Christopher Crane, Beat Writer Rochester Knighthawks
Lacrosse is Awesome
With the 2017-2018 NLL season finally here, the Rochester Knighthawks in front of 4,596 fans played host to the Calgary Roughnecks at Blue Cross Arena. With the Knighthawks adding more youth this off season it surely paid off as Rochester would down the Roughnecks 17-6, it also goes without saying the revamped Knighthawks defense played a role in allowing the youth movement to shine.
The first quarter action would start with Calgary finding the back of the net first from Dan MacRae at 13:52 to give the Roughnecks the early 1-0 lead. The tide would quickly turn in Rochester’s favor as the Knighthawks second year player Kyle Jackson would rattle off the next two scores in spectacular fashion for Rochester giving them a 2-1 lead at the 7:44 mark. Defenseman Luc Magnan on a short-handed goal beat three defenders to make it 3-1 in favor of the Knighthawks and the end of the first.
Rochester would pick up where they left off in first and the Knighthawks started the second quarter with a four goal run. It would be Dan Dawson getting things started for Rochester; followed up with scores from Ian Llord; Cory Vitarelli; and Josh Currier giving Rochester a commanding 7-1 lead at 9:18. Calgary’s Holden Cattoni would finally find a hole to beat Rochester’s Matt Vinc to make it 7-2. However, Rochester’s defense and youth powered offense took command once again as they would go on another four goal run. Getting things started this time would be Joe Resetarits at the 5:12 mark; followed up with a three on two transition goal from Brad Gillies at 4:17 putting them ahead by six. Adding the last two scores of the run would be Cody Jamieson with his first goal in 19 months; and (J) Currier with his second on the night widening the score by eight. Calgary’s Zach Currier would beat Vinc off a spectacular screen shot to close out the second quarter. Score at the end of two: Rochester 11—Roughnecks 3.
The third quarter action would have both defenses and goal tenders playing lights out keeping the scoring opportunities limited. Rochester’s Scott Campbell would net the only goal of the quarter at 3:23 making it 12-3 at the end of the third.
Fourth quarter play would see both offenses come back alive. Rochester in dominating fashion would go on their third four goal run. Starting the siege was Resetarits with his second on the night; followed up (D) Dawson netting the next two giving him a hat trick; and Vitarelli would also net his second giving the Knighthawks an even more commanding lead 16-3. The Roughnecks would finally get back on the board as Greg Harnett would beat Vinc at 6:54 making it 16-4. Rochester’s face off specialist Dylan Evans would also get in on the action as he would find the back of the net at 4:29 with Calgary’s deficit up to 13. Although the Roughnecks would add two more from Curtis Manning; and Riley Loewen to end the night it would not be enough. Final Score: Rochester 17—Calgary 6.
With Rochester adding more youth to its roster and their veteran defensive players, the combination surely didn’t disappoint Rochester fans. The Knighthawks also controlled face-offs all night as they won 19 of 27 for an outstanding 70% win percentage; and Matt Vinc 
was a force as he made 40-46 saves for 87% save average on the night.
The Rochester Knighthawks (1-0) have two weeks off and will be back in action on December 23 as they play host to the Buffalo Bandits (1-0) at the Key Bank Center, 7:30 p.m. EST. The Calgary Roughnecks (0-1) will host the Vancouver Stealth (0-1) on December 15 at the Scotiabank Saddledome, 9:00 p.m. EST.
Christopher Crane, Beat Writer Rochester Knighthawks
Lacrosse is Awesome