Rochester Knighthawks 15 – San Diego Seals 7

The last ones to arrive to the 2025-26 season, the Knighthawks wasted no time to announce their arrival with an opening possession goal, as a Ryan Smith shot was rebounded by an open Thomas McConvey to open the scoring 26 seconds in. The Seals had more than a fair share of the possession in the ensuing minutes, and then got the first powerplay of the game as Ian Llord was called for new contesting a shot in the crease rule in a wrong place wrong time situation hobbling back into position after colliding with Tre LeClaire. After two saves from Rylan Hartley on the first possession, an offensive penalty to Graydon Hogg sent the game to 5-on-3. Another save from Hartley gave the offense a chance to stall out the rest of the first penalty, and then Wes Berg was denied on a cross-crease quick stick into the under 10 timeout led to the second penalty being killed as well. San Diego broke through for the first time on an outside shot from Pat Kavanaugh to tie the game at 1 with 8:16 left, but after a penalty to Danny Logan, the Knighthawks got their first powerplay and only needed 10 seconds 5-on-4 to take the lead back, with Zed Williams drawing the defenders away from Ryan Lanchbury doing a lap around the crease and getting a pass from Smith and dropping the ball off over the shoulder of Chris Origlieri. The Seals found themselves the benefactors of a couple more multi-shot possessions, but it was more saves from Hartley stacking up, and after another Seals penalty, a 1-on-1 save from Hartley on Kavanaugh on one end turned into McConvey’s second on a quick stick from Smith at the point. The 3-1 score would stick to end the first quarter, with Hartley making 17 saves.

This time from outside, McConvey finished the 16 minute hat trick on Rochester’s second possession of the new quarter. Then on their next touch, Connor Fields joined in on the fun, driving hard to the net with his defender looking towards incoming screens and burying at the cage, and then in more quick succession, Ryan Smith scored on a shot off the post and off the back of Origlieri and in to make it 6-1. Wes Berg ended the run with a clear lane to the net, but Fields would add two more goals on back-to-back possessions to make it 8-2, the second on a quick stick pass from McConvey. The goals also brought Cam Dunkerley into the game. A bouncer from Connor Robinson with 3:35 left and a trickler from Pat Kavanaugh shrunk the deficit to 8-4 at the half. Shots were more even in the second quarter, but another 15 saves from Rylan Hartley kept the energy going for the Knighthawks, which included three quick saves in succession on a broken down play on the possession following the 4th Seals goal.

Combined with a penalty kill wrapped around halftime, the Seals were able to continue their run to open the third quarter, starting with Tre LeClaire getting his first goal of the game from outside, and then on the next possession, Dylan Watson found room along the far post to make it 8-6 3:03 into the new half. After the Seals got the ball back but were stopped, Thomas McConvey rebounded a stopped shot on Zed Williams which led to Kyle Waters finding Ryan Lanchbury in front to make it 9-6. The Hartley highlight reel added an assist halfway through the quarter, as he sent an outlet pass up the floor to a streaking Jake Piseno, and the second year defender extended the lead back up to 4. The highlights turned back to the saves soon after, with point blank saves on Watson and Connor Robinson and then two more on the next possession, and then the Knighthawks offense rewarded their goaltender once again with the fourth goal of the game from Connor Fields. After a couple of defensive turnovers, the offense was there again to get the lead back up to 6 with a scrambling rebound goal from Ryan Smith, which sent Chris Origlieri back into the game. After a rare faceoff win on the night, Graydon Hogg was dragged down on a break and drew a penalty, which gave the Knighthawks a penalty shot, and Smith completed the hat trick to give Rochester their largest lead of the night to that point.

Rochester had the shot advantage in the third quarter, balancing things out a bit on the “goalie-ing” front compared to the first quarter, but that didn’t stop Rylan Hartley from starting the fourth quarter with a Marty Biron impression which got him the 5th spot on the SC Top 10.

To end the possession, the Seals took a penalty, and while their penalty killers held up for the duration of the two minute minor, Ryan Lanchbury found Thomas McConvey with the play broken down to extend the lead to 8. The cherry on top came halfway through the quarter, with Ian Llord joining the rush and putting a bouncer through the legs of Chris Origlieri. After the 40 year old had zero goals in 2019, 2020, 2023, and 2024, he now has goals in back-to-back seasons. Aside from a powerplay goal in the final minute from Dylan Watson, this one was wrapped up, with the Knighthawks opening their season with a win for the 5th season in a row.

The final save total for Rylan Hartley was 59, a new career-high. Up front, Thomas McConvey’s 4 goals and 5 assists and Ryan Lanchbury’s 2 goals and 7 assists led the way, while Ryan Smith had 3 goals and 4 assists and Connor Fields had 4 goals and 2 assists.

For the Seals, Pat Kavanaugh had 2 goals and 4 assists in his second career box lacrosse game, providing some silver linings from a disappointing home opener that the overturn of the offense from season-to-season is more stable than some may have expected. Dylan Watson had 2 goals and an assist, while Tre LeClaire had a goal and 2 assists.

Halifax Thunderbirds 9 – Buffalo Bandits 8 F/OT

(The full game highlights are currently not on YouTube, but they are on NLL+)

Buffalo got on the board quickly for the second consecutive game, as Dhane Smith finished off a three shot possession with a goal from midrange to open the scoring 1:33 in, and then after an illegal screen call on the other end, Smith cut off ball to the net and buried a pass from Josh Byrne to make it 2-0. The fortunes turned quickly, however, as it was Smith heading to the box for a check from behind in transition, where Dawson Theede rebounded his own miss in front and got the Thunderbirds their first goal of the game. Two possessions later, Ryan Terefenko found Jason Knox on the crease for a quick stick in transition to tie the game at 2 only 3:41 into the game. The scoring came to a halt during a pair of coincidental minor penalties, and then just after those came to an end, Randy Staats was given a double minor for roughing. Halifax held up for the first three minutes of the kill, but out of the under 5 timeout, Smith found Ian MacKay snuck a shot past Warren Hill for the go-ahead goal. Another penalty for the Thunderbirds during the faceoff loose ball battle put the Bandits right back on the penalty for another multi-shot possession that was finished off with Smith finding Ryan Benesch amidst the defense. With a minute to play in the opening quarter, Byrne added a goal from outside to make it 5-2.

The game slowed down in the second quarter as the rivals settled into a chess match. After 5 stalemate minutes, Dawson Theede scored his second of the game isolated for a drive into a crease dive. Halfway through, after forcing a transition turnover, the Bandits offense took advantage and got a goal in traffic from Josh Byrne off a backdoor feed from Dhane Smith. Halifax came up short on a powerplay, but before the quarter came to an end, Clarke Petterson would get ample space to shoot from midrange after a pair of screens from Randy Staats, making it 6-4 Bandits at the half. Both goalies made 10 saves in the second quarter. The Bandits killed a penalty to open the third quarter, setting the tone for more stalemate lacrosse in the new frame. The Thunderbirds blinked next with a holding penalty of their own, and in the closing seconds of the powerplay, it was Byrne’s turn to find Smith East-West to make it 7-4. But it would be Theede once again scoring to place the deficit back at 2 late in the third.

Halifax started the fourth with a successful penalty kill and then Clarke Petterson scored his second goal of the game with 9:27 to play. Minutes later, Jason Knox got Matt Vinc moving right but picked the far post to tie the game up at 7. On the next possession, the run was capped off with Cody Jamieson’s first of the game to give the Thunderbirds their first lead of the night. The Bandits headed to the box on the ensuing faceoff, but as the term “capped off” hinted, Buffalo’s penalty killers held up with a pair of blocked shots on the best looks from the Thunderbirds in the two minutes. And then on Buffalo’s next possession after returning to full strength, Josh Byrne put everything he had into a shot from outside to even the game at 8 with 3:09 to play.

Buffalo got the ball right back but a pair of shots on goal were stopped by Warren Hill, who then also made a stop on Nick Weiss in transition with 1:28 left. The Bandits got the ball back right away as Jason Knox stumbled through his crease after picking up the loose ball, but Hill came up with another save. Kiel Matisz interrupted a pass to Mike Robinson, and another touch through the crease call gave the Bandits the ball back. With 32.2 seconds left on the clock, John Tavares called timeout for the final possession. With a two second differential between shot clock and game clock, they opted to stay 5-on-5, and a shot with 10 seconds left from Dhane Smith in the middle of the floor was stopped by the leg of Hill, rebounded by Jake Withers.

After Mike Accursi called timeout with 7 seconds left, Clarke Petterson sprinted the ball up the floor and sent a pass to Cody Jamieson, who immediately gave the ball back to Petterson for the shot that beat Matt Vinc on the far post. However unlike 11 months ago down the 90, the goal was waved off for being after the clock expired, meaning we’d have overtime at KeyBank Center. Don’t blink though, after Jake Withers shoveled the clamp off the overtime faceoff to Ryan Terefenko, the Thunderbirds got the ball to open the extra frame, and after Randy Staats attracted two Bandits defenders on a screen, Petterson drove with an open lane to the net, pump faked far, and came back near post to end the game, only needing 26 additional seconds. The Thunderbirds improved to 2-0 with their first road win of the season.

Petterson’s game winner was his third of the game, a mark matched by Dawson Theede, who led Halifax in points, adding two assists as well. Petterson and Theede also combined for 14 loose balls. Randy Staats and Ryan Terefenko each had 3 assists in further support of the offense, while on the back end, Warren Hill finished with 46 saves in the win with 13 in the first and third quarters and 10 in the second and the fourth.

For Buffalo, who falls to 1-1, the process was there, outshooting the Thunderbirds 54-40 and going 3 for 5 on the powerplay, but they struggled to solve Hill after the first quarter. Dhane Smith had 3 goals and 4 assists to lead the offense, while Josh Byrne had 3 goals and 3 assists. Ryan Benesch and Ian MacKay were the only other goal scorers on the night, as the Thunderbirds defense held both Kyle Buchanan and Tehoka Nanticoke pointless. Buffalo will be off in Week 4 before traveling to Calgary for a Sunday night game at the Saddledome in Week 5, returning home for a game with the Desert Dogs in Week 6.

Week 3 Around The League

Ottawa Black Bears 11 – Saskatchewan Rush 8

The Game of Runs of the week got things kicked off during the first NLL weekend of the season where everyone was in action. The Black Bears got off to a 3-0 lead to open the game, but the Rush scored the next 7 across the second and third quarter to go up 7-3. With the score 8-5 Rush after 3, Jeff Teat took over with a natural hat trick to tie the game, and then Ottawa added three more goal to go up 11-8 and hold on for that final score to take down the defending runners up. Teat led the way with 4 goals and 5 assists, while Rob Hellyer had 3 goals and 5 assists to help catalyze the offense from the right side. Reilly O’Connor also had 5 assists. Zach Higgins made 13 saves in the shutout fourth on the way to 38 on the game. Despite the loss, Frank Scigliano made 54 saves. Zach Manns led the Rush offense with 3 goals and an assist.

Philadelphia Wings 8 – Colorado Mammoth 7

A 5 goal second quarter for the Wings gave them enough of a cushion to hold on and get an 8-7 win in their opener. With the help of 4 powerplays in the fourth quarter, the Mammoth had ample chances, but they only capitalized on one of their 6 total man advantages in the game. Nick Damude stopped 53 of their 60 shots on goal, including 18 in the third and 19 in the fourth. In front of him, Joe Resetarits and Eric Fannell each had 2 goals, while Sam LeClair had 6 assists and Dalton Young had 4. Will Malcom had 2 goals and 3 assists despite the loss for Colorado.

Toronto Rock 11 – Calgary Roughnecks 10

Chris Boushy’s goal with 2:06 to play sealed both the hat trick and win for the Rock in their home opener. Trailing 8-6 after 3, the Rock scored the next four, and while Calgary got two goals from Riley Loewen tied the game back up at 10, the Rock held on the rest of the way, led by 12 fourth quarter saves from Nick Rose (38 total). The offense was led by 3 goals and 3 assists from Josh Dawick and 2 goals and 4 assists from Owen Hiltz. Mark Matthews and CJ Kirst each had a goal and 3 assists. Tyler Pace and Brayden Mayea had 6 assists apiece to lead the Roughnecks, with hat tricks from Loewen and Noah Manning and 2 goals and 3 assists from Tanner Cook.

Georgia Swarm 9 – Oshawa FireWolves 5

A hat trick from Shayne Jackson helped the Swarm to their first win of the season, but the story once again came on the Oshawa side of the ice, as their goal total through three games is only 15. Brett Dobson stopped 50 Oshawa shots in the win. In addition to Jackson, the Swarm got their offense from 6 other scorers, with 6 of the setups coming from Lyle Thompson, who also had a goal, and Bryan Cole. Mike Grace scored his first career goal and added an assist, 8 loose balls, and 3 caused turnovers. Alex Simmons had 3 goals and an assist for the FireWolves, while Tye Kyrtz and Patrick Kaschalk were the other scorers. Ethan Walker and Dyson Williams were held without a point.

Vancouver Warriors 15 – Las Vegas Desert Dogs 9

An injury in warmups meant that Chase Fraser’s Desert Dog debut would have to wait, and in the meantime, the Warriors got out to a 14-4 lead on their way to a 15-9 finish to get their first win of the season. 4 goals and 4 assists from Keegan Bal and 2 goals and 6 assists from Adam Charalambides led the way for the Warriors, and Curtis Dickson had 2 goals and 3 assists. For Vegas, Jonathan Donville had a goal and 4 assists, while Chris Cloutier and Mitch Jones had a goal and 2 assists in their debuts for their new team. Alex Buque finished the game in relief of Landon Kells (15 saves on 25 shots faced) and made 14 saves on 19 shots faced. On the other end, Christian Del Bianco had 44 saves in the win.

Week 4 Preview

Philadelphia Wings (1-0) @ Rochester Knighthawks (1-0) – Saturday December 20, 7:00 pm

Philadelphia’s last trip to the Blue Cross Arena was memorable for the wrong reasons for the Wings, as Connor Fields netted 7 goals as part of a 12-3 drubbing to clinch a Knighthawks trip to the playoffs on April 21, 2024. The Knighthawks won last season’s matchup as well, 15-12 on February 1. It will also be the first home game under new ownership and under the arena operations of VenuWorks.

Vancouver Warriors (1-1) @ Oshawa FireWolves (1-2) – Friday December 19, 7:30 pm

The only team without a bye week so far, although they would definitely like one, Oshawa is not getting a reprieve from their offensive struggles this week, as the Vancouver Warriors and their stout defense are coming to town for their second home game and third on TSN Friday Night. Their attempt to shake things up this week was to elevate Corson Kealey to the active roster and releasing Kyle Jackson. Glenn Clark spoke with Inside Lacrosse this week about the decision. The Warriors defeated the FireWolves in Vancouver last season 10-4 on April 4.

Georgia Swarm (1-1) @ Saskatchewan Rush (1-1) – Saturday December 20, 8:00 pm

After getting their first win of the season this past weekend, the Swarm will return to the arena where their season game to an end last season in Saskatoon, where the Rush defeated them 13-8.

Ottawa Black Bears (1-1) @ Las Vegas Desert Dogs (0-1) – Saturday December 20, 10:00 pm

Chase Fraser should make his Desert Dogs debut in their home opener to pair nicely with his bobblehead giveaway. It will be Ottawa’s first trip to Nevada, as both of their all time meetings have been at home: A 13-11 win on March 9, 2024 on Long Island and a 13-10 win in Ottawa on April 12, 2025. The Black Bears also announced this week a 3 year contract extension for goaltender Zach Higgins.

(Photo Credit: Alexis Goeller)