacrosse League this season ended in complete devastation for the Knighthawks, who after rallying back from a four-goal deficit late in the fourth quarter, including scoring the equalizer in the final minute, saw the visiting Thunderbirds prevail on a last-second buzzer-beater to escape with a 19-18 win this past Saturday at Segar & Sciortino Field at The Blue Cross Arena. The 37 combined goals were the most in a single NLL game this season and matched a previous team record of 37 from Mar. 12, 2023. The high-scoring affair produced five different hat tricks between the two teams, with Thomas McConvey establishing a new single-game career-high in points as he topped all Knighthawks in both goals (4), points (10) and shots (13) while Ryan Lanchbury, the NLL’s Player of the Week for Week 6, finished with a season-best seven assists. Connor Fields (3+4) logged his second hat trick of the campaign for Rochester, and Curtis Knight (2+2) and Josh Medeiros (2+0) both recorded multi-goal efforts. Matt Gilray (1+1), Graydon Hogg (1+0), Ryland Rees (1+0) each scored once, while Ian Llord and Mike Sisselberger had an assist. Sisselberger’s assist was his first career NLL point while Llord’s was his first of the season. Goaltenders Riley Hutchcraft and Kevin Orleman split the contest as they combined to make 35 saves. Hutchcraft, who drew his seventh start, suffered the defeat as he made 11 of his 15 stops in the opening frame whereas Orleman finished with 20 saves in 34 minutes. On the other side of the floor, former Knighthawk Thomas Hoggarth had an impactful return to Rochester with an eight-point effort and joined Randy Staats, a former 2016 NLL Rookie of the Year and 2017 NLL champion, with four goals. Staats capped his 10-point performance with the secondary assist on Clarke Petterson’s game-winning goal with less than a second remaining in regulation.
FEELING THE SIZZLE
Newcomer Mike Sisselberger has proven to be a valuable addition for the Knighthawks while effectively filling the void caused by the departure of Joe Post following the end of last season. A two-time Patriot League Face-Off Specialist of the Year while attending Lehigh University, Sisselberger has gone 43-for-70 at the center dot, good for a 61.4% success rate that ranks 12th-best in the league despite only appearing in two games this season. In comparing the newest Knighthawk to the rest of his uniquely skilled counterparts around the league, six of the NLL’s top 10 face-off specialists have appeared in at least five games this season. Halifax’s Jake Withers, whom Sisselberger went toe-to-toe with 41 times last week, has more more face-off wins (66) between the two, but his 52.8% conversion rate is inferior. Sisselberger outdueled Withers at the center dot last week, winning 24-of-41 attempts (58.6%).
THE PAST MEETS THE PRESENT
Tonight may be just the ninth meeting all-time between the Knighthawks and Thunderbirds, but it’s the historical significance that runs much deeper. While Rochester is currently in its fifth season as an expansion franchise, the Thunderbirds, led by fifth-year head coach Mike Accursi, relocated to Halifax during the summer of 2019 following 25 seasons in Rochester as the original Knighthawks franchise. The previous Knighthawks joined the NLL in 1998 following three seasons in the MILL, winning 10 division titles and five NLL championships, including three straight from 2012-14 under the ownership of Curt Styres, who also serves as the team’s general manager. The Styres-led Knighthawks remains the only team in NLL history to win three consecutive championships, a team that was coached by current Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. Of the 21 players on Halifax’s current active roster, at least eight have ties to the previous Knighthawks organization. Even Accursi himself is also a former original Knighthawk, whom he led to a Champion’s Cup in 2007 as a teammate of Hasen’s before winning his second straight title the following year during his second stint with Buffalo. In addition, current Rochester defensemen Brad Gillies and Ian Llord are the only two active players on either team to have played for both the original and expansion-era Knighthawks. Gillies had a two-year stint with the Thunderbirds before returning to Rochester ahead of the 2022-23 season while Llord won his last two NLL titles with previous Knighthawks organization in 2013 and 2014.
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 seven games this season, Rochester is averaging an NLL-best 82.71 shots per game while also allowing the most shots-against per game (80.57). Coming into this weekend, Rochester has outshot the opposition in 18 of its last 25 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 three of the NLL’s top five shooting forwards in Connor Fields, Ryan Smith and Ryan Lanchbury, who rank first, second and fifth 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 91 shots on goal through his first seven games game of the current season while Smith and Lanchbury have combined for 137 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. 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 26-47 record with the expansion-era Knighthawks, whom he’s led to back-to-back playoff appearances, as well as a 107-122 record all-time over his 14 combined seasons in Rochester. Hasen currently ranks fourth all-time in league history in games coached (229) and sixth in career coaching wins (107). He needs just one more win to surpass Troy Cordingley for fifth all-time.
