Christopher Crane, Rochester Knighthawks Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©
Photo Credit: Michele Veluvolu
On Saturday February 14, 2026, love was in the air for the matchup between the Ottawa Black Bears (6-5) who would travel to Blue Cross Arena to take on the Rochester Knighthawks (4-5). They would be without starting netminder Rylan Hartley as he was serving his one-game suspension from a hit he made on Steph Charbonneau during their game at home against the Vancouver Warriors on January 31, 2026, so Riley Hutchcraft would set up in between the pipes. Unfortunately for Rochester, their woes would continue as they’d drop their fourth in row after having a strong start to the season. Final Score: Rochester 8—Ottawa 10.
The Knighthawks would control the first, outpacing the Black Bears 3-1 and they’d carry a lead into the fourth before Ottawa would push tying the game early, before taking the lead midway into the frame and holding on for the win. Rochester would be led by no other than Connor Fields (1g, 3a) who topped the Knighthawks with four points. Teammates Graydon Hogg (2g, 1a), Ryan Lanchbury (1g, 2a) and Zed Williams (2g, 1a) each added three-point performances on the night.
Zed Williams opened the scoring at 10:13 of the first quarter before Ottawa would tie it up less than two minutes later on a score from Rob Hellyer (3g, 3a) making it a 1-1 game. Scoring came to a standstill with both goal tenders standing on their heads. In the closing minutes of the frame, Rochester would net two, one from Ryan Smith (1g) at 1:46, and teammate Graydon Hogg following up 28 seconds later making it a 3-1 game at the end of the first quarter.
The Knighthawks would take that momentum in the second quarter to claim a 4-1 advantage just four minutes in with a tally from Fields. Ottawa would claw back with two of their own trimming Rochester’s lead making it 4-3 heading into halftime. Tallying the Black Bears two goals were Hellyer at 9:20 and Liam Aston (1g, 1a) at 8:59. Once again, scoring came to a halt, and the fans would watch a back-and-forth contest for the remaining six minutes before the teams headed to the locker room. Score at the end of two: Rochester 4—Ottawa 3.
After a slow start in the third, both teams would exchange goals each only scoring twice in the quarter. First up was Hogg who tallied his second on the night 7:12 in to make it 5-3. Larson Sundown (2g, 1a) would be the only one from Ottawa to find twine. His first went up less than a minute later and his second was a power play marker off an illegal crosschecking late in the third. In between the Sundown tallies, Ryan Lanchbury (1g, 2a) would tally his with four and change on the ticker. This allowed Rochester to keep a one-goal advantage heading into the fourth quarter 6-5.
Ottawa would seized control early in the fourth quarter outscoring Rochester 5-2. Less than 30 seconds in Sam Firth (1g) would tie it up at 6 and Jeff Teat (2g, 4a) would put the go-ahead marker on the board two minutes later making it a 7-6 game. Rochester’s Josh Medeiros (1g) tied the game 90 seconds later and it was 7-7 with plenty of lacrosse left. But the Black Bears would notch back-to-back markers with Reilly O’Connor (1g, 3a) and Teat finding the back of the net 8:34 and 6:34 putting them up by two, a lead which they would not relinquish. The Knighthawks would get within one with 6:06 left on the clock with another from Williams 9-8. Both teams would go back and forth with neither side giving in until Hellyer tallied his hat-trick with 3:08 on the clock. Although the Knighthawks tried, they could not get another past Zach Higgins. Final Score: Rochester 8—Ottawa 10.
Ottawa goaltender Zach Higgins delivered a season-high 50 saves on 58 SOG, and Rochester’s Riley Hutchcraft made 33 saves on 43 SOG in only his second start of the season.
GAME STATS:
Ottawa Black Bears—SOG 43; Saves 50; Sv% .862; FO 7-22; PP 2-3; PIM 4
Rochester Knighthawks—SOG 58; Saves 33; Sv% .767; FO 15-22; PP 0-2; PIM 6
NEXT UP:
The Rochester Knighthawks (4-5) will have time off with a bye week and will be back in action when they host the red-hot Saskatchewan Rush (9-1) on Saturday February 28, 2026, game time 7:00 p.m. EST. Fans in the USA can see the action on ESPN+, while fans in Canada get to catch the game on TSN+. The game will also be televised on NLL+.
The Ottawa Black Bears (6-5) also have a bye week and on Saturday February 28, 2026, will play host to the Oshawa FireWolves (2-9), game time 7:00 p.m. EST. Fans in the USA can see the action on ESPN+, while fans in Canada get to catch the game on TSN+. The game will also be televised on NLL+.
Christopher Crane, Rochester Knighthawks Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©