Christopher Crane, Rochester Knighthawks Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©
Featured Image Photo Credit: Scott Cordaro
In the first ever meeting of the two teams, the Rochester Knighthawks (3-6) played host to the Las Vegas Desert Dogs (4-6) on Casino night at Blue Cross Arena. The Knighthawks would be fueled by Connor Fields 6-point night (3g, 3) and another strong performance by Joe Post at faceoff winning 16/24 (66%). Las Vegas would be led by Rob Hellyer’s 6-point night (3g, 3a). Both teams would keep pace with each other until the fourth period when the Desert Dogs would hit the lucky hand and walk away with a 12-8 win.
In the first quarter, fans would see both teams draw even at three scores a piece. Las Vegas would get on the board first from Casey Jackson (3g, 2a) only 1:36 in making it a 1-0 game. Rochester would then go on a three goal run over the next four minutes and they’d see Thomas McConvey (1g, 1a), Fields and Dan Lomas (1g, 1a) make it 3-1 at 8:29. Las Vegas would answer back 14 seconds later with back to back tallies from Charlie Bertrand (1g) and Jack Hannah (2g, 3a) making it even 3-3 at the end of the first.
Rochester would outscore Las Vegas 3-2 in the second and head into halftime ahead 6-5. The tallies would go back and forth with the Knighthawks first on the board 42 seconds in on a score from Kyle Waters (1g, 1a) to make it a 4-3 game. The Desert Dogs would then tie it up at 7:57 with Hellyer notching his first of the night and it was tied up 4-4. A little less than a minute later, Ryan Smith (2g, 4a) would put the Knighthawks up once again 5-4 at the 7:01 mark. Fans would be treated to a defensive battle of the netminders for the next six minutes before the Desert Dogs would tie it up once more. With 1:01 left in the half, Sean Westley (1g, 1a) found twine and it was 5-5. But the home squad would not go into the locker room without putting up one more. Smith would net his second on the night with 40 seconds left before the buzzer sounded in frame giving the Knighthawks a 6-5 lead heading into the half.
The Desert Dogs would return the favor in the third as they would outscore Rochester 3-2. The Knighthawks would open it up in the third with Fields capitalizing on a power play opportunity on the crease 47 seconds in, they’d match their two-goal lead from the first and it was 7-5. Five minutes later, the Desert Dogs would get back-to-back tallies from Dylan Watson (2g, 1a) at 9:15 and 7:07 to tie it up at 7-7. Rochester would put up the go-ahead marker when Fields netted his second of the period and third of the night for a hat trick with 4:16 to go and the scoreboard read 8-7 good guys. But Las Vegas would notch their third to close out the period with Hellyer finding the back of the net with 52 seconds on the clock to tie it up once more. At the end of the third, the score was tied at 8’s.
Las Vegas would double down in the fourth and shut out the Knighthawks 4-0. They’d put up their first 3:04 in with Jackson opening and closing out the frame. Hellyer would get his hat trick 4:56 in; Hannah put up his second 5:20 in and Jackson would close out the scoring a minute later. For the remaining six and change neither side would find twine. Final Score: Knighthawks 8—Desert Dogs 12.
Stars of the Game:
Connor Fields—Rochester Knighthawks: 3g, 3a
Rob Hellyer—Las Vegas Desert Dogs: 3g, 3a
Casey Jackson—Las Vegas Desert Dogs: 3g, 2a
NEXT UP:
The Rochester Knighthawks (3-6) will head to Dickies Arena on Sunday March 3, 2024, to face the Panther City Lacrosse Club (4-4), game time 4:00 p.m. EST. Every win for the Knighthawks is huge as teams are racing for the top 8 spots so they can advance to the post season. Fans in the USA can see the game on ESPN+. Fans in Canada can see the action on TSN+.
The Las Vegas Desert Dogs (4-6) will host the Toronto Rock (8-2) at Michelob Ultra Arena on Friday March 1, 2024, game time 10:00 p.m. EST. This is the Game of the Week for fans in the USA and they can see the game on ESPNU and ESPN+. Fans in Canada can see the action on TSN+.
Christopher Crane, Rochester Knighthawks Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©