A second-half surge wasn’t enough to power the Rochester Knighthawks (3-10) back from a seven-goal deficit against the Philadelphia Wings (6-7), who survived the late push and held on for a 12-8 win in the season series finale between the two teams Saturday at Segar & Sciortino Field at The Blue Cross Arena.
| SCORING SUMMARY | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | FINAL |
| Philadelphia | 5 | 4 | 0 | 3 | — | 12 |
| Rochester | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | — | 8 |
Rochester’s offensive efforts were led by forwards Ryan Smith (2+0) and Thomas Hoggarth (2+0) both contributing two goals, while forward Curtis Knight (1+3) finished with a team-high four points. Turner Evans (1+2) had a three-point night with one goal and two assists, while Charlie Bertrand (1+0) and John Wagner (1+0) both notched a goal apiece.
Goaltender Joel Watson (0-3) made his third straight start in the crease for Rochester, making 39 saves while also adding an assist on the night for his first NLL point. Additionally, newcomer Lukas Coote made his Rochester debut at the end of the contest, seeing 1:59 in the net and facing one shot.
WATCH: GAME HIGHLIGHTS
Philadelphia forward Corey Small (6+2) was the force behind the Wings offense with his six goals, including three on the power-play and one on a penalty shot. Forwards Ben McIntosh (3+1) and Blaze Riorden (2+2) posted four-point efforts, while forward Kevin Crowley (0+5) added five helpers. Newcomer Kyle Jackson (1+5) had a six-point night with a goal and five assists in his Philadelphia debut.
Netminder Zach Higgins (4-6) pushed his season win total to four while making 48 saves in his 12th start of the 2021-22 campaign.
Another Ryan Smith beauty 🤩 pic.twitter.com/KPmTXeLHpc
— Rochester Knighthawks (@RocKnighthawks) March 27, 2022
Tempers flared early in the contest with Rochester’s Tyler Biles confronting McIntosh just 18 seconds following the opening face-off, presumably stemming from an incident in the previous meeting between the two teams back in January. McIntosh chose not to engage Biles, resulting in the latter receiving a five-minute major as well as a game misconduct for being the aggressor.
As a result, the Knighthawks afforded the Wings an extended power-play opportunity and they would capitalize, scoring three times on the man-advantage in less than a minute to storm out to an early 3-0 lead.
Smalls opened the scoring on the ensuing possession just 11 seconds following the altercation, bouncing a close-range shot from the slot past Watson from Jackson, a former Knighthawks in the previous organization who was acquired by the Wings on Friday, and Riorden.
McIntosh picked the upper corner 30 seconds later and Riorden’s first of the night staked Philadelphia to a 3-0 advantage at the 1:26 mark.
Rochester, however, closed the gap with back-to-back tallies of its own 36 seconds apart to cut into the deficit. Knight found a streaking Smith with 5:04 remaining for the rookie’s 23rd goal of the season and Wagner capitalized in transition after scooping up a loose ball in front of Higgins and promptly beating the Philadelphia netminder for his second of the year to make it a 3-2 game.
Thomas Hoggarth finishes off another rebound. pic.twitter.com/i7ReQ7At04
— Rochester Knighthawks (@RocKnighthawks) March 27, 2022
As close as the Knighthawks came, though, Philadelphia added two more prior to the expiration of the first quarter to spark a six-goal run that would carry over into the second, including three from Small over that span, to take a commanding a 9-2 lead and ultimately put the game out of reach.
Jackson added his first as a Wing midway through the frame and Riorden’s second of the contest with 1:30 remaining gave Philadelphia its largest lead of the night entering the half.
Entering the third quarter down 9-2, the Knighthawks found the back of the net 1:53 into the frame for their first of back-to-back tallies.
Bertrand swerved his way around a Wings defenseman to get himself at the center of the offensive zone. With a shuffle forward, Bertrand wound up and ripped a laser through traffic for his 11th marker of the season.
After another 8:20 passed by, Hoggarth was the next to strike for the Knighthawks. Mike Burke would send the initial shot towards the crease in which the ball bounced off the right post. Hoggarth, stationed atop the crease, corralled the rebound and converted on the put-back for Rochester’s fourth of the evening.
Thomas Hoggarth finishes off another rebound. pic.twitter.com/i7ReQ7At04
— Rochester Knighthawks (@RocKnighthawks) March 27, 2022
Despite being held scoreless in the second, the Knighthawks held the Wings silent in the third to head into the final quarter down 9-4.
Much like he did in the second, Small opened the scoring in the fourth to put Philadelphia ahead 10-4, but the Knighthawks would rattle off four straight goals, including back-to-back power-play tallies to pull within a pair.
Knight knocked in his 15th goal on the year at the 4:33 mark before Evans contributed to the scoresheet less than a minute later. Rochester rounded out the scoring with power-play goals from Smith and Cattoni.
Rochester finished the night going two for three on the man-advantage, while Smith’s power-play marker was his sixth of the season, tying for most among NLL rookies while also matching the single-season franchise record.
Philadelphia then went on to hold Rochester silent for the final 5:40 of play, while finding the back of the net twice more. The Wings would seal the 12-8 win on a successful penalty shot attempt from Small.
Rochester heads north of the border again for the second time in three weeks on Friday, April 1 to take on the Halifax Thunderbirds at Scotiabank Centre. The Eastern Conference showdown gets underway at 6:00 p.m. ET and will be carried live on The Bull 107.3 FM as well as ESPN+. Fans can stay up to date all season long with the latest news, stories and notes at www.rochesterknighthawks.com.
