TODAY’S GAME OVERVIEW
The Rochester Knighthawks (3-6) embark on their busiest month of the season on Sunday when they travel to the Lonestar State for an afternoon matinee against the Panther City Lacrosse Club (5-5) at Dickies Arena. The 4:00 p.m. ET matchup will be the only meeting of the season between the two teams and just the second all-time after Rochester defeated Panther City during last year’s season-opening six-game win streak. Fans can tune in live on Big 107.3 FM and catch all the action on ESPN+.
HEAD-TO-HEAD BREAKDOWN
As the teams converge with one another for the only time this season, they do so heading in opposite directions in the NLL standings entering the second half of the campaign. After opening the season with three consecutive wins for the second year in a row, the Knighthawks have been marred by six straight losses dating back to Dec. 29 in San Diego. Four of the team’s six losses over that span have come by three goals or less, including a narrow one-goal setback to the defending NLL champion Buffalo Bandits last month. Meanwhile, Panther City, which debuted during the 2021-22 NLL season, has seemingly caught its stride, having won four of its last six – including two straight at home – since the turn of the new year to move into seventh place in the league’s unified standings. Panther City’s midseason turnaround comes on the heels of dropping three straight following its 11-7 season-opening win over Vancouver back on Dec. 1. While Rochester makes its inaugural trip to the Dallas/Fort Worth area, the Knighthawks do a carry a 1-0 advantage in the all-time series against Panther City after coming away with a 17-9 win in the first-ever meeting between the two teams on Jan. 7 of last season. The eight-goal differential is the second-largest winning margin in franchise history and the team’s 17 goals were a then record for the most scored in a single game only to be broken two months later in Georgia.
LAST TIME OUT
Ryan Smith (2+4) and Connor Fields (3+3) led the Knighthawks with six points each, but five straight unanswered goals by the Las Vegas Desert Dogs, including four in the final frame, proved to be the difference as Rochester saw its winless streak reach six games with a 12-8 loss this Saturday at Segar and Sciortino Field at The Blue Cross Arena. Eight Knighthawks contributed to the scoresheet. Smith converted for two goals and four helpers, while Fields’ hat trick and six-point night pushed his point totals to 60 on the season (26+34). In addition to Rochester’s offensive duo, Thomas McConvey, Kyle Waters, and Dan Lomas each scored a goal, while Ryan Lanchbury (0+2), Curtis Knight (0+2), and Tyler Halls (0+1) all factored in with assists. Riley Hutchcraft made 28 saves in goal for the ‘Hawks, who drop to 3-6 on the season as they reach the midway point of the 2023-24 NLL campaign. Saturday’s matchup also saw the season debut of defenseman and NLL champion Greg Hartnett, who along with the Knight spent the first half of the season on Injured Reserve. Harnett finished with two caused turnovers in what was his first NLL appearance since the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season, a span of 1,4921 days.
100 AND COUNTING FOR HASEN
The 13-11 home win over Vancouver back on Dec. 23 came with historical significance in the fact that not only did the Knighthawks enjoy a 3-0 start for the second straight year, but it also served as the 100th win for Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen, who became just the sixth coach in league history to reach 100 career wins. Hasen surpassed legendary head coach Les Bartley for sixth all-time following the win over Halifax on Feb. 11 of last season, making him one of three finalists for the 2023 NLL Coach of the Year. He also joined elite company back on March 25 in Las Vegas, when he was behind the bench for his 200th regular-season game, a feat only five others in league history have accomplished before him. He became just the sixth head coach – and third last season behind Georgia’s Ed Comeau and Vancouver’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 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. 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. Hasen, who was named the NLL Coach of the Year in 2011, remains the only NLL bench boss to accomplish the feat.
SHOOTING GALLERY
Coming into this weekend, the Knighthawks currently rank eighth in the NLL in total shots for (740) but continue to pace the league in average shots per game (82.22). Rochester has outshot the opposition in seven of its first nine games this season, including topping the 60-shot mark on three occasions. The Knighthawks are 2-5 this season when outshooting the opponent and 2-5 when surpassing the 50-shot mark. Connor Fields set the new franchise record for the most shots in a game with 21 in the 17-14 loss at San Diego on Dec. 29, besting the 18 he had against Calgary on Dec. 2. Only Albany forward Alex Simmons (137) has more shots on goal than Fields (133), who’s averaging nearly 15 per game entering the second half of the season.
POSTMAN CONTINUES TO DELIVER
Second-year face-off specialist and Canandaigua native Joe Post has been nearly unbeatable at the center dot this season, winning 163 face-offs on 264 attempts for a 61.7% success rate. His 163 wins, which as of Feb. 24 are a new single-season franchise record, rank fifth in the NLL while his 92 loose ball recoveries are eighth-most. He needs eight more loose balls to become just the fifth player this season to reach 100. Post’s 24 face-off wins on Dec. 9 in Saskatchewan set the new single-game mark, far surpassing his own record of 19 he set in the 2022-23 regular-season finale against Philadelphia. Dating back to his rookie season, Post, who played his collegiate lacrosse at nearby St. John Fisher University, has won 226-of-395 career face-off attempts, good for a 57.2% 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 54 goals and 117 points through Rochester’s first nine games, making them the fourth-best point-producing twosome in the league. Only Buffalo’s Josh Byrne and Dhane Smith (135), New York’s Jeff Teat and Connor Kearnan (127), and San Diego’s Wesley Berg and Austin Staats (121) have collectively recorded more points this season. After this weekend, they could potentially be the only teammates in the league to each have at least 30 goals and 60 points at the halfway point of the season. In addition to leading the Knighthawks with 34 assists and 60 points, Fields continues to pace all NLL forwards with 81 loose ball recoveries. Coming into the weekend tied for eighth in overall scoring, Fields remains on pace of capturing his second straight 100-point season, a feat that only one other American-born player (Joe Resetarits) in NLL history has accomplished. Fields, who was named a Second Team All-League selection in 2022-23, has scored two goals or more in 25 of his 26 career games as a Knighthawk dating back to last season. Smith, meanwhile, leads the Knighthawks and is tied for fourth in the NLL with 28 goals. The third-year pro has scored three goals or more in seven of his first nine appearances this season, including a career-high five against Buffalo back on Feb. 3. Smith, who was named to the NLL’s All-Rookie Team following the 2021-22 campaign, needs four more goals to reach 100 in his career and is only nine points away from 200.
SCOUTING PANTHER CITY
Playing its second game of the weekend and wrapping a up a season-long four-game homestand in the process, Panther City has undergone one of the most impressive midseason turnarounds for a team that began the season having dropped three of its first four to one that has won four of its last six. The team has been led in scoring all season by veteran forward Callum Crawford, who has 31 goals and 30 assists for 61 points while appearing in all 10 games. Crawford, who’s in his second season with Panther City and 10th different NLL franchise overall, also leads the NLL in power-play scoring with 21 points, including 10 goals on the man-advantage. Crawford, who was taken 18th overall by the Calgary Roughnecks in the 2005 NLL Entry Draft, successfully reached the 30-goal mark for the eighth time in his 19-year pro career Friday against San Diego and remains on pace to record his third 100-point season. Nick Damude has been a mainstay between the pipes, boasting a 5-4 record and ranking fourth among all NLL netminders with a 10.64 goals-against average through 10 appearances this season.
