Rochester is looking for its 5th consecutive win in the tight East Division race.
The Rochester Knighthawks are the hottest team in the National Lacrosse League having won a season-high 4 straight games. Their latest victory was one of their most dramatic, as Kyle Jackson’s goal just 90 seconds into overtime gave the Knighthawks an 11-10 victory over the Georgia Swarm.
It was Rochester’s second win over the defending champs in the past 4 weeks, which allowed them to capture the regular season series against the Swarm. During the current 4-game winning streak, the Knighthawks have also defeated Saskatchewan and Buffalo.
The key to the turnaround has been a change in attitude, according to Jackson.
“Confidence and trust has allowed us to finally string together some pretty well-rounded performances,” he said.
With just 6 games to play, Rochester (6-6) sits in third place in the East Division and is just 1-game behind division-leading New England. This week, the Knighthawks will begin a 3-game West Division swing when they travel to play the Calgary Roughnecks on Saturday at 9 pm EST. at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
For the second straight week, the Knighthawks will be featured on the Twitter Game of the Week, which will be streamed at live.twitter.com/nll and simulcast on NLLTV.com.
Additional Broadcast Information: The game will be broadcast on 107.3 The Bull and on the iHeartRadio app.
Scouting the Knighthawks: Rochester is coming into the game after a dramatic 11-10 OT win over the Georgia Swarm. The Knighthawks were led by a six-point (2+4) night from Cody Jamieson, who now has 26 (11+15) in his last four games. Joe Resetarits (1+3) also chipped in a 4-point effort. Eric Fannell, who netted the game-tying marker, and Josh Currier each tallied 2 goals. Matt Vinc registered 38 saves in goal to increase his save total to 461, which is second best in the NLL. Vinc is also tied for second in the league with a .789 save percentage. Offensively, the Knighthawks have scored the most goals (159) in the East Division and are second to only the Saskatchewan Rush. Rochester is second in the NLL in power-play efficiency, scoring 59.09 percent of the time. The Knighthawks are third in the league in penalty killing, stopping 54 percent of their opponents’ chances.
Victorious Debut: Rookie Frank Brown, who was signed on March 9, made his Knighthawks debut the following night in the win over Georgia.
Action Jackson: Kyle Jackson’s game-winner moved him into fifth in the NLL in goals with 26.
Joe Knows Scoring: Joe Resetarits is third in the NLL with a career-high 68 points. The former Roughneck also is second in the league in assists (44) and tied for eighth in goals (24).
Love a Good Western: Rochester owns a 2-0 record against the West Division, which includes a 17-6 win over Calgary on Dec. 9.
Milestone Watch:
Jake Withers (162) needs 8 faceoff wins to pass Tyler Burton for seventh place on the team’s all-time list.
Kyle Jackson needs just 1 more goal to establish a career high with 27.
Sid Smith has tied his career high in assists and points with five.
Graeme Hossack is 2 goals and 1 point away from setting career highs in both offensive categories. He currently has 5 goals, 5 assists and 10 points.
Brad Gillies is 1 point away from passing last year’s career mark of 15.
Joe Resetarits’ 24 goals are just 4 away from a career high.
Cory Vitarelli needs just 3 goals to pass Scott Evans for fifth on the Knighthawks’ all-time goal-scoring list.
Scouting the Roughnecks: Calgary enters the game in third place in the West Division with a 4-7 record. The Roughnecks suffered their second straight loss on Saturday, falling 8-7 to the Colorado Mammoth. Christian Del Bianco was spectacular in goal, making 42 saves. The third-year pro leads the NLL in goals-against average (9.57) and save percentage (.813). Curtis Dickson leads Calgary with 45 points, which is one better than Dane Dobbie and Wes Berg.
Next Game: Rochester remains on the road as it heads to Saskatoon to play the Saskatchewan Rush on Saturday, March 24 at 9:30 pm at Sasktel Centre.
Next Home Game: The Knighthawks will host their inaugural Cradle for the Cure game on Saturday, March 31. That night, Rochester will entertain the Colorado Mammoth at 7:30 pm at Connors & Ferris Field at the Blue Cross Arena. The Knighthawks will wear light blue jerseys that night, which will be auctioned off to benefit CURE Childhood Cancer Association. Fans can bid on the game-worn, signed jerseys at www.knighthawks.com/Auction. The auction will begin on Wednesday, March 28 at noon and end at 9 pm on the night of the game. Tickets are available at www.knighthawks.com or by calling (585) 454-4295.