On Saturday, April 13, the Rochester Knighthawks will play a massively important contest, staring up at a 13-3 Toronto Rock team with their playoff aspirations likely on the line.
It’s the biggest game of the season to date for the ‘Hawks on the floor, but for Craig Rybczynski, it may be the biggest game of his career altogether.
Rybczynski, who first called a Knighthawks game in November of 2001, is set to broadcast his 400th career game for a Rochester lacrosse franchise.
“It’s something that I’ve looked forward to for a long time,” said Rybczynski. “I just kept counting down and finally, for it to be here, it’s really exciting. My wife and kids are coming to the game. My parents are coming from Buffalo. Then afterwards, to be able to celebrate with the people that have really supported me is going to be a really cool moment.”
Fondly referred to as Ripper, the Hamburg, New York, native grew up listening to the smooth tones of Rick Jeanneret, the iconic voice of the Sabres. Being near the border also meant Rybczynski would be exposed to Hockey Night in Canada, where he’d be introduced to the personalities of Bob Cole and Harry Neale. That’s how Rybczynski got the broadcasting bug.
“I used to turn the sound down on the TV and do my own play-by-play. Even when I would play table hockey or video games, I would do the play-by-play. It was just something I thought was really neat and cool.”
Rybczynski’s broadcasting passion continued through high school, eventually leading him to Mercyhurst University, where he would earn a bachelor’s degree. Rybczynski would further his education at Syracuse University, earning his master’s in 1996.
Fast forward three years later and Rybczynski found himself walking into a recently fully renovated Blue Cross Arena in 1999 to begin his new job as communications coordinator for the Rochester Americans and Knighthawks.
To this point, Rybczynski still fancied himself a ‘hockey guy,’ being far more familiar with stick on puck rather than ball in stick.
“Not really,” said Rybczynski when asked if he had a lacrosse background. “My first introduction to lacrosse came because I had a couple cousins that ended up playing college lacrosse in Buffalo. We would mess around and play pickup lacrosse in the street. My one cousin played at Orchard Park, in Buffalo, which was a big powerhouse back then, but I had really only picked up a stick. I wasn’t good, but when I went to Mercyhurst as the assistant sports information director for two years before coming to Rochester, lacrosse was one of the sports that I was in charge of. So, we were Division I then, and a lot of the guys are from Canada, and a lot of them had played box lacrosse.”
Lacrosse wasn’t the sport that jumped out to Rybczynski at first, but he quickly learned that working for the Knighthawks presented the greatest opportunity for his career growth at the time.
“I worked under Steve Rossi at the time, and I worked with Jody Gage and Don Stevens, and I remember Steve had kind of given me some freedom and flexibility. He welcomed me to kind of make the Knighthawks your own. He oversaw the communications, but really from a Knighthawks standpoint, he kind of let me be creative, so I really dove headfirst into lacrosse and said, you know, this is probably something that I can really kind of stake my claim to. I can have fun with it. It’s something totally different. I quickly saw that this sport is really kind of underserved. The guys are great to work with and there’s so many cool markets we were in and sold-out buildings. It just kind of blew me away.”
Fast forward to November 2001 and a nervous Rybczynski would get to broadcast his first NLL game as the Knighthawks played host to Albany. That was game one on the road to 400, with none missed in-between. Over that time, Ripper has become a husband, and a father, yet through that, along with the yearly grind of battling illness, bus rides, flights, and more, the voice of the Knighthawks has never missed a game. He is also one of just three current NLL broadcasters that calls the action both at home and on the road.
“Some teams don’t send people on the road, and that’s fine. They just do home TV, but I think you really feel like you’re 100% all in if you’re traveling and you’re kind of going through the same grind and the same travel that they (the players) are and eating the same meals and kind of experience the same, you know, challenges that go on the road in the National Lacrosse League. I don’t think I would be able to do that good of a job if I did a game, then had two road games and I wasn’t there, then three weeks later I call the next home game.”
Value is another asset in Rybczynski’s toolbox, especially when it comes to travel. That’s because in addition to broadcaster, he resides over the team now as its lacrosse operations manager, booking flights, coordinating meals, and a slew of other miscellaneous items that involve helping the team and its players and staff.
“As a player, I wanted him to leave me alone,” said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen while smirking. “Our relationship has developed over the years. On this side of things, you realize that Ripper will do anything for the players and the Knighthawks organization. He is second to none in my estimation.”
Rybczynski is publicly visible on any given broadcast from about 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. or so, but the veteran play-by-play man puts far more hours into what gets seen on TV or heard over the radio. Rybczynski estimates roughly 10-12 hours to be accounted for in preparation throughout the week leading up to the game. This includes making spotting boards for each team, breaking down their statistical and biographic information into cheat sheets that act as an open book exam come the night of a broadcast, along with multiple coach and player interviews from both sides leading up to the game.
“He’s the voice of us,” said Hasen. “He’s the one person I can sit and watch a game and listen to. He does his homework. He’s not just talking about us; he’s talking about everybody on the opposite side as well. He does such a good job calling the game.”
The preparation process has been tweaked over the years some, but the formulaic approach has led to Rybczynski being on the headset for 399 Rochester Knighthawks games. Some good, some bad, some memorable, and others forgetful. That’s the life of a broadcaster who wears the emotions of his team on the heart of his sleeve and is tasked with verbally illustrating them over two decades.
While he hopes for many more great calls, he does have a favorite that sticks out.
“I think it was the East Division championship game in 2007 when we rallied in the fourth quarter and John Grant, Jr. scored the overtime game-winner. You can find that. I think it was on the B2 networks. It’s crazy. The place was sold out. We had the best record in the league at that point. That’s one of my favorite calls.”
Rybczynski, now in his 25th year with Rochester, admits that he doesn’t know if there’s another 25 years in front of him. Between he and Amerks Hall of Fame voice Don Stevens, Rochester’s hockey and lacrosse fanbases have been spoiled over the years, with the two combining for over 60 seasons worth of epic calls belted out over the airwaves.
Rochester has become the forever home for Rybczynski and his family, but it’s not something he thought would be the case 25 years ago when first walking through the office doors in 1999.
“I had a couple of opportunities and, I’d be lying if I said you don’t look every once in a while, especially when you’re younger. I would think, maybe I’ll be here a couple of years. I know Don has told his story a bunch of times that he was only going to be here three years. I didn’t really have a timetable. There were a couple jobs that I was a finalist for, but as time went on and I got married and had two kids, things changed.”
“You really fall in love with this place. I stopped looking a long time ago, so it’s just some place that I really love. When I got here, I was in my mid 20’s. I’ve lived in Rochester now for going on 25 years. I probably would say I didn’t think I would have been here in 25 years, because it’s really hard to forecast that, but I’m happy.”
Rybczynski credits Don Stevens often, referring to him as a mentor who guided him in his earlier years. Don was involved in the hiring process that brought him to Rochester in the first place. There is a level of eternal gratitude that Ripper holds for that reason alone.
Through all the years, the ups and downs of multiple ownership changes, winning and losing seasons, Ripper still loves what he does. You can feel it in his voice with his classic “HE SCOREEEEES” ringing through ‘Hawks broadcasts.
“It’s one of the best things I do when I come to the building is to get ready for a broadcast. It’s something unique and different than just working for a pro sports team.”
“Craig has been a staple of Knighthawks lacrosse,” said Rochester Americans and Knighthawks Interim Vice President of Business Operations, Chad Buck. “Reaching the milestone of calling 400 NLL games is truly a remarkable accomplishment. His distinct and iconic calls have been synonymous with some of the most unforgettable moments in team history. Craig’s impact on the organization, as well as the Rochester community, is immeasurable. His dedication to his craft, the sport of lacrosse, and the region has helped build lasting memories for our fans and the community through each and every game he calls. We look forward to many more years and many more memories with Ripper on the call.”
“How can you not be happy when you get to go up and call a game,” said Rybczynski.
How indeed.
