Rochester broke open a close game in the 4th quarter to beat New England.
UNCASVILLE, CT. — The Rochester Knighthawks put the New England Black Wolves’ postseason party on hold, following a 13-8 win Sunday afternoon. Their most complete effort of the season allowed the Knighthawks to remain alive in the East Division playoff race.
“We just try to come in and work as hard as we can every night,” said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. “Tonight, we were rewarded for our hard work.”
Rochester (3-11) closed out its third win of the season by scoring the game’s last four goals. The victory ended the Knighthawks’ 8-game losing streak and ended the Black Wolves’ 4-game home winning streak. The loss dropped New England to 7-7, and it marked the first Knighthawks’ win at Mohegan Sun Arena since May 1, 2016.
“It feels awesome,” said Knighthawks goalie Warren Hill, who picked up his first professional win. “It’s really exciting, but I am even more proud of what our team did today.”
Hill turned aside 50 shots and chipped in three assists in his second start of the season. Mike Burke led the way with 5 points (2+3), while Cody Jamieson collected 4 points (2+2). His final goal was the 250th of his nine-year career. Kyle Jackson also scored 3 times and picked up one assist.
On Sunday, the game began as a goaltending duel between Hill and New England’s Doug Jamieson. For almost 25 minutes, the two teams combined for only four goals. The contest picked up during the 10-minute mark of the second with three goals coming in just 45 seconds. New England netted two of those goals to take a 4-3 lead.
Rochester, however, responded by closing out the half on a 3-0 run, courtesy of Jackson’s second of the night and transition goals by rookies James Barclay and Colton Armstrong. Barclay’s tally at 12:46, which tied the game at four, was the first goal of his pro career.
“I haven’t had the opportunity to shoot this year,” said the former first-round pick. “I just put it on [the] cage and was happy it went in.”
The Knighthawks never trailed after Barclay’s goal, as the closest that New England would get was tying the contest twice in the second half. Rochester mounted its final push in the third quarter as Burke and Jamieson scored back-to-back goals to give the K-Hawks a 9-7 advantage.
In the fourth, the Black Wolves scored one final time before the Knighthawks finished off the game on a 4-0 run. Burke’s second of the afternoon staked Rochester to a 10-8 lead as he leaped in the air and put a bounce shot past Doug Jamieson. Jackson then added his third, while Withers tacked on his second and Chris Boushy netted his first of the game.
“We went out there with that ‘nothing-to-lose mentality,” said Withers, who had the first 2-goal outing of his career. “We have a young squad, had Warren in net and pulled away in the second half. It’s a good win for our team.”
On Saturday, April 6, the Knighthawks will host their Second Annual Cradle for the Cure Game. Rochester will entertain the Toronto Rock at 7:30 pm at Connors & Ferris Field at the Blue Cross Arena.
The Knighthawks and Rock will wear special uniforms, which will be auctioned off to benefit CURE Childhood Cancer Association. Each player’s jersey will include the name of the person they are playing for on their nameplate. Fans can bid on the game-worn, signed jerseys at www.knighthawks.com/Auction
*NOTES — The Knighthawks activated defenseman Rowan Kelly and placed defenseman Luc Magnan on the injured reserve list Sunday. Kelly, however, did not play against the Black Wolves.