TONIGHT’S GAME OVERVIEW
The Rochester Knighthawks (5-6) and Albany FireWolves (10-3) clash for the second straight week tonight as the home-and-home series shifts to MVP Arena for a rematch in downtown Albany. The 7:00 p.m. matchup will be the second and final meeting between the intrastate rivals this season and will be carried live on Big 107.3 FM and ESPN+.
SEASON SERIES SNAPSHOT
The Knighthawks look to complete the two-game sweep tonight after coming away with an impressive 18-12 win over the FireWolves in last week’s get-together in Rochester. After going into halftime tied at 9-9, the Knighthawks took control in the second half, outscoring Albany 9-3 over the final 40 minutes and going on a five-goal run in the fourth quarter to capture their first win at home since Dec. 23. A win tonight would also give Rochester its second three-game win streak of the season after opening the year with three straight victories, but more importantly, move the Knighthawks into the eighth and final playoff spot in the NLL’s unified standings. Coming off last week’s win at home, the Knighthawks are 4-1 all-time against the FireWolves and have outscored Albany 63-45 in the four games in which they’ve been victorious, including a 16-7 win in the inaugural meeting between the two teams during the 2021-22 campaign. The Knighthawks are also unbeaten in Albany since that win, which remains the most lopsided victory in franchise history. Rochester has also scored at least 12 goals in each of the five games against Albany, the most against any single opponent in its near four-year history. While the Knighthawks have seemingly returned to their winning ways, the FireWolves, despite last week’s setback, are enjoying their best season in franchise history. Albany returns home having won four of its last five and remains one of two teams behind only league-leading Toronto to reach 10 wins, the most since relocating to Upstate New York. Albany has been dominant at home all season, showing a 5-1 record within the friendly confines of MVP Arena and outscoring the opposition 75-66 though their first six home matchups. The FireWolves are riding a three-game home win streak coming into tonight, over which they held the opposition to only eight goals in back-to-back weeks.
LAST TIME OUT
A week after tying the single-game franchise record with 19 goals in a decisive win over Panther City, the Knighthawks nearly duplicated the effort on Saturday, scoring nine goals in each half on their way to an 18-12 win over Albany. Led by an 11-point effort from Connor Fields, the win snapped a three-game home skid for Rochester and halted a five-game road win streak for the red-hot FireWolves. Fields led an ensemble cast that contributed to Rochester’s second straight win, while Ryan Smith (5+5), Thomas McConvey (4+2), and Kyle Waters (3+2) each had hat tricks of their own. In addition, Ryan Lanchbury posted a career high-12 assists while Curtis Knight and Dan Lomas each finished with four assists behind a career-best 52-save effort from goaltender Riley Hutchcraft.
MAKE IT A DOZEN FOR LANCHBURY
Despite being held without a goal for just the fourth time all season, there was certainly no shortage of offensive contributions from forward Ryan Lanchbury in last week’s win over the FireWolves. Acquired by Rochester from Georgia back in December, the Burlington, Ontario, native dished out a franchise-record 12 assists, besting the 11 that Fields had a week prior in Panther City. After setting up four of Rochester’s six first-quarter goals, the second-year pro would factor in on eight of the team’s nine goals in the second half, including all five fourth-quarter tallies, all of which were primary assists. Lanchbury’s record-setting performance finished one assist shy of tying the NLL single-game assist record set by Buffalo’s Mark Steenhuis, who had 13 assists against Boston back on Feb. 14, 2009.
FIELDS EARNS WEEKLY HONORS FOR WEEK 15
The National Lacrosse League announced earlier this week that Knighthawks Connor Fields was named the Gatorade Canada NLL Player of the Week for Week 15. A week after setting the franchise’s single-game scoring record, Fields turned in yet another remarkable performance, scoring six goals as part of a team-high 11-point effort in the win over Albany. Fields, whose six goals also tied the franchise record set by Thomas McConvey the week prior, provided three of Rochester’s first-quarter tallies before completing the sock trick with three more goals in the second half. A native of East Amherst, NY, Fields has combined for nine goals and 25 points over Rochester’s last two wins, vaulting him up to third in the NLL in scoring with 85 points in 11 games. He’s also tied for fourth in goals (35) and shots (164) and ranks fifth in assists (50) while leading all NLL forwards with 95 loose ball recoveries. Averaging nearly eight points per game, Fields, who was named a Second Team All-League selection in 2022-23, has scored two or more goals in 27 of his 28 career games as a Knighthawk dating back to last season. He only needs 15 more points to become just the second American-born player in league history to reach 100 points in back-to-back seasons, a feat previously accomplished by Philadelphia’s Joe Resetarits.
SCORING IN BUNCHES
Having combined for 37 goals in their last two games, the most in franchise history over a two-game span, it should come as no surprise the Knighthawks enter Week 15 leading the NLL in goals per game with 13.55. Despite playing only 11 games, Rochester is the only team across the league averaging more than 13 goals per game while their 149 goals overall rank seventh-most. Coming into this weekend, the Knighthawks currently rank eighth in the NLL in total shots for (908) but continue to pace the league in average shots per game (82.55). The only team averaging more than 80 shots per game, Rochester has outshot the opposition in eight of its first 11 games this season, including in all but one road game. The Knighthawks have also topped the 60-shot mark on four occasions, highlighted by a franchise-best 73 shots in the win at Panther City earlier this month. Rochester is 3-5 this season when outshooting the opponent and 4-5 when finishing with 50 or more shots.
POST TAKES CENTER STAGE
Tonight’s matchup will also be a battle at the center dot as it features two of the NLL’s top four face-off specialists in Rochester’s Joe Post and Albany’s Joe Nardella. Post, a Canandaigua native, has been nearly unbeatable at the center dot this season, winning 189 face-offs on 302 attempts for a 62.6% success rate. His 189 wins, which as of March 3 are a new single-season franchise record, rank fifth in the NLL while his 110 loose ball recoveries are also ninth-most. Post’s 26 face-off wins against Panther City set the new single-game mark, besting the 24 he had earlier this season in Saskatchewan. Dating back to his rookie season, Post, who played his collegiate lacrosse at nearby St. John Fisher University, has won 252-of-433 career face-off attempts, good for a 58.2% efficiency rate.
BIRDS OF A FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER
After emerging as one of the most dynamic and productive scoring duos in the NLL a season ago, Connor Fields and Ryan Smith have again taken the league by storm in 2023-24. The forwards have combined for 71 goals and 159 points through Rochester’s first 11 games, making them the second-best point-producing twosome in the league behind only Buffalo’s Josh Byrne and Dhane Smith (170). After combining for 21 points last weekend, Fields and Smith are the only pair of teammates in the league to each have at least 35 goals and 74 points in the same number of games played. In addition to leading the Knighthawks with 50 assists and 85 points, Fields continues to pace all NLL forwards with 95 loose ball recoveries. Coming into the weekend just two points off the league’s scoring lead, Fields, who played his collegiate lacrosse at the University at Albany, remains well on track of shattering his previous career-high of 112 points and is on pace to finish the season with 140 points. Fields needs just 15 more points to join Joe Resetarits, a former Knighthawk in the previous organization, as the only two American-born players in league history to reach the 100-point mark in back-to-back seasons. Like Fields, Smith is also in the process of assembling a career-year following his second 10-point effort of the season on Saturday, which included his 100th pro goal, 100th assist and 200th point. The third-year pro also set a new career-high for goals in a season (36) with his fifth goal of the contest, moving him into the third in the NLL behind San Diego’s Austin Staats and New York’s Jeff Teat. Smith has scored three goals or more in nine of his first 11 appearances this season, including a pair of five-goal outings.
SCOUTING THE FIREWOLVES
After winning just three games all last season and finishing in the basement of the Eastern Conference, the FireWolves have miraculously gone from worst to first as one of the NLL’s most formidable teams this season. Albany is off to its best start in franchise history, opening the season with six straight wins, thereby duplicating the efforts of the Knighthawks last season, and having won four of its last five. Much of Albany’s first-half success can be easily attributed to the play of third-year goaltender Doug Jamieson, who boasts a near-perfect 10-1 record and up until last week was the only NLL netminder without a loss. His 10 wins rank second behind only Toronto’s Nick Rose while his 10.23 goals-against average is third-best amongst all goaltenders. The FireWolves also own the top two scoring rookies in Alex Simmons and Tye Kurtz, who rank first and second among all rookies in goals, assists and points.
