(Rochester, NY)… The Rochester Knighthawks fell 14-7 to the Calgary Roughnecks on Sunday afternoon.
The Roughnecks came out with a vengeance in the first quarter following a Jeremy Thompson scoop and score fast break. After that, they went on a seven-goal run that carried into the second quarter and never looked back.
“They came out and punched us in the face, we tried to punch back, but sometimes it’s just a little too late.” said Knighthawks transition man Ryland Rees.
Rochester found a fighting spirit in the third, but the three-goal run wasn’t enough to stop Calgary.
The Knighthawks’ offense was led by Thomas McConvey with a goal and three assists. Ryan Smith had a hat trick while Ryan Lanchbury and Connor Fields each notched a goal and two assists. Rylan Hartley ended the game with 35 saves in 47 minutes of play. Riley Hutchcraft played the other 13 and made seven stops.
“No, I just don’t think we executed our game plan,” Smith said when asked if the Calgary defense appeared different than on film. “And that’s on no one but the players. It’s not on the coaches, it’s up to the players to execute, the coaches can’t be out there and execute for us.”
The Knighthawks scored the first goal of the game only four minutes in, but it was in transition, not from set offense. Thompson saw the ball squeak out of Calgary’s possession, and it took a Knighthawks bounce deep into the Calgary half. Thompson ran up the floor untouched and gave himself all the time in the world to bury past Aden Walsh. From there, Calgary hit the gas. Brayden Mayea put away a hat trick as three of the seven Roughnecks goals, and they put them in from inside and outside.
Lanchbury and Fields both found outside goals to put the Knighthawks forwards on the board, but the response was another goal to close out the first half 9-3. Smith led the biggest drive in the game for Rochester. He scored twice, and McConvey buried right after him for a three-goal run in two minutes.
You gotta give them (Calgary) credit,” Hasen said. “They came out flying, they had a sense of purpose that we weren’t able to get to here tonight, especially early. Coming out in the second half, I thought we did a better job finding that energy and getting going. We gotta find a way in games like these to find that energy.”
The Knighthawks will try to get back in the win column next week as they head to Las Vegas to take on the Desert Dogs at 6 p.m. EST on Sunday, March 15, at Lee’s Family Forum.