The Rochester Knighthawks (1-3) nearly came back from a six-goal deficit in a wild back-and-forth affair with the Saskatchewan Rush (3-0) that quite literally came down to the final seconds, but ultimately came up short in a 14-12 loss Saturday at Segar & Sciortino Field at The Blue Cross Arena.
Ryan Lanchbury led the Knighthawks offense for the third straight week, producing a team-best seven points (3+4) while he and Ryan Smith (3+1) both notched a hat trick for Rochester, which has suffered three straight defeats after winning the season-opener.
Connor Fields (1+4), who topped all players with 13 loose balls and all Knighthawks with 11 shots on goal, Chad Tutton (0+2), Turner Evans (0+2) and Tyler Biles (0+2) all recorded multi-assists outings. Curtis Knight and Thomas McConvey both scored twice to go with an assist while Brad Gillies (1+1) and Taylor Jensen (0+1) completed the scoring.
Goaltender Riley Hutchcraft (1-3-0) earned his fourth straight start in the crease, stopping 32 of the 43 shots he faced while Kevin Orleman (0-0-0) made 11 saves in 14 minutes of relief. Both netminders earned an assist while Hutchcraft was dealt the defeat.
FIRST QUARTER
In the opening quarter, the two teams alternated goals with the Rush taking a 3-2 advantage through the first 15 minutes.
Saskatchewan, who opened and closed the scoring, got on the board with goals from Mike Triolo and Zach Manns, while Lanchbury and Smith sandwiched Brock Haley’s with 4:19 left.
Lanchbury netted Rochester’s first of the night as he cut to the center of the zone after Gillies and Hutchcraft teamed up to break the ball out of the defensive zone.
T-Mac with the SNIPE 🎯 of the century to give us the lead! pic.twitter.com/z20NYOzLNp
— Rochester Knighthawks (@RocKnighthawks) December 22, 2024
Smith evened the score at 2-2 with his first of the night from Evans and Fields while the Knighthawks were on the power-play at the 13:48 mark.
The Rush took a narrow one-goal lead into the second quarter as Manns beat Hutchcraft by stepping out of the right corner in the final 36 seconds.
SECOND QUARTER
Facing a 3-2 score to start the frame, the Knighthawks, who were outshot 17-11 in the first 15 minutes of play, flipped the deficit into a one-goal cushion at the 11:55 mark.
Knight, who returned to the lineup after sitting out Week 3, evened the contest at 3-3 as he buried a centering feed from Fields and Lanchbury less than a minute into the quarter.
Saskatchewan took its final lead of the first half as Manns netted his second of the contest in transition, but Rochester countered back with a pair of markers in 30 seconds from Lanchbury and McConvey.
THIRD QUARTER
After seeing their lead evaporate in the second quarter, the Rush used a five-goal run to start the third quarter, building a 9-5 lead in the first 5:32.
Manns factored on the first three Saskatchewan goals as he logged an assist on the first two tallies before completing the hat trick by cutting down the right side of zone with 10:44 left in the frame.
Fieldsy gets his first of the night and we have LIFT OFF! 🛫 pic.twitter.com/SWX47JUhsK
— Rochester Knighthawks (@RocKnighthawks) December 22, 2024
Josh Zawada inflated the Rush’s cushion to three as he was setup for his first career NLL goal by Austin Shanks before the duo flipped the roles nearly 90 seconds later.
The Knighthawks ended the run as Smith got a pass from Lanchbury and fired a shot from atop the zone. Despite the attempt going wide of the net, Fields gathered the rebound off the end boards and dunked into the net to complete the scoring in the quarter.
FOURTH QUARTER
Like the third quarter, Saskatchewan kicked off the final frame by using a multi-goal run to grab a 12-6 advantage with 12:30 left in regulation.
The two clubs traded goals 1:19 apart before the Knighthawks erupted for five unanswered tallies, making it a one-goal game with 4:55 to play.
Knight netted his second of the contest after Tutton and Orleman provided the helpers then Gillies knocked down a pass inside the Rochester zone before sprinting the length of the floor for a breakaway goal.
The offense kept coming for the home squad as Smith’s goals sandwiched McConvey’s long range conversion brought the Knighthawks within a pair. Smith capped his hat trick at the 10:05 mark.
THIS HAS BEEN A CERTIFIED RYAN SMITH MOMENT 🕺 pic.twitter.com/PdmEq7bgqk
— Rochester Knighthawks (@RocKnighthawks) December 22, 2024
Rochester pressed to send the game beyond regulation and nearly completed comeback in the final minute as they pulled its goaltender, but a shot glanced off the post.
As bodies tangled for the loose ball, Matt Hossack retrieved it and then scored into the vacant net, securing Saskatchewan its third straight win while subsequently handing Rochester it third consecutive defeat.
UP NEXT
The Knighthawks hit the road for the second time this season as they travel down the thruway to face the two-time defending NLL champion Buffalo Bandits on Saturday, Dec. 28 at KeyBank Center. The 6:30 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 as well as ESPN + and NLL+.
