The Rochester Knighthawks became the first team in NLL history to win three consecutive championships on May 31 when they soundly defeated the Calgary Roughnecks in Game 2 and then came from behind to win the deciding 10-minute mini-game.
What Went Right: Dangerous Dan Dawson—With Dan Dawson out of commission for Game 1 due to a concussion suffered in the previous round of playoffs, the Knighthawks offense struggled to find its rhythm, scoring just seven times on Calgary’s Mike Poulin. They badly needed the boost Dawson could give them when they returned home and, in spite of being a game-time decision, Dangerous Dan came up huge, leading all Game 2 scorers with seven points (3 G, 4 A) and then assisting on the game-winning goal in the mini-game. Dawson was getting open in tight, making diving scoring plays, and hitting shooters with pinpoint passes that Calgary’s defense simply didn’t have an answer for. Even without playing in the first game, he deservingly won the Champion’s Cup MVP award.
What Went Wrong: Calgary’s discipline—This is something the Roughnecks have struggled with from time-to-time over the last two seasons and once again, they let the Knighthawks get to them at inopportune moments. Rochester’s defense was especially physical at home and they focussed their aggressive play on Calgary’s two smallest—but most dangerous—players, Shawn Evans and Dane Dobbie. Although Dobbie, the NLL’s goals scored leader in the regular season, has been known to let chippy play get to him in the past, yielding some ugly and foolish penalties, to his credit he stayed under control against Rochester. Evans, not so much. He went to the penalty box three times in Game 2 against his former team; once for roughing in the first quarter (although he took Cory Vitarelli with him), once in the second period for unsportsmanlike conduct just as Calgary was about to go on the power play (this time he took Ian Llord with him for a coincidental minor), and once in the third for roughing just after Rochester scored a short-handed goal, thereby negating what was left of the power play.
Jeff Shattler uncharacteristically also wound up in the sin bin for unsportsmanlike conduct in the first and slashing in the second.
Those penalties short-circuited power play opportunities, killed momentum and put Calgary on the defensive for far too long.
But the worst penalty of the night came in the mini-game after Calgary spotted themselves a 2-0 advantage. Less than a minute after the second goal, Curtis Manning got sent off for a holding minor that, again, killed Calgary’s momentum and gave new life to a Knighthawks team that were reeling from getting behind so quickly in the tiebreaker. That two minute advantage gave Rochester a chance to regroup, refocus and put the pressure back on the Roughnecks and the result was a three-goal Knighthawks run in a minute and a half. And the championship.
In the end, the addition of Dawson to the Rochester’s lineup gave them the boost they needed to start beating Poulin. And Calgary’s penalty woes took them completely off their game, leaving them vulnerable.
