The best-of-3 championship series moves to Rochester on June 2.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The best-of-three National Lacrosse League Final will open Saturday night as the East Division champion Rochester Knighthawks play the West Division champion Saskatchewan Rush at 9:30 pm ET at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon.
The NLL Final features two of the most successful teams of the past decade. The Knighthawks are making their fourth trip to the league championship in the past seven years, while the Rush are playing in their fifth.
Rochester advanced to the Final for the first time since the 2014 season, following a 9-8 win over the defending champion Georgia Swarm on May 12. The Knighthawks, who won NLL titles from 2012-14, are bidding to win their league record-tying sixth National Lacrosse League Cup.
The Rush, who finished with an NLL-best 14-4 record, are in their fourth straight Final after defeating the Calgary Roughnecks, 15-13, on May 13. Saskatchewan became the first organization since the Toronto Rock (1999-2003), who appeared in five straight finals, to accomplish that feat.
The 2018 Final marks the second time in franchise history that the Rush and Rochester will face off in the NLL Final. The last time was in 2012 when the Knighthawks rallied to defeat the Edmonton Rush, 9-6. That win began Rochester’s historic run of three straight championships (2012-14).
History is on the side of the Knighthawks this season, as Rochester went 2-0 against the West Division champs. The Knighthawks downed the Rush 16-11 on Feb. 17, and 13-10 at SaskTel Centre on March 24.
Broadcast Information: The game will be broadcast on 107.3 The Bull and the iHeartRadio app. The contest will also be streamed on Twitter at live.twitter.com/nll and simulcast on NLLTV.com.
Scouting the Knighthawks: Rochester knocked off the defending champion Georgia Swarm in the East Division Finals. Cody Jamieson led the way with three goals and one assist, while Austin Shanks put up a pair of goals and added one helper. Josh Currier, Eric Fannell, Scott Campbell and Kyle Jackson each had one goal in the road win. Matt Vinc ended the night with 46 saves to pass Pat O’Toole for first place in NLL and Knighthawks postseason saves. The Knighthawks have now won 10 of their last 12 games after opening the season with a 2-6 record. Joe Resetarits leads Rochester with eight playoff points, which is fifth best in the NLL. Shanks is tied for third in the league in goals with six.
Captain America: Joe Resetarits set the NLL single-season record for points by a U.S.-born player with 100. The Hamburg, NY native finished fourth in the league in points and tied for third in assists (63) with teammate Cody Jamieson and Toronto’s Rob Hellyer.
Holy Hossack: Defenseman Graeme Hossack ended the regular season tied for the league lead with 34 caused turnovers and ranked third with a career-best 163 loose balls.
Milestone Watch:
Mike Hasen needs one more win to tie Derek Keenan for second in NLL postseason victories with 15.
Cody Jamieson (27) needs two goals to move into second place in franchise playoff history.
Cory Vitarelli is two goals away from passing Duane Jacobs and moving into a tie for fifth place on the team’s all-time postseason list with 21.
Rochester is making its league-record 10th appearance in the NLL championship.
With a championship this season, the Knighthawks will tie the Toronto Rock and Philadelphia Wings for the most NLL titles with six.
Scouting the Rush: The Rush will try to capture their third Cup in the past four seasons. The Edmonton Rush won the NLL title in 2015 and Saskatchewan won the 2016 championship but fell short to the Georgia Swarm last season. During the regular season, Saskatchewan was led offensively by Mark Matthews (116) and Robert Church (107), who finished first and second in the league in points, respectively. Church was also tied for second in the NLL with 47 goals. Goalie Evan Kirk led the league with 12 wins and was second with a 10.82 goals-against average.
Next Game: The Knighthawks will host Game Two on Saturday, June 2 at 8 pm at Connors & Ferris Field at the Blue Cross Arena. Tickets are available by calling the Knighthawks office at (585) 454-4295, or by going online to www.knighthawks.com/Finals.