It may have taken the Knighthawks (5-2) the first quarter to wake up, but when they did they had a 17-9 victory over the Toronto Rock (3-4).
When the game started it seemed like the Rock were going to roll easily to a victory. Captain Colin Doyle scored four times and gave the Rock a 4-2 lead just 19 minutes into the game. It would also be the last time Doyle scored in the game. Rochester went on a three goal run to take a 5-4 lead for 25 seconds. Toronto would then retake the lead 7-5 with a three goal run of their own all in 32 seconds.
The Knighthawks would then take control of the game and go on a four goal run to take a 9-7 half time lead. The final three goals of the run were within 29 seconds.
As the third quarter started so did the goal run, and it seemed someone forgot to tell the Rock to come on out. Rochester ran off seven more goals to start quarter number three making it an 11 goal run between the second and third quarters. The ‘Hawks would outscore the Rock 15-5 in the middle frames, while shutting the Rock offense down for almost 20 minutes. Toronto would only score twice in the second half as Matt Vinc put it on lockdown.
Cody Jamieson (5 G, 5 A), Stephen Keogh (4 G, 3 A), and Dan Dawson with 10 assists led the way for the two-time defending champions. Joe Walters played a great game on transition bringing the ball up the floor and getting a hat trick.
With the win the Knighthawks now hold the tie-breaker over the Rock. They defeated Toronto back on January 18 by a score of 12-8. One meeting remains between the two teams—March 15 they meet again back in Toronto.
Rochester will play four of next five on the road (March 8 home versus the Philadelphia Wings).
Toronto will be on the road four of their next six games (Feb 22 home against the Minnesota Swarm , and March 15 versus Rochester).
