By CRAIG POTTER
Rochester falls to the Toronto Rock as Joe Resetarits nets 4 goals.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Rochester Knighthawks continue to search for that elusive third victory of the season as they lost their sixth straight game, 12-9, to the Toronto Rock before 5,439 fans on the Connors & Ferris Field at the Blue Cross Arena Saturday night.
“It’s the little things in the room right now that’s compounding issues,” said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. “We have to keep moving forward and keep working through it.”
The Knighthawks (2-6) need to forget this game as they travel to Georgia to take on the Swarm at 5 pm Sunday. Georgia (3-4) also lost Saturday night, 18-9, in Buffalo to the Bandits. With the win, Buffalo took over first place in the Eastern Division with a 6-3 record. Toronto is a half-game behind at 5-3.
Hamburg native Joe Resetarits paced the Knighthawks as he tied a career-high with 4 goals. He was the only Hawk to have more than one goal.
“The effort is there, no question about it,” Resetarits said. “We’ve just got to make due with our chances when they come. We’ve got to put this behind us and worry about winning this game tomorrow.”
The game was close throughout as it was tied 5 times and had 3 lead changes. Rob Hellyer put the Rock in front to stay with his second goal of the match for an 8-7 lead in the third quarter.
“I thought our power plays were pretty good,” said forward Dawson. “Transition is getting us opportunities and our ‘D’ is giving us chances out the back door, but five-on-five we’re struggling right now and we’ve got to shoot our way out of this.”
Rochester goalie Matt Vinc recorded 45 saves as the Rock outshot the Knighthawks, 56-43.
Other goal scorers for the Knighthawks included: Graeme Hossack, Brad Gillies, Dylan Evans, Josh Currier, and Cody Jamieson.
Dawson has 9 goals in 8 games this season but was held goal-less for the second straight match.
“I’m not doing much out there,” he said. “I’m always about scoring goals, drawing penalties, getting offensive loose balls, and picks for your teammates and I’m not doing that right now. The positive thing is we’ve got to shoot our way out of this, and we’re not shooting the ball well right now.
“It’s frustrating. You wish you could put your finger on it and go back to a 2-game slide but we’re at a 6-game slide right now. We’ve got to end it right now or you know what happens in this league, you’re on the outside looking in.”
Jamieson has just one goal in the last two games (8 total for the season) as he had 2 assists against Toronto.
“We have to look in our room right now and get confidence from within,” Hasen said. “Right now we’ve got to work through it. It’s going to be a little thing that turns us around. We’ve got to keep moving forward and staying positive and we’re going to bounce back.”
When asked, depending on what happens against Georgia, if a roster shake-up might be needed, Hasen said, “That’s not my job. I have 24 guys to deal with and to make sure we’re confident moving forward.”
*NOTES – For the second straight game, Joe Resetarits scored a career-high 4 goals…Both the Knighthawks and Georgia Swarm are playing back-to-back games, and both will be travelling down South from Western New York…Grammy-nominated Eddie Money sang the National Anthem and performed the ceremonial faceoff prior to the game…The Knighthawks will be home next Saturday night to the Saskatchewan Rush with a 7:30 faceoff.
Links
Rochester Knighthawks – knighthawks.com
Videos
Joe Resitarits pp goal – https://youtu.be/luM7ugAeaPg
Cody Jamieson dp goal – https://youtu.be/gWJnGUGV4xY
Joe Resetarits 2nd pp goal — https://youtu.be/oSBZUKTOPyM
Matt Vinc save – https://youtu.be/hqQbje3UlJM