Rochester Knighthawks 14 – Las Vegas Desert Dogs 12

In a season where everything is tighter and everyone is better, week 1 certainly matters as much as week 21, and the Rochester Knighthawks took their 2024 Week 21 success and brought it with them to 2025 Week 1.

The visiting Desert Dogs did strike first with transition goals from Jacob Ruest and Brandon Goodwin in the first five minutes. Some aggressive defense from their O group led to a forced turnover from Ryan Smith who scooped up the loose ball and picked his first far corner of the season. After the defense took advantage of a turnover on the other side, Curtis Knight tied the game with his first of the year. The remainder of the first quarter remained scoreless, as the Knighthawks killed a penalty and drew one in the closing seconds of the opening frame.

Into the second, the powerplay came through on the opening possession with a goal from Ryan Lanchbury. However Vegas scored on their first possession of the quarter as well, as Jacob Ruest threw a behind the back pass to Jack Hannah who finished in traffic to tie the game back up at 3. Casey Jackson went low-to-low from outside to give the Desert Dogs the lead, but on their next possession took a roughing penalty. Six shots and two forced turnovers later, Kyle Waters ripped a laser to make it 4-4 with 10:39 left in the half. After a faceoff win from Taylor Jensen, it was time for Connor Fields to get in on the action with a shot from the restraining line. It was Vegas’s turn for a powerplay goal to tie and a second goal to get the lead back, with Jackson taking advantage on the man up on a quick stick from Hannah. Then after the defense forced a shot clock violation, Jonathan Donville sent a pass to a rolling Hannah who floated in and beat Riley Hutchcraft. On their next possession, Thomas McConvey nodded the game back up at 6 for Rochester. Right after a successful penalty kill, Jake Saunders fed a streaking Shane Simpson out of the box for a breakaway with 5 minutes left to make it 7-6. But Rochester had the last maker of the quarter on their final possession of the half. Lanchbury found McConvey in the middle of the Vegas zone, and while his shot was stopped by Landon Kells, who had 20 total saves in the second quarter as the Knighthawks offense peppered the young goaltender, the rebound trickled to Turner Evans who swept the ball in before the buzzer to make it a 7-7 game at the half.

All 7 Knighthawks forwards scored in the opening half.

Discipline struck Rochester early in the third quarter and allowed the Desert Dogs to take their first two goal lead since it was 2-0, first from Kyle Killen’s first goal as a Desert Dog, and then second capping up a long possession with a point shot from Jack Hannah. But from there, the Knighthawks took back over. Connor Fields drew multiple defenders and flipped a pass to Thomas McConvey open in front to beat Landon Kells alone in front, and then a successful penalty kill was rewarded with a goal on the run from Fields. A tough break came on the ensuing faceoff, with Josh Medieros taking a dead ball penalty after an arguable no call from a check from behind off the draw, but after a three save possession from Riley Hutchcraft, Ryan Smith welcomed Adam Poitras to the NLL, scoring a behind the back goal with the rookie draped all over him to give the Knighthawks the lead back. Another Ryan Lanchbury pick and roll with Smith secured the hat trick to make it 11-9, as the Rochester offense found themselves streaking to a 4-0 run while controlling the play in the second half of the third quarter. However the Desert Dogs tackled the run with under 15 seconds left with a transition goal from Shane Simpson to make it 11-10 after 3.

A tripping penalty against Dylan Hutchison with 2 seconds left in the third led to another Knighthawk powerplay, where Ryan Smith capitalized for his fourth goal of the game, improving the Rochester man up to 3 of 4 on the game. Las Vegas started their efforts to get back in the game on their next possession, as Jack Hannah had another addition to his personal highlight reel on the night, avoiding an incoming double team with a one handed lefty sidearm shot for his fourth. The seventh powerplay of the game for the Desert Dogs allowed them to tie the game back up at 12, thanks to a quick stick from Dylan Watson to Kyle Killen. However, the final 11 minutes were all Rochester. Landon Kells got a piece of a deep shot from Connor Fields but not enough to regain the lead, and then after Riley Hutchcraft stopped Adam Poitras on a 2-on-1, Ryan Smith picked up a rebound in front off a shot from Connor Fields and kept his feet out of the crease to make it 14-12. The Knighthawks defense shut the door the rest of the way, and the offense limited the time of possession that Vegas had to try and get back in the game, all the way until the final horn sounded, with the Knighthawks getting the week 1 victory.

With Rylan Hartley sidelined with a lower body injury, Riley Hutchcraft stepped in as he did the season prior and stood tall for 32 saves in the second half alone on a 50 save night. His offense in front of him was led by 5 goals and 3 assists from Ryan Smith and 3 goals and 7 assists from Connor Fields. Along with 10 points, Fields registered 10 loose balls for what Adam Levi pointed out online that was the 24th double-double in NLL history (since 2005). The “family style”, as coined by OC Kyle Kallay, also got a goal and 6 assists and 2 goals and 3 assists from Thomas McConvey. The Rochester offense finished the game with 72 shots on goal.

On the other side, Jack Hannah led the Desert Dogs with 4 goals and 2 assists, while his running mate on the right side, Jonathan Donville, had 6 assists. Casey Jackson had 2 goals and 2 assists, and Kyle Killen added 2 goals and 1 assist, while Landon Kells did his best to stand his ground against the onslaught of saves with 58 total saves. The Desert Dogs will host the Colorado Mammoth on Friday Night, looking for his first win.

Week 1 Around The League

Ottawa Black Bears 11 – Toronto Rock 5

In the first NLL game in Canada’s capital in over 20 years, 6,995 saw the Ottawa Black Bears stun the Toronto Rock with a 4-0 first half and a lead that spread to 10-2 on their way to an 11-5 victory. Offseason trade acquisitions led the Black Bears in their debut, with Zach Higgins stopping 37 of the 42 shots on goal he faced, and Jacob Dunbar registering 3 goals and 3 assists. Connor Kearnan with 3 goals and 2 assists and Jeff Teat with a goal and 4 assists chipped in with 5 goal games as well. On the other side, the Rock had 9 players register a point, but only Chris Boushy and rookie Brian Cameron were able to pick up a second point with a goal and an assist.

Colorado Mammoth 11 – Vancouver Warriors 7

While it looked like opening night in the NLL was going to see two games over after 30 minutes, with the Warriors leading 6-1 at the half in Denver, but the Mammoth reminded everyone that We Were So Back and added to a long list of second half dominating performances at home to the tune of 10 of the final 11 goals, including the final 8, on the way to an 11-7 win with over 10k in attendance at Ball Arena. Connor Kelly found himself the high scorer on the night with 4 goals and 3 assists, while Zed Williams had a hat trick and added an assist. Thomas Vela had 2 goals and an assist to lead the lefties who had a more distributive role on the night, with Will Malcom and Eli McLaughlin combining for 7 assists. Dillon Ward made 35 saves in the winning effort. For Vancouver, Owen Grant had a transition hat trick, while Keegan Bal led the forwards with 2 goals and an assist.

Saskatchewan Rush 10 – Albany FireWolves 9 – F/OT

In the other Saturday Night affair in New York State, the Rush and FireWolves stayed attached to the hip all night, with the only lead of more than a goal coming at 5-3 and every quarter finishing in a stalemate before Austin Shanks scored the overtime winner 7:17 into overtime to give his new teammates revenge after Albany went into Saskatoon the previous year and won an overtime game of their own. Zach Manns picked up the new season strong with 4 goals and an assist, while rookie Brock Haley had 2 goals and 3 assist. Frank Scigliano made 49 saves in the win. For Albany, Alex Simmons led the way with 3 goals and 4 assists. Doug Jamieson made 43 saves despite the loss.

San Diego Seals 18 – Philadelphia Wings 15

The Seals and Wings treated the ESPN2 audience to a wild affair. The Wings opened the game up to a 7-2 lead in the first quarter through 12:27. With the final two goals and a 7-1 second quarter, the Seals not only clawed back into the game, but to a two goal lead. A 4 goal run from the Seals proved to be the difference in the end as the Seals picked up an 18-15 win. The free agent acquisitions had a welcome introduction to their new digs, with Ryan Benesch scoring 5 times and adding 4 assists. Rob Hellyer (3G 3A) and Ben McIntosh (4G 2A) each had 6 points. Mike Poulin came in after the 8 first quarter goals from the Wings and offered 7 saves in relief while the Seals got back into the game, and Chris Origlieri re-entered the net in the second half to right the ship and ensure the victory. For Philadelphia, Mitch Jones had 3 goals and 5 assists, while Holden Cattoni had 4 goals and 2 assists, including a first quarter hat trick. Brennan O’Neill had a goal and 3 assists in his debut.

Callum Crawford had a goal and 4 assists in what would be his only game with the Wings, as they announced his release Tuesday afternoon. Residing in Tulsa, there was speculation that it would be tough for the veteran Crawford to make the travel work this season with his team from last year, Panther City, no longer being around to offer a weekend driving opportunity, so it’s uncertain when and where we will see Crawford this season, if at all.

(Bandits Previews Coming Friday and Saturday)

(Photo Credit: Jonathan Tenca/NLL)