(Rochester, NY)… The Rochester Knighthawks and Ottawa Black Bears are set for a Valentine’s Day date at Segar & Sciortino Field at The Blue Cross Arena. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 14. The first 1,000 fans will receive an NLL sticker book, courtesy of TFL Sports.
It is the first meeting between the two teams this season as the league’s points leader, Jeff Teat, and the league’s points per game leader, Connor Fields, go head-to-head.
Rochester comes home after their second-half comeback fell short in Vancouver last week, 16-15. They will now look to end a three-game losing streak. Ottawa comes in after defeating Calgary, 11-9. Calgary led 9-8 with eight minutes left to play, but the Black Bears strung together a three-goal run to finish it off with their fifth win of the season.
SCOUTING THE KNIGHTHAWKS
The Knighthawks fell on the road last week to Vancouver, but it was a much different game than their first matchup of the season. Rochester won in every stat category except the scoreboard. They had more shots, more loose-ball recoveries, and more faceoff wins than the Warriors, but ultimately the 13-7 hole at halftime was too big for the Knighthawks to overcome.
The Knighthawks came out firing in the third and showed an ability to flip the game on its head. They scored the first two goals of the second half and outscored Vancouver 5-1 in the final quarter, but couldn’t find the final goal to take it to overtime. Fields led the Knighthawks with five goals and five assists, while Ryan Lanchbury led the team in assists with seven.
SOARING ‘HAWKS
The Knighthawks are one of only two teams with four players in the Top 25 in scoring through Week 11 of the NLL season. Connor Fields, Ryan Lanchbury, Ryan Smith, and Thomas McConvey all rank in the Top 25 with over 30 points. Fields ranks fourth in the league with 58 points; his 7.5 points per game is the highest in the league of any player who’s been in every game for their team this season. Lanchbury is tied for seventh in points and tied fourth in assists. Smith and McConvey each have 37 points, which tie them for 24th in the league.
They not only put the ball in the net, but also create possessions for their team through loose-ball recoveries. Between the Knighthawks’ top five forwards, they have scooped up 205 loose balls in eight games, averaging almost 26 per game.
SCOUTING THE BLACK BEARS
The Black Bears head to Rochester at 5-5, having played the most games in the NLL this season. They are led in points by one of the world’s best, Jeff Teat. Teat (28+45) leads the league in points with 73, while Rob Hellyer (20+38) and Reilly O’Connor (13+35) round out Ottawa’s scoring leaders. In goal, Zach Higgins has played almost 600 minutes in between the pipes and leads the NLL in that category. His 361 saves are third in the league. Higgins has posted a .760 save percentage so far this season and is averaging 11.78 goals-against per game.
Defensively, Callum Jones is a force to be reckoned with this season. His 90 loose-ball recoveries are the most by any non-faceoff specialist this season, and he leads the league in caused turnovers with five more than any other player in the league. As a team, Ottawa has the most goals scored (115) and the most goals scored against (120) in the entire league.
MILESTONES
- Jeremy Thompson collected his 2,600th faceoff win to open the fourth quarter in Vancouver last week. He is only the second player in league history to reach that number.
- Ryan Lanchbury notched his 200th career assist, feeding Ryan Smith at the end of the third quarter in Vancouver last week.
- Brad Gillies needs three more loose-ball recoveries to reach 500.
- Matt Gilray is three points away from 100 in his career.
- Next time Ian Llord takes the floor, he will pass Derek Suddons for eighth all-time in NLL games played (275).
- Connor Fields is four assists away from 300 in his career.
NEXT GAME
After a bye week, the Knighthawks remain home to take on the top-seeded Saskatchewan Rush on Saturday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m. at Segar & Sciortino Field.