The Rochester Knighthawks will face the intrastate rival Buffalo Bandits in the single-elimination Quarterfinals of the 2023 National Lacrosse League Playoffs, which are scheduled to get underway the weekend of May 5.
The opening round, winner-take-all matchup against the top-seeded Bandits, who repeated as Eastern Conference champions, is set for Saturday, May 6 at 7 p.m. at KeyBank Center in Buffalo and will be carried live on ESPNU, ESPN+ and TSN+. The contest can also be heard on Big 107.3 FM.
The Knighthawks, who are making their franchise debut in the postseason, finished fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 10-8 regular-season record, including a 6-3 mark at home. Rochester clinched its first playoff berth by way of a 12-10 home win over the Georgia Swarm on April 22.
The winner of next Saturday’s contest will move on to face the winner of the Toronto Rock and Halifax Thunderbirds in the best-of-three Eastern Conference Finals, with Games 1 and 2 series scheduled for May 11-14. If necessary, a deciding Game 3 will be held between May 18-21.