By CRAIG POTTER
Rochester racks up 17 goals as Matt Vinc is outstanding in goal for the K-hawks.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Rochester Knighthawks opened the season with a 17-6 victory over the Calgary Roughnecks on Saturday night on the Connors & Ferris Field at the Blue Cross Arena before 4,596 fans.
The visitors from Western Canada opened the scoring, then it was all Knighthawks after that.
Rochester held a 3-1 advantage after the first quarter, then erupted for 8 goals in the second stanza to break open the game.
Goalie Matt Vinc put on an all-star-like performance as he made 40 saves, stopping 3 breakaways and also making many spectacular stops.
Vinc took over second place on the National Lacrosse League’s goalie saves all-time list with 6,507 saves, passing Toronto legend Bob Watson (6,471). Anthony Cosmo holds first place with 7,222 saves.
“He was on a mission,” said Knighthawks coach Mike Hasen of Vinc. “It was a tough year last year and we’ve had this circled on the calendar since the schedule came out. We wanted to be better. Tonight he was and everybody was.”
Veteran Dan Dawson led the Knighthawks with 6 points on 3 goals and 3 assists.
“We really executed the game plan that the coaches wanted: that was get transition and play fast,” said Dawson. “We want teams to know if you’re coming into this barn, you’re going to be in for a battle. We want to prove that it’s our home floor and we’re going to keep it.”
Veteran Joe Resetarits also tallied 6 points on 2 goals and 4 assists.
Other Knighthawks netting 2 goals were Kyle Jackson (2+1), Cory Vitarelli (2+0), and Josh Currier (2+0). Cody Jamieson, Ian Llord, Luc Magnan, Dylan Evans, and Brad Gillies each added single markers for Rochester.
“It was a huge win,” said Jamieson, who played his first full game in over a year as he injured an ACL in last year’s season opener. “It feels good to make a statement like that. I know there were a lot of question marks from our team missing the playoffs two years in a row, but in that locker room we believe and we trust what we’ve got in there.”
Jamieson, who was activated Friday, picked up his 200th career goal in his first night back.
“It’s a testimony to how long I’ve been here now,” he said. “It feels good. Not many people can get to that milestone because there are so many young guys coming up. To be here that long and be able to score that many, it feels good.”
“He’s been missed,” Hasen said of Jamieson. “He came back tonight and gave us a bit of a boost. He’s a special player, so it was really nice to have him back tonight.”
The Knighthawks have a bye next week before entertaining the Buffalo Bandits on Saturday, Dec. 23 at 7:30 pm.
Links
Rochester Knighthawks – knighthawks.com
Videos
Matt Vinc save – https://youtu.be/kaq2MvqjnfA
Dan Dawson pp goal – https://youtu.be/51-_3SgKkGM
Joe Resetarits goal – https://youtu.be/5ctTGS2UMM0