The Rochester Knighthawks (9-6) erased a four-goal deficit in the fourth quarter to force overtime on Sunday night at Wells Fargo Center but it was the Philadelphia Wings (7-8) who prevailed with the 14-13 victory.
The overtime loss was Rochester’s second of the season to the Wings after Philadelphia earned a 9-8 back win on Mar. 19 in the Flower City. The loss was the Knighthawks’ third straight and fourth in the last five games.
Connor Fields (4+2), Holden Cattoni (2+4) and Ryan Smith (3+3) all finished with six-point nights, including another four-goal effort from Fields, who’s within seven points of reaching the 100-point mark for the first time in his pro career. He also tallied his 14th consecutive multi-goal game and has recorded at least one point in 44 of his 46 games of his NLL career, dating back to his rookie season in 2019-20.
Smith notched his sixth hat trick of the season.
Turner Evans (0+4) recorded a multi-assist game, his eighth of the season, while Parker Pipher (1+2) and Austin Hasen (1+2) each had three points. Ryland Rees (1+1), Curtis Knight (0+2), Matt Gilray (1+0) and Matthew Bennett (0+1) rounded out the scoring.
Knighthawks netminder Rylan Hartley (9-6) made his 15th consecutive start between the pipes, stopping 38 shots in the defeat.
Philadelphia’s leading point-getters Mitch Jones (2+5) and Joe Resetarits (4+3) combined for 14 points and 18 shots on goal to help the team to a win in its final home game of the regular season. Taite Cattoni (3+2), Blaze Riorden (1+2), Ben McIntosh (2+1) and Sam LeClair (0+2) all produced a multi-point effort for the Wings. Chad Tutton and Isaiah Davis-Allen both scored while Liam Byrnes and Ian Llord each collected an assist.
Despite the OT loss, Connor Fields showed UP tonight.
🥍 4 Goals
🥍 2 Assists
🥍 14 Shots on GoalWatch his highlights: pic.twitter.com/yWwYswwwCA
— NLL (@NLL) April 3, 2023
Goaltender Zach Higgins improved to 7-6 on the season as he stopped 43 shots to earn the win.
Facing a 12-8 deficit just 22 seconds into the fourth quarter, the Knighthawks won the ensuing face-off following a Philadelphia goal and quickly cut into the deficit.
With the ball in transition, Tyler Halls began a series of tic-tac-toe passes with Bennett before Holden Cattoni finished off the play to complete his three-goal outing.
Connor Fields really is on another level. pic.twitter.com/vHlPtTxqIY
— Rochester Knighthawks (@RocKnighthawks) April 3, 2023
The goal ignited a five-goal run by Rochester, which was the longest of the night between the two clubs.
Three minutes after Holden Cattoni’s marker, Hasen helped bring the Knighthawks to within one as he used a pass from Cattoni and a screen by Smith before sending a laser into the back of the net.
Less than 50 seconds later, Rochester tied the score at 12 with Fields’ fourth of the night from Knight and Smith.
Matt Gilray with the sweet dunk from behind the net! pic.twitter.com/uusi7W3MeO
— Rochester Knighthawks (@RocKnighthawks) April 2, 2023
As the game remained even, the two clubs exchanged several chances to grab the lead, but before the overtime period, Smith and Taite Cattoni tallied goals 14 seconds apart.
In the sudden death frame, each team had a pair of possessions to earn the win but on the Wings’ third, Resetarits received Jones’ pass to the left of Hartley. Despite heavy pressure from Bennett, Resetarits used a brief screen before snapping a shot over the right shoulder of the Rochester netminder to finish off the win 3:45 into overtime.
During the first half of matchup, the two teams went goal for goal and Philadelphia took a narrow 8-7 lead into the locker rooms despite being outshot 19-14.
Turner Evans 🔀 Holden Cattoni pic.twitter.com/1ZtzC1BjBP
— Rochester Knighthawks (@RocKnighthawks) April 2, 2023
After being held without a goal in the opening 30 minutes of play, Jones kicked off the scoring in the third quarter less than two minutes apart.
As the third quarter was nearing its end, Pipher received Smith’s pass as he reached the front of Higgins’ goal crease. The rookie, who made his NLL debut last week, circled the crease and fired a quick shot. The ball pinballed its way off Higgins and a Wings’ defender before trickling across the line, making it a 10-8 score with 3:28 remaining.
Philadelphia countered back with a pair before Rochester went on its five-goal run to grab a 13-12 lead, but Taite Cattoni evened the score to send the tilt into the overtime period.
Turner Evans 🔀 Holden Cattoni pic.twitter.com/1ZtzC1BjBP
— Rochester Knighthawks (@RocKnighthawks) April 2, 2023
Resetarits sealed the win in the extra frame after Higgins had a pair of grade-A stops, which also included a point-blank save of Smith in the final seconds of regulation.
The Knighthawks begin a three-game homestand to close out the remainder of the regular season on Saturday, April 8 when they host the intrastate rival Albany FireWolves at Segar & Sciortino Field at The Blue Cross Arena. The 7:00 p.m. contest will be the second and final meeting between the two teams this season and will be carried live on Big 107.3 FM as well as ESPN+.
