TONIGHT’S GAME OVERVIEW
The Rochester Knighthawks usher in their fifth season in the National Lacrosse League tonight when they host the Las Vegas Desert Dogs in their 2024-25 home opener at Segar & Sciortino Field at The Blue Cross Arena. The 7:00 p.m. contest will be the first of two scheduled meetings between the two teams this season and will be carried live on Big 107.3 FM as well as the newly launched NLL+, a free direct-to-consumer streaming service. The new platform 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 during the 2024-25 season. The service is designed to enhance fan access and engagement with box lacrosse as the league continues to expand its global reach.
SEASON SERIES SNAPSHOT
The Knighthawks will face the Desert Dogs twice this year, marking the first time the expansion teams have multiple encounters scheduled in the same season since Las Vegas entered the league prior to the 2022-23 campaign. Rochester has dropped both prior meetings with the Desert Dogs, the most recent being a 12-8 setback on Feb. 24 of this year during Las Vegas’ inaugural visit to Western New York. It was the final loss of a six-game skid for the Knighthawks, who then won three straight and five of their final nine games to secure a playoff berth for the second straight year.
OPENING THE SEASON
The Knighthawks open the season on home turf for the second straight year and do so against their fifth different opponent in as many years. A win tonight would give Rochester four straight season-opening victories dating back to its 13-12 overtime win over the New York Riptide nearly three years ago to kick-off the 2021-22 season. Additionally, two of the last three season-opening wins have been decided by one goal, including the narrow 14-13 victory over Calgary in last year’s home opener, while the Knighthawks have scored no fewer than 13 goals in each of their last three season-opening wins. Entering this weekend, Rochester is 3-1 all-time in season-opening games and show an even 2-2 record in home openers dating back to their inaugural campaign in 2019-20. For the first time in franchise history, the Knighthawks will play three of their first four games at home with a trip out to Western Canada serving as the only contest outside of Rochester leading up to the annual Christmas break.
THE FIELDS FACTOR
A year after becoming just the third American-born player in league history to record 100 points in a season, Knighthawks forward Connor Fields duplicated the effort again last season while continuing to show no signs of slowing down. After closing out the season with back-to-back eight-point efforts, including 11 goals altogether, Fields finished the campaign leading the Knighthawks with career-highs in goals (56), assists (64) and points (120). He ranked second in the NLL in goals behind only New York’s Jeff Teat and fourth in overall scoring while pacing all forwards n shots (267) and loose ball recoveries (158), earning Second Team All-League honors for the second straight season. It marked the second straight season with at least 50 goals and 60 assists for Fields, who went on to set new franchise records in all offensive categories. He was the first player since John Tavares in 2001 to record more than 115 points and 150 loose ball recoveries in the same season. Fields, who’s scored two goals or more in 31 of his 35 career games as a Knighthawk, also became just the second American-born player in league history, joining Philadelphia’s Joe Resetarits, a former Knighthawk in the previous organization, to reach the 100-point mark in back-to-back seasons. In the playoff-clinching win over Philadelphia in the season finale, he tied a season-high with 21 shots en route to setting the NLL’s single-season record for shots with 267, surpassing the original mark of 255 set by Toronto’s Tom Schreiber. Even more impressively, Fields single-handedly led a desperate Knighthawks team that faced a slim 3.13 percent chance of qualifying for the postseason defy all odds and punch their ticket back into the playoffs for the second straight year. In 67 career NLL games with Rochester, Buffalo and San Diego, Fields has amassed 348 points (160+188) and 478 loose ball recoveries.
SHOOTING GALLERY
The Knighthawks 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. Rochester outshot the opposition in 14 of its 18 games last season, including all but two on the road. The Knighthawks also topped the 60-shot mark on six different occasions, highlighted by a franchise-best 73 shots in the win at Panther City back on March 3 of this year. Rochester was 6-8 last season when outshooting the opponent. Individually, Knighthawks forward Connor Fields averaged nearly 15 shots per game, more than any other player, on his way to establishing a new league record (267). Fields finished with 34 more shots on goal than the next closest player and was one of only six players league wide to record more than 200 shots during the 2023-24 campaign.
HASEN BACK AT THE HELM
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, enters the season with a 24-42 record with the expansion-era Knighthawks as well as a 105-117 record all-time over his 13 combined seasons in Rochester. He currently ranks fourth all-time in league history in games coached (222) and sixth in career coaching wins (105). Hasen needs just three more wins to surpass Troy Cordingley for fifth all-time.
PRAISE THE LLORD
For the fourth year in a row, Rochester made a significant splash during the offseason with the acquisition of several veteran players, most notably that of free agent Ian Llord, who brings a winning pedigree to a Knighthawks team that continues to make massive strides as an organization, both on the floor and off. Llord, who signed a one-year deal with Rochester, enters his 18th pro season in 2024-25 after spending the last four in Philadelphia. Since joining the NLL in 2007, Llord, who played parts of seven seasons with the previous Knighthawks franchise, has totaled 21 goals and 59 assists for 80 points over 249 career games between Philadelphia, Colorado, Rochester, and Buffalo while also adding 814 loose ball recoveries. The veteran defenseman has also appeared in 29 postseason contests, notching six points (0+6) and 63 loose balls. A native of St. Catharines, Ontario, Llord is a three-time NLL champion, winning his first with Buffalo in 2008 before helping the Knighthawks to back-to-back titles in 2013 and 2014 during Rochester’s unprecedented run of three straight championships. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound defenseman is also a six-time Mann Cup winner in Major Series Lacrosse, having won his first a rookie with the Brampton Excelsiors in 2007, his second in 2013 as a member of the Six Nations Chiefs followed by four straight titles with the Peterborough Lakers from 2017 to 2022 under Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. He would also add a Presidents Trophy that same year after leading the St. Catharines Saints to a Senior ‘B’ title in the Ontario Lacrosse Association. In 2003, he won a Minto Cup as a member of the Junior ‘A’ St. Catharines Athletics, helping the team to its second championship over a three-year span.
HOMECOMING FOR WILLIAMS
While it may be only the second visit to Rochester for the Desert Dogs franchise, it’s more like a homecoming for third-year head coach and general manager, Shawn Williams. One of the most prolific scorers in NLL history, Williams called Rochester home for a decade having spent 10 of his 17 pro seasons with the previous Knighthawks franchise from 2002 to 2011. During his time in Rochester, Williams was a six-time NLL All-Star and was named a First Team All-Pro selection following the 2004 season after finishing third in the league with a career-best 45 goals and ranking eighth in overall scoring with 81 points. He also topped the 90-point mark twice in a three-year span, beginning in 2007 when he led the Knighthawks to an NLL championship before closing out the 2009 campaign with 93 points. Williams, who appeared in all 16 games in each of his 10 seasons with the Knighthawks, finished his tenure in Rochester with 801 points on 309 goals and 492 assists in 160 career games. He also led the Knighthawks to eight playoff appearances over his 10-year stay in Rochester, including six straight between 2002 and 2007. Williams, who retired following a four-game stint with the Buffalo Bandits during the 2014 season, was inducted into the NLL Hall of Fame in 2021 as a first ballot nominee. As head coach of the Desert Dogs, Williams is 10-26 after posting a 5-13 record in back-to-back seasons. Williams’ son, Dyson , was the first overall pick in the 2023 NLL Entry Draft by the Albany FireWolves.
