The playoff race heats up as Rochester needs a victory.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — On Saturday, two of the league’s oldest rivals will take center stage as the Rochester Knighthawks host the Toronto Rock. Faceoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Connors & Ferris Field at the Blue Cross Arena. The game has special significance for both teams, as they have partnered to support CURE Childhood Cancer Association on Cradle for the Cure night.
The Knighthawks and Rock will wear special uniforms, which will be auctioned off to benefit CURE Childhood Cancer Association. Each player will wear the name of the person they are playing on the back of his jersey. Fans can still bid on the game-worn, signed jerseys at www.knighthawks.com/Auction.
Rochester (3-11) needs a win Saturday and a New England loss to stay alive in the East Division playoff race. The Knighthawks are 1-0 in elimination games, following Sunday’s 13-8 win at New England.
The Rock are embarking on their final four games of the regular season with a chance to host a first-round playoff game. Toronto (9-5) is one and a half games behind second-place Georgia.
Broadcast Info: The game will be broadcast on 107.3 The Bull and the iHeartRadio app. Fans can watch the contest on B/R Live and CW Rochester. Local TV coverage will be available on cable channels 16 and 1016, and over-the-air at 13.2. DIRECTV will also carry the broadcast on channel 14.
Head-to-Head: The contest is the first of two between the longtime East Division rivals. Rochester leads the all-time series with a 29-26 record.
Scouting the Knighthawks: Rochester enters the game after picking up a victory in a must-win game in New England, besting the Black Wolves 13-8 at Mohegan Sun Arena Sunday afternoon. Goalie Warren Hill made a career-high 50 saves and chipped in three assists in his second start of the season. Mike Burke led the way with five points, while Cody Jamieson collected four points. His final goal was the 250th of his nine-year career. Kyle Jackson also scored three times and picked up one assist. James Barclay netted his first pro goals, and Jake Withers posted the first two-goal effort of his career. Withers, who won 18 of 25 draws, leads the NLL with a 74 percent faceoff winning percentage. Graeme Hossack posted one assist Sunday and is now tied for second in the league in points among defensemen with 22.
Milestone Watch:
Kyle Jackson needs six assists to reach 100.
Graeme Hossack is one away from 500 loose balls in his career.
Ryan Benesch is 15 points away from becoming only the 10th player in NLL history to reach 1,000 points.
Scouting the Rock: It’s a busy week for Toronto as it plays two East Division games in two nights. They open the week with a Friday night home game against the Buffalo Bandits and then head to Rochester to take on the Knighthawks on Saturday. The Rock punched their ticket to the playoffs last week, defeating the Philadelphia Wings 12-11 on March 30. Johnny Powless led the offense with seven points, while Rob Hellyer chipped in with six. In goal, Nick Rose made 43 saves. Tom Schreiber, who had one goal and three assists, is ninth in the NLL with 72 points. Challen Rogers enters the week as the leader in points among defensemen with 23 in 14 games.