The Rochester Knighthawks, one of the favorites going into this NLL season, are now 0-3 after falling to the Toronto Rock last night 11-7. Rochester is the only winless team in the league after Minnesota lost last night and are in last in the Eastern Conference.
The Knighthawks are the reigning NLL champions and boosted their attack this off season with Dan Dawson and Casey Powell. However, they have scored less than any team in the league with just 32 goals.
In the loss against Toronto last night, they lost by just four goals. However, one stat stood out more than anything. In Toronto’s 11 goals they picked up 18 assists. In the seven Rochester goals, just five.
Three of the seven Rochester goals were shorthanded, which shows even more how much their offense struggled against the regular Toronto defense. They shot off target 25 times in the game and got just 47 shots on the net.
Of the goals scored last night, three of them came from Cody Jamieson, two from Cory Vitarelli and one each from Brad Self, a defenseman, and one from Johnny Powless. Combined points from Powell and Dawson? Two assists, both from Powell. Combined shots are 12, seven from Dawson and five from Powell.
On the season Dawson and Powell’s combined point totals are 16. Their combined shots on goal are 18. Their combined goal totals are just three. Dawson has been an assists guy for his entire career, but for him to have just one goal is a part of the problem.
The last time Dawson and Powell played together was with the Boston Blazers in 2011, when they combined for 171 points for the season. Right now, three games in, neither are on pace to reach those point totals.
The Knighthawks have a target on their backs for sure, and they have lost to Washington by one goal, Buffalo by one goal and Toronto by four. With just one or two more good bounces Rochester could be 2-1. However, their offensive problems are real, and they need to get their act together before their game against Washington next week.
