Chris Crane, Beat Writer Rochester Knighthawks
Lacrosse is Awesome
On Saturday, March 31 the Rochester Knighthawks (8-7) hosted the Colorado Mammoth (10-5) at the Blue Cross Arena in front of 6,228 fans on Cradle for the Cure night. Colorado, currently second in the West Division, have already locked in a spot in the playoffs, but have a chance to overtake the Rush for first place. The East is still very undecided. With a win, Rochester would have the chance to take first place based on the other games on the weekend. For both teams, a win was important. Colorado jumped out to an early lead, but Rochester buttoned down in the second half and surprised the home fans with a come from behind win. Final Score: Colorado-14, Rochester-16.
Colorado opened the scoring 2:39 in as Ryan Benesch (1G, 6A) was able to beat goaltender Matt Vinc. Just over two minutes later, Josh Currier (1A) was called for a slashing major, and Colorado had a chance to open the lead on the extended power play opportunity. They took advantage, scoring twice before going back to even strength. Zack Greer (1G, 1A) scored first followed by Stephen Keough (7G, 2A) and suddenly Colorado was up 3-0 just 6:04 into the game. Joe Resetarits (3G, 3A) scored just over a minute later, to finally put Rochester on the board. But, with a looming penalty, Colorado scored next as Jeremy Noble (1G, 3A) found an opening with the extra attacker on. With 3:58 remaining in the opening quarter, Eli McLaughlin (2G, 1A) scored his first of the game giving Colorado a 5-1 lead. Off the ensuing faceoff, Rochester’s wizard Jake Withers (1G) took the draw and ran it in himself to gather back momentum. With a power play opportunity late in the quarter, Rochester got within two goals when Cory Vitarelli (3G, 2A) scored with 2:01 left on the clock. At the end of the first quarter, Colorado led Rochester 5-3.
The second quarter in Rochester was worth the price of admission for the whole night. Between the two teams there would be a total of 13 goals scored, including a run of three by Colorado, and a run of five by Rochester. Both goalies were replaced in favor of the backups as both teams tried to stop the scoring onslaught. Chris Wardle (1G, 2A) scored first for Colorado just 45 seconds in, but Rochester’s Eric Fannell (2G, 3A) answered just 44 seconds later. Keough responded with two in a row, and Brad Self (1G) made it a three goal Colorado run just 24 seconds after his second. With five minutes of action played in the second quarter, Colorado had extended their lead to 9-4. Keeping up with the fast pace, Resetarits cut the deficit down to four goals only 28 seconds after Self’s goal. But, just over a minute later Keough scored his fourth of the night and Matt Vinc was replaced by Angus Goodleaf. The switch worked well for the remainder of the half. Rochester rallied and scored five unanswered, tying the game at 10-10 with 1:40 left before the break. Vitarelli scored first, followed 21 seconds later by Fannell’s second of the night. Resetarits completed his hat trick under a minute after that, and Ian Llord (1G) scored unassisted in transition with 5:19 remaining. Graeme Hossack (1G) tied the game with the fifth goal of the run, and with the score tied at 10, Colorado replaced Dillon Ward between the pipes with Steve Fryer. The goalie switch worked for Colorado too. Fryer stopped both shots he saw before halftime, and Keough netted his fifth of the half with 47 seconds remaining to regain the lead. At the half, Colorado led Rochester 11-10.
The Knighthawks took control to start the second half and put together a three goal run over the first ten minutes to take their first lead of the game. Vitarelli scored first on a power play opportunity with 3:19 off the clock to give him a hat trick on the night. Cody Jameison (2G, 4A) hit twine next, just about four and a half minutes later. Just under two minutes later, Kyle Jackson (1G, 1A) scored to give Rochester a 13-11 lead with 5:16 remaining. Colorado finally found a way to beat Goodleaf and end the run. McLaughlin scored on the power play with 1:1 left in the quarter, and then Keough scored his sixth goal on the night, completing his sock trick with 13 seconds left. At the end of the third quarter, Colorado and Rochester were tied 13-13.
With an early power play opportunity, Colorado took the lead 1:14 into the fourth quarter as Keough scored his seventh of the night, and his second in a row. Both defenses stood tall for nearly eight minutes of scoreless lacrosse that followed. Rochester broke through to tie the game with 4:59 remaining in the game. Austin Shanks (2G, 4A) was the goal scorer on the assist from Vitarelli. 2:12 later, Jamieson scored to give Rochester the lead 15-14 with 1:47 left. Colorado couldn’t find a way to tie the game, and Shanks scored his second of the quarter just 29 seconds after Jamieson’s goal to bring us to our final. Final Score: Colorado-14, Rochester-16.
Up Next:
The Colorado Mammoth (10-5) travel to play the Saskatchewan Rush (11-3) on Saturday, April 7 at 9:30 PM EST.
The Rochester Knighthawks (8-7) enjoy a week off before travelling to play the Toronto Rock (7-7) on Friday, April 13 at 7:30 PM EST.