The Empire State and National Lacrosse League have gotten used to one another this time of year.
For a third straight spring, the NLL Finals will have games played in the state of New York. The Rochester Knighthawks hope to make it a fourth year come 2026, though they hope to have the hardware bypass Buffalo on its way down the thruway to Rochester.
“I think everyone in this town kind of doesn’t like Buffalo,” said rookie defensemen Jake Piseno. “They’re a great team and they’ve been doing it consistently for the past few years, so it’s kind of just finding that way to get on their level. You can’t really say that you are better than them until you end up on top. It’s kind of just continuing to play our game and get to that type of level that they’re playing at.”
And for a period of time, the Knighthawks looked like they were reaching that level of play. After an up-and-down first half, Rochester ran down the stretch to the tune of tying a franchise-best six-game win streak, culminating in a 10-8 regular season finish to clinch a playoff berth for a third straight season. The challenge is no longer making the playoffs; it’s winning in the playoffs.
“We have got to learn that, especially in playoffs and that first round, we don’t have a week to regroup,” said head coach Mike Hasen, who earlier in the year climbed to fifth all-time in wins by an NLL head coach and was named a finalist for the Les Bartley award as Coach of the Year for the second time in three years. “In Vancouver, we were a little bit off. It’s a lesson that hopefully we all move forward with. When it’s that one-and-done game, you have to be your best that night. It’s something that we talk about and try to prepare for it. But we started slow and came back and competed for the rest of the game. But you shoot yourself in the foot early. It’s really hard to come back at this time of year and there is no time to regroup.”
Rochester fell behind early in the game and its best quarter turned out to be its last, but a 15-10 loss to Vancouver marked the third straight season the Knighthawks fell in the first round. It was Buffalo in 2023, Toronto in 2024, and Vancouver last month.
Three different opponents. Three first-round losses. Three words describing the reason for each loss: need for consistency.
“We’ve got to remain consistent in what we are and we have to execute to what our potential is,” said Hasen. “We’ve just got to believe in ourselves and execute to our level at the end of the day. Continually, there’s little things through the last half of the season that made us really successful. We’ve got to continue to do that each and every shift.”
The Knighthawks finished the same way they did the previous two seasons via their first-round exit, but this team did not play or look quite the same.
“As a team, I thought we improved,” said Knighthawks captain Dan Coates. “I just felt like we were there. We were playing some great lacrosse towards the end of the season. And we saw individually some guys take some big steps in their own play. As for my four years here, it seems like that was the best team I’ve been on. It’s encouraging.”
Connor Fields posted 122 points (46+76), becoming the first American-born player to reach 100 points for a third consecutive season, earning him consideration for this year’s NLL’s Offensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player honors.
Ryan Lanchbury, whom the ‘Hawks acquired from Georgia a year prior, was third in the league with a remarkable 89 assists.
His childhood best friend, Ryan Smith, was tied for second in the NLL with 49 goals.
Behind the top trio came secondary scoring from guys like Thomas McConvey, who broke well past his rookie season with 18 goals and 76 points.
“I definitely felt a lot more comfortable out there,” said McConvey. “First year there was so many new things to learn, so you’re kind of drinking from a firehose almost; what the new system looks like and learning the travel and the week-by-week kind of grind that it takes. I knew about it coming into this year and I felt more comfortable with how the season was progressing. I think I took a step forward individually.”
The leap forward from individual performances benefitted the collective of the team. Going 6-1 down the stretch of the season proved there is a model of consistency that can be implemented on a weekly basis for the Knighthawks.
“I think the first half of the year and the second half of the year was like going through two different seasons as a team,” said McConvey. “I think the second half we kind of found a groove and that’s where we found our complete consistency. I think the first half was still kind of inconsistent and that kind of showed in the results. Then once we kind of found our identity, I guess we’d say both offensively and defensively, we really hit our stride in the second half. And that’s something that we can kind of take. Now we’ve got to do that for a full 18 games and that way you can kind of get that better seeding in the playoffs and not have to travel across the country in the playoffs.”
Despite tying their franchise-best finish with a 10-8 mark, the ‘Hawks, since returning under a new regime in 2018, have yet to host a playoff game at Segar and Sciortino Field at The Blue Cross Arena.
Ending a season anything less than being champions of your league is always a disappointment. From opening week, the season is a process, but there is a process behind the process. A blueprint made each offseason with sometimes one or multiple years ahead in mind.
“I think what I’ve learned in this job over the years is patience,” said Knighthawks general manager Dan Carey. “There are times where making decisions based on your roster because of performance isn’t the best decision to make. Sometimes you have to let things play out. We’ve got a young group still and we’ve been saying that for a while. I think it says a lot about how we believed in this group and what we feel about them and the experience. Thinking about it over the last week, it’s not as cyclical as it may seem because it’s not a start and end. These guys have to always be thinking about putting in the work.”
“I still think there’s more for us to give. And I think sometimes going through those heartaches and those tough times because some of that heartache is good. It’s an important thing. It’s something that you need to learn and overcome things.”
Carey and Hasen believe in the team they’ve fielded and coached. Moves always can (and likely will) happen, but the general consensus from this season’s year-end media availability is that the group of current Knighthawks are trusting the process. Believing in themselves and their teammates to reach a higher ceiling. The path placed in front of them isn’t just days old, it’s been years in the making for this group to rise to the top.
The process is far from over. It never ends. The most recent step was taken and it was in the right direction.
Rochester took a step this year. They now try to leap in 2025-26.
