Rochester yields the tying goal in the final 30 seconds, then gives up the shorthanded winner.
By CRAIG POTTER / C&C Worldwide Sports Director
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — For the second straight game, the Rochester Knighthawks gave up the tying goal in the final 30 seconds of regulation, then lost the contest in overtime.
The latest happened Sunday afternoon before 4,036 fans at the Blue Cross Arena as the Vancouver Warriors (4-5) tied the score at 10-10 with 4.2 seconds left in regulation.
The Knighthawks received a power play in the overtime period, but Warrior Mitch Jones scored shorthanded for the game-winner for Vancouver. It marked the only time in the match that the Warriors held the lead.
The Hawks squadered an 8-4 advantage they established in the second quarter as the Warriors kept battling back to pull out the victory.
The loss spoiled Rochester rookie goalie Rylan Hartley’s National Lacrosse League (NLL) starting debut. The Mississauga, ONT., native stopped 5 breakaways/point-blank shots, and made numerous other spectacular stops to thwart the Warriors. He finished with 46 saves.
“For me I am not satisfied until we win,” said Hartley. “Tonight went well for myself, but I am not pleased since we didn’t get the win.”
“He did a really good job,” Heldon Cattoni said of Hartley. “He was there when we needed him to be there and gave us a great chance to win. That was all we needed him to do and you have to give a lot of props to both our other two goaltenders (Craig Wende and Steve Fryer) as they stuck by him this week in practice.”
“Hartley was really good while also making quite a few saves that we did not expect,” Knighthwks coach Mike Hasen added. “He gave us a really strong opportunity to win and that is all you need from your goaltenders in this league.”
The Knighthawks need to learn how to close out a game when they have a 1-goal lead in the final minute of regulation.
“For me, I have to be less conservative,” said Hasen. “I was thinking more about clock management as opposed to letting the offensive guys be creative. I take full responsibility for that. Our offensive guys are smart enough to put the game away but I should have not have put a hamper on things.”
In the Hawks game last weekend in Buffalo, the Bandits scored in the final 30 seconds to send the game into overtime where they pulled out the victory.
Cattoni led the Knighthawks with 8 points (2g, 6a) as Shawn Evans contributed 6 points (2g, 4a).
Phil Caputo recorded his first hat trick (3g) as he led the team with 4 goals total.
Turner Evans and Cory Highfield each contributed 1 goal and 1 assist as Curtis Knight and Dan Lintner had 2 assists apiece. Paul Dawson and Chris Willman added 1 assist each.
The Knighthawks (1-7) hit the road on Feb. 22 as they travel to Connecticut to face the New England Black Wolves (4-2).
Rochester returns to the BCA on Saturday, Feb. 29 against the other expansion franchise this season, the New York Riptide (1-8).
*NOTES — Rochester Knighthawks General Manager and Vice President of Lacrosse Operations Dan Carey announced on Sunday that the team activated defenseman Tyler Biles off the practice squad. In a corresponding move, the Knighthawks moved defenseman Julian Garritano to the practice squad. Both transactions are pending league approval. Biles made his season debut on Jan. 18 in Rochester’s 13-12 win over Calgary, recording 1 loose ball and causing 1 turnover. Garritano has appeared in 3 games, collecting 4 penalty minutes and 11 loose ball recoveries…Holden Cattoni, who’s averaging more than 5 points per game through his first 7 games of the season, has moved inside the NLL’s Top 5 point-getters after becoming the first Knighthawk this season to reach the 40-point mark in the team’s previous matchup against the Buffalo Bandits. Cattoni continues to lead the team in goals (13), assists (27) and points (40) as well as power-play assists (6) and overall shots (108)…Ryland Rees, Rochester’s second overall pick in the 2019 NLL Entry Draft who scored his first two pro goals in the 13-12 win over Calgary back on Jan. 18, is tied for 15th among all transition players with a team-high 52 loose ball recoveries, 10 of which came in last Friday’s matchup in Buffalo.