(Title Photo Credit: Micheline Veluvolu)

We’re going chronologically today. Unconventional, but it’s how the story has to be told.

Rochester Knighthawks 11 – Georgia Swarm 10

The base of the sandwich started the final week of the NLL regular season, and a persistent Knighthawks group overcame the third quarter woes that have been prevalent for the final quarter of the season on their way to a one goal win in Duluth.

Rochester was able to strike first on an east-west look from Connor Fields to Curtis Knight. 47 seconds later, Fields was the one finding the back of the net for the early two goal lead. A Ryland Rees transition tally was called back by a challenge before the Swarm came back to tie it courtesy of a shot of Lyle Thompson that bounced off the post and Rylan Hartley before landing in the net and an outside bouncer from Seth Oakes. Towards the end of the period, Jeremy Thompson and Jeff Henrick took coinciding penalties to send the Knighthawks on a 5-on-3. After the Swarm got a stop on the first possession of the 5-on-3, Bryan Cole through an off-ball shove at Ryan Lanchbury and was sent to the box himself. With this being the third man down, the Knighthawks got a penalty shot that was put in by Fields with a high pump fake and a shot under the arm of Brett Dobson. A minute later, an illegal substitution penalty gave the Knighthawks a second penalty shot. This time Fields tucked a shot under the crossbar to make it 4-2.

The penalties had finally come to an end, and Georgia had gotten a powerplay of their own, with a second goal from Lyle Thompson making it 4-3. On the next possession, Shayne Jackson found some space for his first goal of the game to tie it at 4. However, Rochester would take control back from there. Ryan Smith fed a backdoor cutting Connor Fields to give Rochester their lead back with 10:27 to play in the half. Fields was a quarter of a shoe in the crease away from another goal after a Rochester killed penalty, but the defense salvaged the opportunity after a Swarm miscue to get the ball back in transition and get a trailer goal from Mitch Ogilvie. Ryan Lanchbury fed an open Kyle Waters in front in the final minute to extend the lead to three headed into the locker room for halftime.

As mentioned, the third quarter wasn’t immune from the trend of the struggling Knighthawks out of the half of late. 2:34 into the second half, Bryan Cole stung the top corner from midrange, and then the Swarm’s clutch captain took the stage. Off a turnover stuck on defense, Andrew Kew leaked out and got a partial transition opportunity which he fired into the same corner as Cole minutes prior. In the Swarm’s first possession out of the under 10 timeout, one which the broadcast came back from commercial showing his clutch go ahead goal late in the first matchup between the teams earlier in the season, Kew caught a Lyle Thompson pass in the middle of the zone and scored again. And then finally with 6:10 to play in the quarter, Kew got an iso look and went to the net for the natural hat trick and a lead for the Swarm. Rochester was able to get back even before the end of the quarter at 6-on-5 with a quick stick from Ryan Smith to Turner Evans on the doorstep with 54 seconds left. However Georgia ensured a three quarter lead with 10 seconds left with Seth Oakes going behind the back for the goal.

After killing off a penalty to open the final frame, the Knighthawks were rewarded with a re-tied ball game courtesy of a goal from Ryan Smith. And then 42 seconds later, Mitch Ogilvie rebounded a Dan Coates shot to give the Knighthawks the lead. A transition goal from Jordan MacIntosh tied the game back at 10 with 8:19 to play before the defenses tightened up from there. It was Smith who ended that scoring pause with 2:48 to play to give Rochester the 11-10 lead. A Rylan Hartley save and a wide shot in the final minute ensured the Knighthawks would walk away with the big win in Duluth to ensure step 1 of the playoff chance was accomplished.

Connor Fields finished with 4 goals and 4 assists to lead the Knighthawks, with Ryan Smith adding 2 goals and 2 assists. In his first start since returning from injury, Rylan Hartley made 36 saves on 46 shots faced, with the Knighthawks outshooting the Swarm 58-46. For Georgia, Andrew Kew had 3 goals and 5 assists, and Lyle Thompson had 2 goals and 3 assists. For Georgia, the loss meant they would need a Buffalo loss to get a top 4 seed, but there were still five whole games to begin before that Bandits game took place.

San Diego Seals 16 – Vancouver Warriors 9

Step 2 for the Knighthawks was a Vancouver loss to the Seals, and the 2-seed headed into the playoffs were able to snap the Warriors 5 game win streak with a handful of runs on their way to a 16-9 win. The Seals offense finished the regular season on a high note with 3 goals and 5 assists from Wes Berg, 3 goals and 4 assists from Curtis Dickson, and 3 goals and 3 assists from Kyle Jackson. Danny Logan added 2 goals and an assist out of the back door in a game where he had to fill in for an injured Trevor Baptiste in the faceoff dot. For Vancouver, they would still be alive if they got the correct help, but it was out of their control from there. Keegan Bal finished out his career-best regular season with 4 goals and 2 assists. Adam Charalambides had a goal and 4 assists, while Ryan Martel added 3 goals and an assist.

Halifax Thunderbirds 14 – Colorado Mammoth 10

Halifax ensured they would not drop lower than the 6-seed in front of the first sold out crowd at the nest, with a 4-0 second quarter turning out to be the difference in the 14-10 win. Clarke Petterson eclipsed the 100 point mark with 2 goals and 5 assists, with Randy Staats continuing to return to form since returning from injury with 3 goals and 2 assists. Cody Jamieson added 2 goals and 2 assists, while Warren Hill made 44 saves in the win. Other than 3 goals and 2 assists from Eli McLaughlin and 3 goals from Zed Williams, the Mammoth offense was relatively held in check, with 3 assists (and 38 saves) from Tyler Carlson the only other Mammoth player to get to 3 assists.

Albany FireWolves 16 – New York Riptide 10

Onto step 3 for the Knighthawks. Albany snapped their 5 game losing streak to end the regular season on a high note in the final lacrosse game at the Nassau Coliseum with a 16-10 win over the Riptide. Matching 4 goal 5 assists performances from Ethan Walker and Alex Simmons paced the FireWolves, who got out to a 5-0 lead after the first and never let the Riptide get back closer than 3 goals. Tye Kurtz also had 9 points with 3 goals and 6 assists. For the Riptide, Jeff Teat had 4 goals and 4 assists, which would end up being enough to get the goal crown with 58 as part of a 130 point season. Connor Kearnan had 3 goals and 3 assists, while Kiel Matisz had 5 assists. The Albany win meant they would get the 3-seed, meaning the Swarm and Bandits would face each other in round 1, with a Bandits win being the way for the defending champs to host that game.

Calgary Roughnecks 11 – Panther City 9

A Calgary win would keep the Riptide alive on the out of town scoreboard, and despite trailing 7-3 at the half, the Roughnecks used an 8-2 second half to end a disappointing season on a high note in front of 14,424 at the Saddledome. Jesse King’s 2 goals and 6 assists led the Roughnecks, with 5 points from both Tyler Pace and Tanner Cook and a pair of goals and an assist from Logan Schuss. Callum Crawford had a goal and 5 assists to lead Panther City, with Will Malcom adding 2 goals and 3 assists. The loss dropped Panther City to the 7 seed, meaning they will travel to San Diego for round 1. Out of town, this Calgary win eliminated the Warriors alongside the next result.

Toronto Rock 12 – Saskatchewan Rush 11

Step 4 for Rochester was the most sweat inducing of the out of town scoreboard. The Rush went punch-for-punch with the Rock for all 60 minutes, but Mark Matthews, who had 3 goals and 4 assists for the Rock, reminded the fanbase he helped grow into lacrosse fanatics how they won 2 championships in his time in Saskatoon, breaking an 11-11 deadlock with the game winning goal in the final 5 minutes. Tom Schreiber led the top seeded Rock with 3 goals and 5 assists, and Josh Dawick stepped in for an scratched Chris Boushy with 2 goals and 3 assists. At 8-10, the Rush certainly proved they weren’t as far away from returning to the playoffs as some may have anticipated headed into the year, but would fall short this season. Ryan Keenan led the Rush with a goal and 4 assists, while Mike Triolo added 3 goals.

Buffalo Bandits 14 – Las Vegas Desert Dogs 5

Ah yes remember them? The latest game of the Saturday night slate certainly didn’t get out to a quick start at Mandalay Bay, but the Bandits defense started things out with 3 successful penalty kills and then were rewarded out of the under 5 timeout with a 1-0 lead courtesy of Josh Byrne. A transition goal for Connor Kirst tied the opening frame at 1 with 1:33 to play, and a wide penalty shot from Byrne with 46 seconds left kept it even after 15.

After an early powerplay goal from Casey Jackson, the defenses continued to play well in the second quarter, but the Bandits found their footing on offense in the final 5 minutes of the first half. Chase Fraser got the Bandits first powerplay goal of the game with 4:58 left to tie the game at 2. A pick and roll with Josh Byrne and Brandon Robinson led to Robinson breaking the 2-2 tie with 2:52 left, and then Byrne added a powerplay goal of his own a little over a minute later also on the powerplay. The goal would tie Dhane Smith’s assist record at 96 and be the 700th of his career. Vegas countered off the ensuing faceoff with a goal from Jack Hannah, but Byrne erased that in the closing seconds on the final possession of the half, with the Bandits leading 5-3.

If the second quarter saw the Bandits offense find their footing, the third quarter was when they got back in motion all the way to a full sprint. 3:08 into the second half, Tehoka Nanticoke joined in on the scoring to make it 6-3. Dhane Smith scooped up a turnover on the first Desert Dog possession, leading to him feeding Nanticoke in front for another goal, which would be the single season record breaker for #92. A four shot possession from there led to another Smith assist and another Bandits goal, this time from Brandon Robinson with the extra attacker. Buffalo went back to the powerplay a pair of possessions later after a 5 minute high stick from Jake Saunders, and Smith fed Nanticoke behind the net for the dunk to make it 9-3 halfway through the quarter. They would get the second goal of the 5 minute advantage, with Smith feeding a wide open Kyle Buchanan in front for his 100th assist of the season. The passing clinic put the Bandits up 10-3 after 3.

Rob Hellyer opened the fourth quarter with a halt to the Bandits 6-0 run with a powerplay goal, and Sean Westley cut it to 5 with 9 minutes to play, but Dhane Smith scored in transition off the ensuing faceoff and then scored again after the next faceoff to get the two goals back immediately to put the Bandits officially in the driver seat to host a playoff game to open the playoffs. Back-to-back transition goals from Nick Weiss and Adam Bomberry and a spirited tilt between Brandon Robinson and Jonathan Gagliardi finished out Tucker Out Lymphoma Night and the regular seasons of Buffalo and Las Vegas.

The record-breaking night for Dhane Smith ended with 2 goals and 10 assists in the ledger, giving him 33 goals and 101 assists. He would finish one point short of the league lead, since his buddy Josh Byrne had 3 goals and 6 assists to finish with 53 goals and 82 assists for 135 points. Matt Vinc made 42 saves in the win, finishing with 12 total goals allowed in the last two games of the season. Landon Kells had 40 saves to close out his sophomore season in the desert.

Rochester Knighthawks 12 – Philadelphia Wings 3

Win Friday? Check? Vancouver, New York, and Saskacthewan lose? Check. All that was left for the Knighthawks to do to clinch a playoff berth was to get a Sunday afternoon home win against Philadelphia in game 135 of 135. Otherwise, the Riptide would own the final playoff spot, meaning their April 6th home loss to New York could’ve been the dagger.

And they were ready to go off the bat. Taylor Jensen’s progression from his NLL debut on January 27th to the end of the season has been night and day, and it was capped off with his first career goal to open the scoring 3:24 into the game. Sam LeClair found the back of the net in transition on the next touch for the Wings, but a Mike Hasen challenge overturned the goal. An outside shot from Curtis Knight put the Knighthawks up 2-0, and then Connor Fields stepped back and fired a laser into the short corner to get it to 3-0. With 5:44 to go in the quarter, Thomas McConvey popped for his first goal of the month of April after two snake-bitten appearances prior, and just over a minute later, Fields pulled off the improvisational goal of the year with three defenders unsuccessful in trying to stop him on his way to the net for his second. Goals from Mitch Jones and Holden Cattoni put Philadelphia on the board, but Knight’s second of the quarter on a quick stick from Turner Evans capped off a statement 6-2 first quarter for the Knighthawks, with shots on goal 20-7 in favor of the Guardians of the Galaxy jersey-clad Hawks.

The second quarter saw Connor Fields make final late season case for MVP consideration. As part of a 14 save quarter and 29 save half, Zach Higgins helped the Wings kill off a 5-on-3 in the frame and keep the score 6-2 for the first 11 minutes of the quarter, but a goal from Fields with 3:39 to go on the run pushed the lead to 7-2. Rochester won the ensuing faceoff and got a multi shot possession that was capped off again by Fields from outside. On the first possession out of the under 5 timeout, Fields got space off of a McConvey screen to fire his third straight goal from outside, and then with the Knighthawks on the powerplay, one more sweeping bouncer from Fields gave him a fourth straight goal and the first half sock trick. Rochester went into the locker room with a 10-2 lead with an 18-8 shot second quarter to extend that advantage to 38-15 after 30 minutes.

Score effects started to make an early appearance into the second half, but the Knighthawks continued to possess the ball for the majority of the quarter and added 13 more shots on goal to the Wings 6. Ethan O’Connor scored on a breakaway for the lone Knighthawks tally in the quarter, with Mitch Jones picking up his second of the game late in the quarter.

Philadelphia got a final chance for a late push early in the fourth, with a delay of game and unsportsmanlike conduct 1-2 call giving the Wings a 2 minute 5-on-3, but Rylan Hartley turned all 5 shot attempts on net away, Ryland Rees blocked another before Matt Gilray intercepted a cross-crease pass to burn off the final seconds of the penalties and ensure the score would remain 11-3, as it would the majority of the remainder of the game. Connor Fields added a seventh goal on another 5-on-3 in the closing minutes to but the finishing touches on a 12-3 win, a second straight clinched playoff berth for the Knighthawks, and an 11 goal 5 assist weekend for the MVP of the Rochester offense.

The 7 goal and assist performance for Connor Fields obviously led the Knighthawks in the season finale, putting his final season stat-line at 56 goals and 64 assists for an even 120 points. While goalless in the finale, Ryan Lanchbury continued to distribute at a high level with 7 assists, surpassing Fields for the team lead in that category with 66 on the year, and Ryan Smith had 5 assists, finishing a single point short of 100. Rochester outshot Philadelphia 84-61 overall and 64-33 on goal, with Rylan Hartley stopping 30 shots, giving him a place as the 9th goalie all time to allow less than 3 goals in a complete game, joining a not too shabby list of names.

So there we have it on the 2023-24 regular season. For the second year in a row, the Bandits and Knighthawks both find themselves in the playoffs. The full playoff primer will be uploaded Saturday Morning.