By Rochester Knighthawks
On Saturday, the Rochester Knighthawks battled to within one goal in the final minutes but came up just short in a 15-13 loss to the Toronto Rock. It marked the second straight game that the Knighthawks lost a close East Division matchup.
Rochester had a chance to force overtime in the final seconds, but Toronto turned an errant shot into an empty-net goal with just 41 seconds to play to escape with the home win.
The Knighthawks scored two of the first three goals in the final quarter to make it 14-13. Brandon Robinson netted the Knighthawks’ last goal with 1:06 to play to set up the team’s last-ditch effort to tie the contest. Robinson was one of nine different goal scorers for the Knighthawks. Cody Jamieson led the way with two goals and four assists. He connected for his second of the night just 11 seconds into the fourth off a rink-wide pass from Robinson to make it 13-12.
Mike Burke had his most productive game in the Teal and Purple, as he collected two goals and three assists. Newly acquired Chris Boushy scored two goals and added two assists to give him 13 points in his first two games as a Knighthawk. Kyle Jackson also chipped in four points (1+3), while Graeme Hossack had a three-point (2+1) performance.
Rookie Colton Armstrong even got in on the scoring, tallying his first pro goal in his professional debut. In goal, Angus Goodeaf finished the game with 46 saves, including 27 in the second half. Defenseman Jake Withers led the team with 10 loose balls and won 22 of 33 faceoffs. Rochester opened the game by taking a 3-1 lead as Boushy, Mike Triolo and Burke scored in the first 8:25 of the game.
The Rock, however, answered with four of the next five goals to close out the first ahead 5-4. The second was a mirror image of the first, as the Rock took a 10-8 advantage into halftime.
The Knighthawks will return home to battle the Calgary Roughnecks on Saturday, March 23 at Connors & Ferris Field at the Blue Cross Arena at 7:30 pm.