By CRAIG POTTER
Rochester scores 3 goals in 61 seconds in the 4th quarter to key the comeback.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester Knighthawks kept their slim National Lacrosse League playoff hopes alive with an 11-10 victory over the Buffalo Bandits on Saturday night at Connors & Ferris Field at the Blue Cross Arena before the largest crowd of the season – 8,765 fans.
The two teams put on an entertaining show for the special guests in attendance as the Knighthawks celebrated Military Appreciation night, and honored the 10-year anniversary of the 2007 championship team prior to the game.
“That’s how we’ve got to be,” said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen, who played on the 2007 Knighthawks. “We’ve got to grind these games out. The games against Buffalo are great games and we’ve played our best lacrosse against them the past two games. We’ve just got to keep going.”
The Knighthawks scored the first two goals of the game by Hamburg native, and former Bandit, Joe Resetarits and Dan Dawson.
“Right now we’re playing for our playoff lives,” Resetarits said. “We knew this was going to be a dog fight. It always is when we’re playing Buffalo. We said this wasn’t going to be easy but we played a whole 60 minutes. We stuck to our game plan and kept battling.”
However, the Bandits tallied the next three goals and grabbed the lead in the final minute of the quarter, 3-2.
Buffalo extended the margin to 3 goals, 6-3, by halftime. The Bandits continued to hold the advantage by 2 and 3 goals in the third stanza, taking an 8-5 lead into the fourth quarter.
Rochester struck for 3 goals in 61 seconds early in the fourth to knot the count at 8-8. Rochester Rattler Dhane Smith scored to put the Bandits back in front, but Kyle Jackson netted his second and third goals of the contest to give the Knighthawks the lead for the first time since the first quarter.
Mitch Jones evened the count about 30 seconds later, 10-10, for Buffalo.
Hawks transition man Brad Gillies picked up a loose ball in his own zone and went coast-to-coast to score the game-winner with 2:05 remaining in regulation.
“It was a great character win for our team and it was a win we desperately needed,” said Jackson. “It was nice to see some big guys step up in some big moments. The fans here are unbelievable and that last five minutes or so the crowd was as loud as its ever been. It really helped us rally back and get the win.
“Everyone had a game today and that’s what we needed. We needed to win and I was glad to see that everyone stepped up.”\”
Knighthawks goalie Matt Vinc took over at that point as he finished with 23 saves to secure the win.
“This is a game where it’s a matter of swings and a matter of seconds,” Resetarits said. “\”We knew (being down) three goals going into the fourth was nothing. Tonight was huge and we’ve got to build off of it.”
The victory keeps Rochester’s slim playoff hopes alive with a 5-8 record for fifth place in the Eastern Conference. Buffalo dropped to 5-7.
“Every time we step on the floor it is a must-win game from here on out,” Hasen said. “Tonight was another great effort from top to bottom.”
*NOTES – Rochester Rattler Dhane Smith paced the Bandits with 6 points on 2 goals and 4 assists…Ryan Benesch led Buffalo with 4 goals as Mark Steenhuis (2g, 3a) and Mitch Jones (1g, 4a) each collected 5 points for the Bandits…The Knighthawks will be home again on Saturday, April 1 to take on the Calgary Roughnecks at 7:30 pm…Calgary helped the Hawks with a win over the New England Black Wolves (6-7) on Saturday as the Wolves hold the third and final playoff berth in the NLL Eastern Conference. The Knighthawks trail New England by 1 game with 5 to play. Buffalo is a half game out of third place with 6 games remaining on the Bandits schedule…The Georgia Swarm (8-4) lead the Eastern Conference with the Toronto Rock (8-5) in second place.
Links
Rochester Knighthawks – www.knighthawks.com
Videos
Brad Gillies breakaway – https://youtu.be/gaZmxt9NYKg
Dan Dawson 3-4 goal – https://youtu.be/VJzVG2UOmko
Matt Vinc save on breakaway – https://youtu.be/Pmhip0dHaWI
Kyle Jackson 5-on-3 pp goal – https://youtu.be/uRu0yzWjMhk
Joe Resetarits 8-8 tying goal – https://youtu.be/iRQEWDMXZKY
Kyle Jackson interview – https://youtu.be/d8AtXq8Tchs
Joe Resetarits interview – https://youtu.be/3NOKOdni2QQ
Mike Hasen interview – https://youtu.be/z-pgnjw2wAU