(Rochester, NY)… The Rochester Knighthawks fell 11-10 to the Toronto Rock on Saturday night at Segar & Sciortino Field at The Blue Cross Arena.
It was a fourth-quarter push from the Rock that gave them their first lead of the night, and they were able to hold on to pull out the one-goal win.
It was a physical affair throughout, despite only 14 penalty minutes on both teams. It was clear from the start of the game that it would come down to the final minutes.
“I think we’re at a stage where moral victories don’t really matter anymore,” said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. “To us, to this group, tonight was disappointing on our end. I can say the one good thing was Rylan Hartley. He was really good for us.”
Connor Fields led the Knighthawks with four goals and three assists. Ryan Lanchbury (2+3), Ryan Smith (1+4), and Kyle Waters (0+5) each posted five. Hartley played the full 60 minutes and made 35 saves between the pipes.
It took a feeling-out process by both teams to start rolling in the Week 8 matchup. Rochester scored the only goal of the first quarter, as Thomas McConvey found himself open up top and took a low-to-low rip that broke the seal of the game two and a half minutes in.
Fields put the game into gear in the second. He scored a hat trick in the first nine minutes and, after his last tally, gave Rochester a 5-1 lead. They were all from the top of the key, finding long shots through the defense and Nick Rose.
It reverted to slow physical play after that, and in the final minute of the half, the Knighthawks went down a man due but still connected for a goal. Smith drove to the crease shorthanded and caught a feed from Zed Williams. Traveling to his weak side of the floor, he flung a shot over the head of Rose and gave Rochester a four-goal lead to take into the half.
Toronto made it a game in the third as Nick Rose left with an injury and Troy Holowchuk entered the Rock crease. They outscored Rochester 3-1 and made it a two-goal game on tallies from Dan Craig, Mark Matthews, and Owen Hiltz. All driving to the inside to find shooting opportunities.
Chris Boushy scored the first goal of the fourth. Five minutes later, it was Toronto’s transition game that started a three-goal run to take its first lead of the night. Fields and Lanchbury each converted chances from the outside against Holowchuk with just over five minutes left. They took back a one-goal lead, but the Rock saw their opportunity for the win late and took it with a broken-play goal from Hiltz to tie it. Mark Matthews then scored the game-winner with 58 seconds left.
Next week, Rochester (4-2) takes a break during a bye before heading back home to take on the Vancouver Warriors on Saturday, Jan. 31, with the opening faceoff set for 7 p.m. at The Blue Cross Arena.