Rochester Knighthawks 16 – Saskatchewan Rush 14

The theme of the night was going to be redemption in net. Frank Scigliano making his first home start in Saskatoon after the Thunderbirds dropped 9 in the first quarter on the Rush in their first game. All while on the other end, Rylan Hartley also had a slow start before being pulled for Riley Hutchcraft in Rochester’s opening game, with Hutchcraft anchoring the comeback from a 10-5 halftime deficit. But the duel wouldn’t happen, as the Knighthawks made the last minute switch up in net, giving Hutchcraft the start. And then after all that, the offenses stole the show with 30 total goals, with the Knighthawks coming out on top 16-14 to improve to 2-0.

The Rush got things started on their new neon green turf with the first two goals of the night, starting with Zach Manns giving his first in-person introduction to Rush fanbase with an outside runner. Then midway through the corner, the Rush forced a shot clock violation and came back the other way and scored in transition thanks to another new member of the Rush in Nathaniel Kozevnikov. Rochester’s scoring on the evening began with a powerplay marker from Connor Fields and then Ryan Lanchbury’s first following the mid-week trade. Saskatchewan broke the tie in the closing seconds with a transition goal from Jake Boudreau, giving them a 3-2 lead after 15.

Robert Church got the scoring underway in the second quarter on the powerplay, but then Rochester rallied off three goals for their first lead of the night. Ethan O’Connor scored his first goal since March 2022 in transition, and then minutes later, Connor Fields tied the game and 11 seconds later, Thomas McConvey scored his first NLL goal with a mid range snipe to beat Frank Scigliano. Boudreau scored his second transition goal of the game to tie it back up during some 4-on-4 play halfway through the second quarter, but the Knighthawks again were able to score back to back, starting with Connor Fields dunking while Scigliano was out of position after a flurry of multiple shots leading up to it with 5:22 left in the half. Patrick Dodds nearly tied the game back up with 3:47 to go, but his rebound attempt went through the crease and wide, leading the Knighthawks to taking the ball back down the floor and Ryan Smith punching in his first of the game on the other end. Once again, the Rush finished the scoring off in the quarter, first with Clark Walter getting to the net to beat Riley Hutchcraft and then off a timeout for the final possession, Church got his second of the quarter with 1.6 left to make it 7-7 after 30 minutes.

Those back-to-back goals to end the second quarter would paired up with two more in the third for a four goal run as the Rush defense stepped up in unison with the offense. Mike Triolo finished off a 2-on-1 a couple of minutes into the quarter, and then Clark Walter adding a shorthanded goal to make it 9-7 Rush. The Knighthawks did score on that same powerplay right after courtesy of Ryan Smith. A second powerplay goal for the Knighthawks tied the game back up once again with 2:54 to play in the quarter courtesy of Thomas McConvey, and the on the ensuing possession, Connor Fields got his fourth of the game on a shot that deflected in off of Bobby Kidd III. The Rush tied the game back up on their next possession courtesy of Zach Manns. However, in this quarter, it was the Knighthawks scoring in the final three seconds, taking an 11-10 lead into the fourth thanks to Ryan Lanchbury on the 6-on-5.

The two teams exchanged goals to start the fourth quarter. Mike Messenger got on the board in transition for the Rush on one end, only for Austin Hasen to get the lead right back 20 seconds later from nearly the mirrored spot on the floor on the other end. The Knighthawks were stopped after winning the next faceoff, and the Rush went back down the floor and tied the game thanks to Patrick Dodds and then got a third goal from Zach Manns in transition 9 seconds later to go up 13-12. A little over a minute later, Rochester tied it back up with Thomas McConvey’s third. A pair of killed of penalties made up the middle third of the fourth quarter and the PK units held up, but after the Knighthawks took an illegal substitution penalty with 5:21 to play, Ryan Keenan gave the lead back to the Rush on the powerplay. Rochester was able to respond about a minute later with Ryan Smith beating his man and getting to the net to tie the game back up at 14. Bobby Kidd III took a dead ball foul as the play came to an end trying to shove his way out of the Knighthawk celebration by giving Connor Fields a high shove. The Rusk PK got through 1:40 of the 2 minute kill, but Kyle Waters was able to capitalize for his first goal of the game with 2:30 to play to give the Knighthawks the lead that they wouldn’t relinquish. A blocked shot for Brad Gillies prevented the Rush from scoring on their first 6-on-5 possession in the closing minute, later leading to a forced shot clock violation and Gillies feeding Mitch Ogilvie who put the ball in the empty net before Frank Scigliano could make his way back to the net. Ogilvie forced a turnover on the Rush’s post timeout play with 20 seconds left to force a clear and kill down the majority of those final seconds before Riley Hutchcraft kicked aside Saskatchewan’s final shot attempt with 8 seconds left and ensure the Knighthawks victory.

Connor Fields led the way for the Knighthawks with 4 goals and 7 assists for a new career high in points and the NLL’s Player of the Week honors. Ryan Smith put up a second straight 3 goal 3 assist game, while Thomas McConvey (3G 1A), Ryan Lanchbury (2G 2A), and Turner Evans (4A) each had four points. Riley Hutchcraft stopped 36 of the 50 shots he faced on the way to his second win of the season and his career. Joe Post continued his hot start in the faceoff dot with a 24 for 32 night and 17 loose balls, winning many of those faceoffs clean. Matt Gilray also registered double digit loose balls with 13. The Knighthawks will rest in week 3 before hosting the Vancouver Warriors on December 23.

As for the Rush, they drop to 0-2 despite the much better performance than they had in their opening game. Zach Manns, like Ryan Smith, had his second 3 goal 3 assist evening to lead the Rush, with Robert Church adding 2 goals and 3 assists. Ryan Keenan and Mike Triolo each had a goal and 3 assists, while Jake Boudreau had 2 goals and 2 assists out the back door and added 13 loose balls. Frank Scigliano stopped 40 of the 55 shots he faced but took the loss. The Rush head to Vegas to face the Desert Dogs Friday Night (during the Sabres game, ironically).

Albany FireWolves 17 – Buffalo Bandits 13

There are some instances when young athletes feel more pressure facing an upswing in talent. Other times, especially much earlier into their careers, they almost lack the experience to understand that there should be pressure. And after Albany put up more goals in Week 2 against the defending champs than they did in a single game since the end of the 2021-22 season, the latter was very prevalent.

Two Bandit penalties in the first 5 minutes led to a slow offense start, as well as helping Ethan Walker put Albany on the board first. However, Josh Byrne responded on the ensuing possession, driving to the net and beating Doug Jamieson five hole with a one-handed, perpendicular-to-the-floor shot in traffic. From there it was Byrne hitting his namesake Mike (not related) into the boards from behind in transition, leading to a powerplay for Albany while Nick Weiss and Leo Stouros dropped the gloves separately while this was going on. The Bandits killed that penalty with a pair of saves from Matt Vinc and then forcing a shot clock violation to end the kill. Byrne and Robinson played pick and roll to give the Bandits a 2-1 lead with 3:07 to play in the first quarter, but, not to spoil, would end up being their only lead of the game. Flaring tensions led to another Albany powerplay in the final two minutes of the quarter, as Dhane Smith and Chase Fraser challenged Patrick Kaschalk after a late hit on Byrne, with all three getting roughing penalties. Jackson Nishimura was the next to get chippy with 35 seconds left, cross-checking Tehoka Nanticoke high to send the game to 5-on-4, but the Byrne took the same penalty 7 seconds later. The FireWolves ended the quarter taking advantage of the 4-on-3 to tie the game courtesy of Marshall Powless sneaking a rebound between Vinc’s leg and the post.

The FireWolves opened the second with another goal on their first possession thanks to Tye Kurtz. Albany became the team to drop to 4-on-3 after a penalty from Mike Byrne, which the Bandits capitalized on to tie the game back up at 3 courtesy of Dhane Smith’s first of the season. Once the game returned to 5-on-5, Ethan Walker put Albany back on top before Chris Cloutier tied the game back up on a delayed penalty (so yes, more non-5v5). However Alex Simmons gave the FireWolves the lead once again in transition off the ensuing faceoff, and then extended the lead to 2 for the first time on the night minutes later. Albany’s run continued from there as Joe Nardella made it 7-4 in transition 29 seconds later. Then with 6:22 to play in the first half, Simmons got his own rebound and fed Marshall Powless, who picked the top corner before the shot clock expired, making it 8-4 Albany. Buffalo ended the run on their next possession courtesy of Cloutier in transition, only for Travis Longboat to get the 4 goal lead back on the ensuing possession. Tehoka Nanticoke finished a quick stick from Josh Byrne at 4-on-3 after another handful of penalties, but Longboat scored again on an offensive rebound, bringing the halftime score to 10-6.

The third quarter started out in Buffalo’s favor, with Josh Byrne and Chris Cloutier running the pick and roll play that has gotten plenty of quarter-opening goals dating back to last season. But once again, the FireWolves had an answer on their next touch, as a bouncer from Tye Kurtz snuck past Matt Vinc’s left leg. From there, things did settle down a little bit more for the Bandits. Ian MacKay picked up a transition goal halfway through the quarter and then Tehoka Nanticoke culminated a six shot possession with his second of the game to cut the deficit to 11-9 with 2:55 left in the quarter. But then the FireWolves again capitalized right away with Alex Simmons sneaking another one past Vinc. The Bandits were able to cut the deficit back down to 12-10 to finish out the corner, however, as Josh Byrne added one on the run in the final minute.

Headed into the final 15, the path to a comeback was open and not too far out of the realm of possibilities for the Bandits, but two early goals from Albany took that two goal margin and doubled it in less than two minutes with transition markers from Jackson Nishimura and Patrick Kaschalk. Net-front tallies Brandon Robinson and Chase Fraser cancelled those goals out over the next handful of minutes, once again making it a two goal game. The FireWolves once again kept the game from getting closer as Marshall Powless got in front of the net for an uncontested offensive rebound which he buried with 8 minutes to play. Chris Cloutier’s fourth came a minute later on a last second shot against the shot clock, but it would be the last time the deficit would be cut back town to 2. A pair of goals from Alex Simmons in the final 3 minutes and change led to the 17-13 final score. For the second straight season, the Bandits fall to 0-1 at the hands of the FireWolves.

When it was all said and done, Albany got 13 combined points from their rookie forwards, with Alex Simmons (2022 4th overall pick) leading the team with 5 goals and 3 assists and Tye Kurtz (2022 17th overall pick) adding 2 goals and 3 assists. The relentless FireWolves also got 7 points from Travis Longboat and Ethan Walker, as well as 5 assists from Sam Firth. While not the goalie-ing his 45 save opening game was last season, Doug Jamieson stopped 33 of 46 shots faced en route to a win, while Joe Nardella won 22 of 34 (64.7%) faceoffs.

For the Bandits, Josh Byrne had 2 goals and 7 assists to lead the way, with Dhane Smith adding a goal and 5 assists. The majority of those assists from the Bandits top tandem went to Chris Cloutier, who led the team with 4 goals. For the faceoff group that had to face Nardella, Ian MacKay took the most faceoffs with 20, winning 6, and Chase Fraser won 4 of 11. Matt Vinc stopped 32 of 49 in a tough start to the season for him and the Bandits defense.

They did indeed lose to Albany to open last season as well, but things don’t get easier for the defending champs right away, as an eager San Diego Seals squad will be looking to play spoilers following the banner raising ceremony on Saturday Night.

Week 2 Around The League

San Diego Seals 12 – Calgary Roughnecks 9

The Bandits upcoming opponent started their season with a banner raising of their own, retiring Brodie Merrill’s #17 to celebrate his contributions to growing lacrosse in San Diego in the sunset of his illustrious record breaking career. They then went out and used a 3-0 fourth quarter to pull away in a 12-9 victory over the Calgary Roughnecks. Austin Staats started his season with 4 goals and 2 assists, sharing the points lead for the Seals with Curtis Dickson’s 2 goals and 4 assists. Dane Dobbie scored each of his two goals in that fourth quarter to cap off a four point night. Trevor Baptiste made a splash in his Seals debut, winning 20 of 27 faceoffs. Chris Origlieri made 35 saves in the win. Meanwhile for Calgary, who drops to 0-2, it was Jesse King leading the team with a goal and 6 assists, while Tyler Pace and Tanner Cook each had 5 points, with Cook getting each of his with assists and Pace getting four of his with goals. Christian Del Bianco made 38 saves in the loss.

Toronto Rock 11 – Philadelphia Wings 7

No Tom Schreiber and Chris Corbeil was no problem for the Toronto Rock, as a 4 goal 1 assist debut for Mark Matthews helped to pace the Rock to a win in their opening game against Philadelphia. Josh Dawick and Mitch de Snoo each had 3 assists as part of a balanced output from the Rock, while Nick Rose made 37 saves in the win, starting the season with another sub 10 goal performance after 10 of them last season. Mitch Jones had a goal and 3 assists and Joe Resetarits had 2 goals and an assist to lead the Wings, but the tough night only got tougher when Blaze Riorden left the game with an upper body injury. Another tough break for the Wings who were already without Holden Cattoni with an upper body injury of his own. Zach Higgins reached 40 save plateau in the loss that put the Wings at 1-1.

Georgia Swarm 16 – Colorado Mammoth 10

The Swarm controlled the pace the majority of the way, pulling away to a 16-10 victory to open up their season against the hobbled Colorado Mammoth, who were without Dillon Ward between the pipes. The stars did what the stars do for the Swarm, with Lyle Thompson leading the way with 4 goals and 4 assists, while Andrew Kew had a goal and 7 assists. The right side of their offense also saw 3 goal 3 assist nights from Brendan Bomberry and Seth Oakes. Brett Dobson made 39 saves in the win. The trio of Connor Kelly (3G 2A), Eli McLaughlin (2G 3A), and Tyson Gibson (1G 4A) shared the lead in points for the Mammoth, while Tyler Carlson made 35 saves in place of Ward, as the defending finals runner ups fall to 0-1 while the Swarm start 1-0.

The game also ended with some extra curriculars if that’s your jam

Las Vegas Desert Dogs 11 – Panther City 10

A fourth quarter buzzer beater from rookie Sean Westley forced overtime in the final game of the weekend, where Zack Greer went on to score the game winner 2:55 into the extra frame to give the Desert Dogs their first win of the season. Rob Hellyer led Vegas with 3 goals and 2 assists, while Jack Hannah had a goal and 3 assists. Landon Kells made 46 saves in the win. For Panther City, Jonathan Donville led the way with 2 goals and 5 assists, while Callum Crawford had 3 goals and 3 assists, including becoming the 8th player in NLL history with 1200 points and passing Mark Steenhuis’s 459 goals to move into the top 10 all time. Shawn Evans’s 479 is next on the list. Nick Damude made 44 saves in the loss.

We’ll preview Week 3 and the Bandits banner raising tomorrow!