The loss drops Rochester 4 games out of a playoff berth.
DULUTH, GA. — The Rochester Knighthawks fell 15-11 to the Georgia Swarm Saturday night at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Field at Infinite Energy Arena. The contest was the first of two straight games against the Swarm.
The Knighthawks started and finished strong but could not overcome a 7-1 third quarter despite some great individual efforts. The bright spot tonight was the return of defenseman Jake Withers. The 2018 NLL Rookie of the Year won 24 of 28 faceoffs to finish one shy of his career high while collecting 15 loose balls.
“He gave us the opportunity to stop their momentum on occasions as we tried to get some of that back,” said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. “His level of play on the ‘D’ side also upped our level of play.”
Offensively, the Knighthawks received a four-goal, five-point night from Pat Saunders, who was playing in his fifth game of the season. Not to be outdone, Austin Shanks posted a season-high five assists as part of a six-point outing, while Joe Resetarits tied his season-high with four assists. Team captain Scott Campbell also reached a personal milestone as he tied Hall of Famer John Grant Jr. for fourth in team history in games played with 140.
In the second meeting of the season between the two clubs, Rochester and Georgia battled to a 7-7 tie in the first half. Both teams used late 2-0 runs to even the contest. The Knighthawks scored two goals in the final 22 seconds of the opening quarter to tie the game at four. Kyle Jackson pulled the game even with a between-the-legs shot that caught the far corner with one second to go.
The Teal and Purple opened the second on a 2-0 run as Cody Jamieson, and Brandon Robinson scored to make it 6-4. After winning a loose ball battle, Robinson scored off a great feed from Shanks for the sixth Rochester tally. The Swarm, however, would tie the contest at seven with a late 2-0 response.
After trailing 14-8 after the third, the Knighthawks outscored the Swarm 3-1 in the final frame as they kept chipping away at the lead. Stephen Keogh scored his first goal since being reacquired by the Knighthawks with 6:12 to play. Jamieson then bounced one past Mike Poulin to get Rochester within four at 15-11.
The Knighthawks (2-8) will host the Swarm at 7:30 pm on Friday, March 15.