Rochester falls in the Knighthawks first road game of the season.
SASKATOON, SAS. — The Rochester Knighthawks were held to just 2 goals in the first half as they fell to National Lacrosse League defending champion Saskatchewan Rush, 16-8, on Saturday night in Western Cananda.
Rookie Dan Lomas paced the Hawks with 3 goals. Joe Resetarits and rookie Josh Currier led the team in points with 4 on 1 goal and 3 assists apiece. Rookie Kyle Jackson also had a multipoint game with 3 assists.
Graene Hossack, Dylan Evans, and Quinn Powless also scored goals for Rochester. Stephen Keogh and Scott Campbell each had one assist.
Goalie Matt Vinc made 37 saves to move within 8 stops of becoming only the fifth player in National Lacrosse League history to reach 6,000 saves.
Team captain Sid Smith did reach a milestone by playing in his 111th game, tying him for eight with Knighthawks Hall of Famer Jeremy Hollenbeck for eighth on the team’s all-time list.
The victory was the first of the season for the Rush (1-2) as the Knighthawks also now sport a 1-2 mark. The game was the first on the road this season with the next 2 Hawks contests also coming on the road the next 2 weekends. Rochester returns to the Blue Cross Arena on Feb. 11 against the Rush.
The Rush converted on 6 of 8 power play opportunties while the Hawks had just 1 power play goal in 5 chances. Each team had a shorthanded goal.
The Knighthawks played the game without the services of Cody Jamieson and Cory Vitarelli, due to injuries, and Dan Dawson, who is on the holdout list for personal reasons.