Rochester needs a victory to stay in the thick of the playoff chase.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — After scoring an emotional 11-10 victory over the Buffalo Bandits, the Rochester Knighthawks will remain home to play host to the Calgary Roughnecks at 7:30 pm on Saturday, April 1 at Connors & Ferris Field at the Blue Cross Arena.
The Knighthawks now have won two of their last three games to remain in the hunt for the third and final playoff spot in the East Division. Rochester (5-8) enters the week just one game behind New England (6-7) and a half-game behind Buffalo (5-7).
Broadcast Info: The game will be broadcast on 107.3 The Bull and is available on the iHeartRadio app. Fans can also watch the contest on NLL TV (nlltv.com).
Knight of Beer: The Knighthawks will host their Second Annual Knight of Beer, presented by The Distillery and the New York State Brewers Association. From 3:00 to 5:30 p.m., fans can sample some local flavor from over 20 craft breweries from around New York state. Founders Brewing Co. has also come onboard as one of the participating breweries. A Premium Pass for the event is just $40, which includes 10 beer tickets, a souvenir cup and a ticket to the game. A VIP Pass, which is available for $65, includes 10 beer tickets, a souvenir cup and a luxury suite ticket to the game.
Postgame Party: After the game, fans can head over to The Distillery (1142 Mt Hope Ave.) for the Deep Eddy Vodka Postgame Party.
Scouting the Knighthawks: Rochester knocked off the rival Bandits Saturday to win the regular-season series, two games to one. For a second straight game it was Kyle Jackson who powered the offense. The rookie forward posted a team-high eight points (3+5). Dan Dawson chipped in two goals and four assists, while Joe Resetarits finished with three goals and two assists. With his third point of the game, Resetarits earned his 200th career point. Brad Gillies also notched two points, which included the game-winning goal with just 2:05 to play. It was the second game-winner of the season for the second-year pro. Matt Vinc made 23 saves as Rochester held Buffalo to a season-low 33 shots on goal. Quinn Powless tied his career high by dishing out three assists.
Rivalry Draws a Crowd: A season-high crowd of 8,765 watched the season finale between the I-90 rivals. The energy in the building also was aided by the men and women in uniform as the Knighthawks held their annual Military Appreciation Night.
We Want One: The Knighthawks have played in three straight one-goal games, winning two of those contests. Rochester defeated Buffalo 9-8 in overtime on March 4 and then edged the Bandits 11-10 Saturday. In between those two victories, Rochester rallied but dropped a 12-11 decision to New England on March 17.
Action Jackson: Kyle Jackson has collected 15 points (8+7) in his last two games. The University of Michigan product remains second in the NLL in points among rookies with 51.
Wild West Stretch: Saturday’s game kicks off a two-game set against teams from the West Division, which concludes two weeks later in Denver against the Colorado Mammoth.
Milestone Alert:
Dan Dawson needs five assists to become only the fourth player in NLL history to reach 800.
In his next game, Matt Vinc will pass Mike Hasen (114) for eighth all-time on the team’s all-time games played list.
The Knighthawks need just two wins to reach 200 as a franchise.
Scouting the Roughnecks: Last weekend, the Roughnecks split a pair of games, falling to first-place Saskatchewan on Friday and then rebounding with an 18-13 win over the New England Black Wolves Saturday. The victory, which ended a three-game losing streak, was fueled by nine-point efforts from Wes Berg (5+4) and Curtis Dickson (3+6). The Roughnecks (5-9) are in fourth place in the West Division and trail the Vancouver Stealth (5-8) by just a half-game.
Next Game: After a bye week, the Knighthawks will travel to play the Colorado Mammoth on Saturday, April 15 at 9 pm at Pepsi Center.