By Mitchell Courtney / Rochester Knighthawks
BUFFALO, N.Y. — On Saturday night, the Rochester Knighthawks traveled down the I-90 to battle against their storied rival, the Buffalo Bandits.
Knighthawks goalie Angus Goodleaf turned in another solid performance, his second in a row to start the season, making 32 saves; including a couple of great stops early on to keep the Knighthawks in the game.
Assistant Coach Mike Accursi noted that Goodleaf has been a point of consistency just two games into the season.
“Gussy is a solid goalie, and he has been for a long time; he just hasn’t had the opportunities,” said Accursi. “He made some great saves to hold us in the game early.”
Cory Vitarelli turned in his second straight game with at least one goal; cementing himself as somebody the Knighthawks and the coaching staff can count on night in and night out. Vitarelli now sits at 4 goals and 1 assist through the first 2 games, and he will look to continue his hot start on the West Coast.
Michigan product Kyle Jackson has once again started a fresh campaign with two productive games in a row, tallying one goal and one assist in the loss. Jackson also got involved in the game physically, mixing it up with Buffalo defenseman Nick Weiss in the fourth quarter.
Buffalo native Joe Resetarits collected three assists in his annual return to his old stomping grounds. Resetarits is looking to repeat a 100-point season after reaching the century mark last season.
“With how many goals we scored last year, we just have to take a step back and work on everything,” he said. “I’m confident that we will bounce back nicely.”
“There is a long season still ahead of us. We know what it takes to battle back; we started off two and six last season and made it to the championship.”
The Knighthawks fell by a final score of 13-4, but they will look to rebound next Saturday when they travel to San Diego to take on the Seals before they head to Saskatchewan in about two weeks.
Accursi believes that the brief two-week road trip could be beneficial to the team moving forward.
“It comes at a good time in the year,” he said. “I think it is good to get away from all of the distractions when we go on the road. Just focusing on the rest of the guys and the team will help us in the long run.”
Following the game, the Bandits improved to three and one, whilst Rochester now sits at one win and one loss on the season.