(Rochester, NY)… The Rochester Knighthawks fell 15-10 to the Halifax Thunderbirds on Saturday night at ScotiaBank Centre. Halifax broke open a 6-5 game, scoring five straight goals to pull ahead by six before halftime. The Thunderbirds’ first-half scoring was bolstered by three power-play goals.
The Knighthawks were led by Connor Fields with a goal and five assists. Ryan Lanchbury (2+3) was just behind him with a five-point night, while Ryan Smith and Thomas McConvey tallied two goals and two assists each. Riley Hutchcraft got the start and made 22 saves on 32 shots before he was relieved by Rylan Hartley. He made 19 saves on 23 shots for an .826 save percentage.
A pair of Knighthawks reached games played milestones. Fields played in his 100th regular-season NLL game, while Ian Llord hit 281 games played, passing Brodie Merrill for seventh all-time in NLL history.
Things started well for Rochester as Smith opened the scoring 1:44 into the contest, with a shot to the far pipe. After a pair of Thunderbirds’ goals, McConvey notched a power-play tally off a no-look feed from Lanchbury to tie the contest at two with just over five to play in the first quarter. Halifax responded with a 2-0 run to take a 4-2 lead with 2:33 to play in the opening stanza. But Rochester wasn’t done. Lanchbury scored off a pretty feed from Fields with 38.7 to play in the first to get Rochester within one at 4-3.
Riorden then tied the game just 33 seconds into the second with a high shot from long range. Like clockwork, the Thunderbirds netted the next two only to have Rochester respond. Matt Gilray scored on a breakaway at 1:22 to make it 6-5. However, the Thunderbirds went on a five-goal run to take an 11-5 advantage at half.
Hartley’s play gave a boost to Rochester in the second half. He made 11 saves and only allowed two goals through the third quarter. Unfortunately, the Knighthawks offense couldn’t capitalize. Smith and McConvey each found the back of the net. McConvey scored on the power play after tracking to the right-wing side of the floor, burying a feed from Fields 6:03 into the third.
Despite the strong defensive effort in the third, Rochester trailed by five going into the fourth quarter. It quickly became seven when Halifax scored on their opening possession and then again in transition 30 seconds later. The Knighthawks pulled out a three-goal run through the back half of the quarter. Taylor Jensen drove for a transition goal before Lanchbury got down onto the crease and found the top corner past Warren Hill with 5:19 left to play. It proved to be too little too late; Fields made it a four-goal game with just over two minutes left to play, but it was the final Rochester goal of the night.
With the loss, the Knighthawks fall to 6-9. They will head down the I-90 for their next matchup as they take on the Buffalo Bandits at KeyBank Center on Saturday, April 11. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m.