There’s nothing like a close game to keep fans on the edge of their seats. That’s exactly what the Rochester Knighthawks (4-5) and Colorado Mammoth (2-6) did when they tied each other seven times in last nights game.
Jordan McBride and Jamie Lincoln went back to back to give the Mammoth a 2-0 lead. Cody Jamieson, Johnny Powless and Vitarelli responded for the struggling Knighthawks with a goal each to take the lead going into the second.
McBride picked up his second goal of the evening off a rebound to tie the game at three. Gavin Prout gave the maroon and black the lead with his 300th career goal from the top center spot on a low shot that snuck past Vinc. Powless picked up Rochester’s fourth and fifth goals to give him a hat trick on the night. Jamieson got in on the action for his second point of the night on an EMO to give his team a two goal lead. With 5:03 left in the quarter, Adam Jones helped pull the Mammoth within one on a Colorado man up. John Grant Jr. decided to join the scoring party with his first goal of the night (24th of the season) to tie the game at six.
After three minutes of play into the third, Joel McCready got a feed from Dan Dawson to give the lead back to Rochester. Five minutes later, Adam Jones tallied again after receiving a pass, jumping in the air and placing it over Vinc’s shoulder and banking it off the pipe. 19 seconds after Jones, Holdings scores his first of 2013 and the Mammoth take the lead 8-7. Dawson would later tie the game at eight. Lord assisted Campbell in a transition goal to give the Knighthawks the 9-8 lead. Jamieson answered Campbells goal with a dodge down the right side, barely challenged, and putting it past Dan Lewis for his own hat trick. Casey Powell put in his work with a hockey assist after he BTB passed it to Dawson, who found Vitarelli, an extra attacker after pulling Vinc, right on the door step to give the blue and white an 11-8 lead with 1.4 seconds left in the third.
Matt McCloud opened the scoring in the fourth for Colorado when he went flying through the air to the score within two. A minute and a half later, Grant found McBride across the box, who zipped it past Vinc, making his hat trick known and putting the Mammoth down one. The next goal came two and half minutes later, same combination as the last goal, except McBride set the pick for Grant Jr and he tied the game at 11 with a low shot. Vinc was plagued by the low shots all game. Jamieson made the final goal of the game look easy as he got the ball near midfield, ran down the right side and around his defender to go one on one with Lewis to put Rochester ahead 12-11 with seven minutes left.
Colorado was 2-2 on their power plays, with the Knighthawks going 1-1.
Rochester takes the next week off with a bye. They return to the field on March 16 to face the Edmonton Rush in a championship game rematch where the Rush lost to the Knighthawks.
Next weekend, Colorado travels for two games, playing Friday at Tortonto and then again on Saturday in Buffalo.
