The possible tying goal is disallowed as Rochester loses 15-14 to the Swarm.
By Luke Conner / NLL.com
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Georgia Swarm clinched a NLL playoff berth and virtually ended the Rochester Knighthawks playoff hopes with a 15-14 victory on Friday night before 5,428 fans at the Connors & Ferris Field at the Blue Cross Arena.
What looked to be a promising season for the Knighthawks in the offseason has been anything but. The Knighthawks coming into the game were 2-8 and sitting at almost the basement of the East Division.
On Friday, the Knighthawks once again saw themselves in an early hole. Within the first six minutes of the game the Knighthawks were down 5-0. However, goals from Chris Boushy and Ryan Benesch made it 6-2 in favor of the Swarm after the first quarter.
In many games this season after a slow first quarter, the Knighthawks have answered with multiple goals to get the score close. After a Georgia goal to make it 7-2, the Knighthawks were able to go on an offensive run. Mike Triolo started the scoring for the Knighthawks in the second quarter. Boushy added three goals to give himself a hat trick in the second quarter alone and four goals in the first half. Cody Jamieson scored a goal to mark his 20th goal of season and to cut the Swarm lead to 9-7. However, Georgia tacked on three unanswered goals to make it 12-7 at halftime.
The Swarm opened the scoring in the second half and after that it was all Knighthawks in the third quarter, with goals coming from a pair from Boushy and individual goals coming from Mike Burke, Dawson Theede, and Graeme Hossack to make it 13-12 Swarm going into the 4th Quarter.
After a Georgia goal, Boushy netted his seventh goal of the game to tie things up at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
The Knighthawks then tied it again at 14-14 after another Georgia goal. However, Georgia grabbed a 15-14 lead late in the period.
However, Benesch appeared to tie it up for the Knighthawks again, but this goal would be disallowed after a controversial goalie interference call. The Knighthawks had a couple of good looks on goal in the final seconds but were unable to score the equalizer.
Rochester now falls to 2-9 while Georgia improves to 10-4 and clinches a playoff berth.
Even in a lost season, the Knighthawks can see Boushy’s performance as a positive late in their season. Coming from Colorado in exchange for fourth round pick, it looks like a pretty good deal after one game and he could be a key player in the Knighthawks future. Boushy finished with 9 points (7G, 2A) in his Knighthawks debut.
The Knighthawks now travel north of the border to face the Toronto Rock Saturday. Toronto can clinch a playoff berth in the East Division with a win against the Knighthawks after Rochester’s loss tonight. Faceoff at Scotiabank Center is set for 7:30 pm.
*NOTES — The Knighthawks announced that they signed Mike Triolo to a 1-year deal. The 6-foot-8 forward is back for this third stint with the Knighthawks. The Toronto native, who last signed with the team on Aug. 4, 2017, said he was glad to get another opportunity to play in the National Lacrosse League. “I was at a loss for words,” said Triolo. “I was just happy to get the call and just dropped everything that I was doing. I just want to be here. I will do whatever they need me to do.” The forward was originally a third-round pick (27th overall) of the Buffalo Bandits in the 2015 NLL Entry Draft. Signing with the Knighthawks marks the fourth time that he has joined an NLL club. In 2016, he joined with the Knighthawks after an impressive showing in the team’s rookie camp. He also played in all three of Rochester’s preseason games. After a strong 2017 camp, Triolo began the 2017-18 season on the Knighthawks’ practice squad. This year, he played in his first NLL game and scored 1 goal and had 1 assist against the Swarm…Jake Withers won 29-for-32 faceoffs for Rochester…Backup goalie Warren Hill played the entire game in net for the Knighthawks and made 35 saves.