(Rochester, NY)… The Rochester Knighthawks dropped an 18-13 decision to the Colorado Mammoth Saturday night at Ball Arena. Rochester now sits tied for third place with a 2-1 record, while Colorado improves to 2-2.
The Knighthawks opened the contest with a 5-4 lead after 15 minutes, but Colorado broke the game open with a seven-goal run in the second quarter. Rochester chipped away at the lead and pulled within two with just over eight minutes to play, but couldn’t complete the comeback.
Rochester was led offensively by Connor Fields, who netted two goals and six assists. Ryan Lanchbury led the team in goals (four) and added three assists. Thomas McConvey was at the forefront of the comeback attempt, scoring a second-half hat trick to go with three first-half assists. In goal, Rylan Hartley ended the game with 28:11 minutes played and 13 saves. Riley Hutchcraft finished with 31:46 minutes played and 12 saves.
Colorado was powered by a power-play that converted on all four chances. Will Malcolm led the Mammoth with nine points (4+5), and Dillon Ward made 43 saves to earn the win.
Rochester opened the game with a one-goal lead after one quarter, fueled by special teams. Four of the first five Knighthawks’ goals came on the power play. After opening the game with a Ryan Smith power-play tally, Colorado scored four straight to take a 4-1 lead, but it was quickly answered by the Knighthawks with Fields and Lanchbury each scoring two goals to take a 5-4 lead into the first-quarter break.
The first goal of the Rochester three-goal run was a quick-stick masterpiece between McConvey, Smith, and Fields. The ball just kept getting faster before Fields hammered the ball home on the lower left side.
The second quarter, however, belonged to the Mammoth as they went on a seven-goal run to pull ahead 11-5. Much of it was fueled by the newest Mammoth forward, Jack Hannah, who had two goals and six assists. The Knighthawks scored once more before halftime, with Lanchbury finishing his first-half hat trick off a feed from Fields.
The third quarter was one of Rochester’s best, outscoring Colorado 3-1 to make it 12-9. McConvey scored twice; the first in close off his own rebound with Ward sprawled out in his goal, and the second from the outside through a screen. Lanchbury also tallied his fourth of the contest at 12:24 of the third.
Colorado opened the fourth by extending its lead to five with a pair of goals. But the Knighthawks refused to quit, starting with a goal by Jake Piseno in transition. Smith and Zed Williams each added tallies to make it 14-12 with 8:01 left to play. But Colorado held on, as Thomas Vela extended the lead again. From there, the Mammoth scored three empty netters to ice the game.
The Knighthawks will continue their road trip as they head to Philadelphia for a rematch with the Wings on Friday, Jan. 9. Faceoff set for 7 p.m. EST. They will have a quick turnaround after that, heading home to play the Buffalo Bandits Saturday night.