Rochester plays host to Philadelphia in the final preseason tune-up.
By Suzie Cool / Rochester Knighthawks
The final week of preseason play is upon us, which means the Rochester Knighthawks have one final tune-up this Saturday, Nov. 23 at 7:00 p.m. when they host Philadelphia Wings at Segar & Sciortino Field at The Blue Cross Arena before embarking on their first season as an expansion franchise.
Last weekend, Rochester took on the Toronto Rock at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre in a preseason tilt that ended in a 14-14 tie. Despite the score line, there were many positives to take away from last weekend’s performance. Not only did the Knighthawks begin to build chemistry with guys like Shawn Evans paving the way, but Rochester stayed even with an opponent that has been well established over 20 years, collecting six National Lacrosse League championships along the way.
“To play against a team like Toronto – they’re an established team, they’ve got a veteran team, they’re fast, they’re athletic and they’re well-rounded. They will be a really tough team to play against this year and knowing that it is preseason, it’s not telling the whole tale. Last weekend does give us a lot to go off of, though, and to see where we’re at and what we need to continue to work on,” commented Knighthawks general manager Dan Carey when asked about what he saw from the squad’s second preseason matchup.
A major storyline headed into the Knighthawks season will be the cousin connection between Shawn and Turner Evans , two offensive threats who combined for 17 points in last weekend’s preseason matchup.
Shawn is one player that Carey has been speaking highly of before the Knighthawks training camp even began. The 33-year-old is heading into his 15th NLL season, so it’s no surprise that the first chance he got to take the floor for his “new” team he racked up eight assists and two goals. Now a lot of people may see the 10 points on the scoresheet as the largest contribution from Shawn last weekend, but it’s the little things that the veteran forward did in order to help create the chemistry for the Knighthawks offense.
“Shawn did a lot of little things. There were a couple of times where he turned the ball over by just pressuring a defenseman with the ball and that kind of gives the rest of the players a jolt and some energy. When you see a guy like that, he’s working to strip the ball and then we get the ball back into possession and get another opportunity to score,” noted Carey when asked about Shawn’s impressive 10-point performance.
The younger of the two forwards, Turner, just signed a one-year contract extension through the 2020-21 season last week with Rochester. Turner is coming off of a year where he tallied career-highs in goals (19) and assists (45) with the San Diego Seals, and he looks to continue that momentum when headed into the brand-new campaign with his brand-new club. After last weekend’s preseason tilt against the Rock, it seems as if Turner will have no problem doing just that with the five goals he notched during the tight contest.
With the offense connecting last weekend, Rochester began to see many other pieces of the puzzle fall into place as well. The goaltending trio of Steve Fryer, Rylan Hartley, and Craig Wende seemed to find a much better stride when facing off against Toronto compared to the week prior. Hartley got the nod in the crease, seeing the most time out of all three goaltenders with 26 minutes played. Fryer and Wende followed the young netminder, allowing only three goals apiece and combining for 20 saves.
There is still no set starter for Rochester in the crease, but Carey made sure to justify just how important it is to have patience when choosing the right guy to fill a role that the entire team needs to be able to rely on.
“Such an important part of lacrosse is having a goaltender, and goaltending, that your players are able to rely on and have confidence in. We feel we’ve got three guys that are able to take on that role and responsibility, and we just have to figure out what’s best for them in our organization.”
Just one chance is left for the Knighthawks players to finetune their skills and create more chemistry prior to next week’s home opener. This weekend Rochester will be facing off against the Wings, who are only in their second season in the NLL after returning to the league in 2018-19. (The match is closed to the public.)
In their first season, the Wings finished sixth in the Eastern Division with an overall record of 4-14, and over the summer, the Knighthawks picked up two of Philadelphia’s veteran defensemen in Matt Bennett and Dylan Evans, the latter of which is also spent time with the previous Knighthawks reigme.
“The parody in our league is something that, quite honestly, I don’t know if there is in other pro sports leagues and some of that might have to do with having only 13 teams. The competitiveness is going to be difficult in every game this year and Philadelphia is going to be another one of those games that’s difficult and we have to be at our best,” said Carey when asked about the comparison when facing-off against the different caliber of clubs in the NLL.
Following this Saturday, one final roster decision will be made along with two more team practices prior to the Knighthawks finishing up what is left of their preseason campaign.
The inaugural season finally gets underway on Saturday, Nov. 30 at 7 pm when Rochester plays host to the Georgia Swarm at Segar & Sciortino Field at the Blue Cross Arena. Prior to the game, the Knighthawks will honor the history of lacrosse in Rochester.