(Rochester, NY)… The Rochester Knighthawks will head north of the border for the final time this regular season as they travel to Nova Scotia to take on the Halifax Thunderbirds. Opening faceoff is set for 6 p.m. EST at Scotiabank Centre.
Rochester enters the contest at 6-8, just outside of a playoff spot, following their 18-11 win over the Oshawa FireWolves. The Thunderbirds enter the contest at 6-9, coming off an 8-6 win over the Philadelphia Wings last weekend. The squads have faced off nine times since Rochester was established as an expansion franchise. Most recently, the Knighthawks secured a 10-9 win in Halifax on January 18, 2025.
Last Time Out
The Knighthawks were in Oshawa for a week 18 matchup with the FireWolves. It was a close affair through the first half; neither team allowed more than a one-goal lead, and Rochester went into the break up 6-5. Then the Knighthawks’ offense came to life in the third quarter. They ripped off a four-goal run in the third and a five-goal run in the fourth to bring home the 18-11 win. The fourth-quarter run was fueled by a 77-second natural hat trick from Thomas McConvey. Rochester outscored Oshawa 10-2 in the final 20 minutes of regulation.
Three of the first five Knighthawks’ goals came in transition. Taylor Jensen and Chad Tutton each scored their first goals of the season to give Rochester a 1-0 start to the game and a 5-4 lead with five minutes left in the first half.
Connor Fields (2+9) and Ryan Lanchbury (1+10) led the way. McConvey (6+2) notched his second career sock trick, and Ryan Smith (5+3) also notched eight points. The four horsemen combined for 38 points. Riley Hutchcraft got the start in net and made 40 saves to earn his first win of the season. The win was the first of Interim Head Coach Randy Mearns’ career from behind the bench. Defensive coordinator Bobby Keast also earned his first win with the team in his Knighthawks coaching debut.
Scouting the Thunderbirds
The Halifax Thunderbirds are also outside a playoff spot through Week 18. Their offense is led by Clarke Petterson, who has 77 points. He leads the team in goals (34) and assists (43). Randy Staats and Cody Jamieson are behind him. Staats is second on the team in assists with 33, while Jamieson is second on the team in goals with 20. Getting possession is never an issue for the Thunderbirds; they have the best faceoff specialist in the league in Jake Withers. He currently leads the NLL in loose-ball recoveries, faceoff wins, and is second in faceoff percentage behind Trevor Baptiste.
Defensively, the Thunderbirds have been a force all season, leading with their physicality and ability to drive the floor in transition. Ryan Terefenko has been the face of the Thunderbirds in between the restraining lines. He leads his defensive unit in points with four goals and 19 assists so far this season, to go with 117 loose-ball recoveries.
When it comes to defensive defensemen, Halifax boasts another player among the league’s best. Graeme Hossack has consistently been a defender that attackers avoid in the NLL. Despite that, he leads the Thunderbirds in caused turnovers with 20 and is third on the team in loose-ball recoveries with 107. In goal, Warren Hill has started all 15 games so far this season. He’s made 559 saves for 81 percent and a 10.37 goals-against average.
Next Game
Rochester will head down the I-90 for its next matchup as it takes on the Buffalo Bandits at KeyBank Center on Saturday, April 11. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m.
Milestone Watch
- Dan Coates is nine assists away from 100 in his career.
- Connor Fields will play in his 100th regular-season NLL game Saturday.
- Rylan Hartley is 67 saves away from 2,000 in his career.
- On Saturday, Ian Llord will hit 281 games played, passing Brodie Merrill for seventh all-time in NLL history.
- Thomas McConvey needs 10 points to reach the 200-career point plateau.
- Blaze Riorden is seven assists away from 200 in his career.
- Ryan Smith is three goals shy of 200 in his NLL career.
- Jeremy Thompson can reach the 2,000-career loose ball mark with nine more, which would be fifth all-time.
- Zed Williams needs 12 loose-ball recoveries to hit 500 in his career.

