Shawn Palmer, Toronto Rock Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©
Featured Image Photo Credit: Jonathan Tenca
On Saturday January 16, 2026, the Rochester Knighthawks (4-2) came into the game with a record of 4-1 after beating their rivals, the Buffalo Bandits last week to sit second in the standings. The Toronto Rock (3-2) also defeated their opponent, the San Diego Seals and were looking to get above .500 for the first time this season as they were sitting in the 8th and last playoff spot. Rochester came out of the gates firing and took a 6 – 2 lead into the second half, but Toronto would outscore the Knighthawks 9 – 4 in the second half to walk away with the come from behind win. Final Score: Rock 11—Knighthawks 10.
Just three minutes into the game Thomas McConvey (2G, 2A) received a pass from Ryan Lanchbury (2G, 3A) and his side arm shot beat Nick Rose (35 saves) stick side low for the early one goal lead for Rochester. Both defenses and goalies played great as there were many chances on both sides but at the end of the first quarter, Rochester was the only team to find the back of the net. Score at the end of one: Knighthawks 1—Rock 0.
Just over a minute into the second, CJ Kirst (1G, 3A) put a spin move on his defender and took a high-to-high shot that beat Rylan Hartley (35 saves) to tie the game at one. Less than a minute later, Rochester would go on a four-goal run with Fields notching a hat-trick. Connor Fields (4G, 3A) took a high to low shot from the top stick side restoring the one goal lead for Rochester at 2 – 1. On a delayed penalty against Toronto, Fields would notch his second in a row with a high to low bounce shot through the legs doubling the Rochester lead to 3 – 1. With just under nine remaining in the frame, Lanchbury would come around a pick at the top and his side arm low to low shot beat Rose under the stick and the Knighthawks were up 4 – 1. They continued to pour it on capping their run. Ryan Smith (1G, 4A) passed to Fields at the top, he shot around the defender and put it far bottom corner for his hat trick goal, and it was 5 – 1 for the Knighthawks. The Rock would finally stop the run with less than five minutes left in the first half. Mark Matthews (2G, 3A) cut to the net, sent a flip pass to Dan Craig (2G, 1A) who beat Hartley with a shot back to the short side cutting the Rochester lead to 5 – 2. With 35 seconds in the frame, while shorthanded from an illegal substitution call, Zed Williams (2A) fed to a cutting Smith and his shot went over the shoulder to make it 6 – 2 for Rochester with six seconds left in the first half. The shots at the end of the first half were Rochester 34 and Toronto 25.
The third got off to a slow start with Toronto finding some steam and they would outscore Rochester 3-1. Their first came while shorthanded. Matthews got the pass from Challen Rogers (3A) and he let a sidearm shot rip beating Hartley over the shoulder to cut the Rochester lead to 6 – 3 with nine minutes left in the third quarter. Less than a minute later, Matthews flipped a pass back to Craig who had come out of the penalty box and his high to low shot went stick side and it was 6 – 4 still in favor of Rochester. The Knighthawks would get that one back quickly. Graydon Hogg (1G) beat his defender down low, dove across the crease, and went five-hole. Unfortunately, in the process he hit Rose’s legs forcing him to leave the game with an injury. Troy Holowchuk (3GA, 13 saves) got the nod and headed to the cage. The score was now 7 – 4 for Rochester. The Knighthawks would be called for holding with 3:25 left in the third and Toronto would capitalize and only 12 seconds for the scoreboard to change. Owen Hiltz (3G, 1A) got the pass from Kirst, went in on Hartley, faked low and beat him high to cut the Rochester lead to 7 – 5. Both teams went back and forth in the last three minutes but both netminders were stellar in the cage with neither allowing the other side to score. The shots on net at the end of the third quarter were Rochester 45 and Toronto 37.
The fourth was a high scoring match up with Toronto doubling up Rochester 6-3. The Rock would open it up 90 seconds in when Chris Boushy (1G, 2A) picked up the ball behind the net, dove in front and his back hand shot went far side to get the Rock within one at 7 – 6. Rochester would respond with their own 90 seconds later. McConvey picked up a loose ball right in front of the net, threw a couple of fakes and beat Holowchuk to the glove side to make it an 8 – 6 game. Three minutes later, while in transition, Toronto’s Hugh Kelleher (1G) came down the floor firing a high to low rocket short side to get them back to within one goal 8 – 7. The Rock would tie it up less than a minute later. Sam English (1G, 1A) picked up a loose ball at center, went in on Hartley and beat him low to the stick side and it was locked at 8’s with nine minutes left in the frame. Toronto would take their first lead on the night when Hiltz received a pass from Rogers and his high-to-high shot when over the shoulder for their third goal in less than a minute to take the lead 9 – 8. The only penalty in the fourth was an illegal cross checking on Toronto giving Rochester their fourth man up on the night and they’d finally capitalize. Smith fed to Lanchbury all alone on the crease, and he beat Holowchuk over the shoulder tying the game at nine with less than six minutes left in the game but a whole lot of time to rally. The Knighthawks would tally another 37 seconds later which would also turn out to be their last on the night. Fields picked up a loose ball in front, and when Holowchuk had fallen to the ground trying to make the save his shot went top corner and Rochester had retaken the lead 10 – 9. With just over four minutes left in the fourth, after having played catch up most of the night, Toronto wasn’t about to give up. Hiltz stripped Matt Gilray at center, took the ball back towards the Rochester goal and his high-to-low shot went glove side to tie the game at 10’s. Both teams fought hard for the go-ahead marker and with less than a minute left, Matthews got the pick from Craig and fired a bounce shot to beat Hartley top corner on the far side for the GWG. Toronto was able to keep the Knighthawks at bay for the last minute to come away with the upset win. Final Score: Rock 11—Knighthawks 10.
The Three Stars of the game were:
Connor Fields – Rochester Knighthawks: 4G, 3A
Mark Matthews – Toronto Rock: 2G, 3A
Owen Hiltz – Toronto Rock: 3G, 1A
GAME STATS:
Toronto Rock—SOG 46; Saves 48 (combined); Sv% .925; FO 9-25; PP 1-3; PIM 8
Rochester Knighthawks—SOG 58; Saves 35; Sv% .761; FO 16-25; PP 1-4; PIM 6
NEXT UP:
The Toronto Rock (3-2) will head home after a two-game road trip and host the Georgia Swarm (3-3) on Saturday January 24, 2026, game time 7:00 p.m. EST. Fans in the USA can see the game on ESPN+, while fans in Canada get to catch the action on TSN+. The game will also be televised on NLL+.
The Rochester Knighthawks (4-2) have a bye week and will return to action at Blue Cross Arena to host the Vancouver Warriors (3-2) on Saturday January 31, 2026, game time 7:00 p.m. EST. Fans in the USA can see the game on ESPN+, while fans in Canada get to catch the action on TSN+. The game will also be televised on NLL+.
Shawn Palmer, Toronto Rock Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©