The Rochester Knighthawks outscored the Halifax Thunderbirds 5-1 in the fourth quarter to win 11-10 at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax.
“Our defensive unit played a great game and held us in it, and that gave us a lot of confidence to know we have that defence and (Hutchcraft) in net..” said Rochester forward Connor Fields, who led the game with four goals and six points. “Once we started to see (Halifax) were spinning off picks really early and that we were able to get the top side off of it pretty easily, we stuck with that as our game plan, and we got a lot of good opportunities in the fourth there.”
This is the second meeting between these two teams in the past two weeks. Halifax and Rochester met in Rochester last Saturday, where the Thunderbirds won a high-scoring but close game, 18-19.
“Obviously, Halifax used to be in Rochester, too, so it is somewhat of a rivalry. They are a great team, and we know each game that we come in that it is going to be a battle; whether it is a one-goal game or a two-goal game, we know it is going to be a fight,” said Fields.
For the Thunderbirds, they felt they played well tonight and deserved to win. Allowing 10 goals is the third-fewest they’ve had all season. They had two goals called back for a toe in the crease and a lost challenge on another. However, this is the third fourth-quarter lead they blew this year. No forward scored for Halifax in the quarter; the only player who did was defender Colton Armstrong.
“It’s tough too because we’re getting the looks, and sometimes in sports, like lacrosse, sometimes they don’t fall and other games they do,” said Halifax defender Johnny Pearson. “I think the looks we were getting were really positive and really good, and it is just about now capitalizing on some of those.”
Halifax opened the scoring a minute-and-a-half into the game. Mike Robinson, last week’s NLL Rookie of the Week, drove in on goal and dove over the crease to shoot the ball past Rochester’s goalie Riley Hutchcraft. Clarke Petterson scored a minute later to get the early 2-0 lead.
The Knighthawks responded four minutes later. Matt Gilray made a stretch pass to Chad Tutton, who was running in-alone in transition to score. Connor Fields and Ryan Smith also scored to grab a 3-2 lead.
The start of the second quarter was tight, and neither team could score for the first six minutes. Randy Staats broke open the scoring, firing the ball into the top corner of the net. That was Halifax’s first goal in 24 minutes.
Jake Piseno scored on a break-away to regain the lead. But Staats answered with his second goal of the quarter to tie the game again.
Warren Hill had an adventure in the second quarter. A ball bounced out of his stick and he committed to chasing it down, which led him to the white line. He lost the battle for the ball, but Colton Armstrong blocked a shot to prevent a goal. Even with the awkward play, Hill played great tonight, stopping 47 shots and making several huge saves, especially in the fourth quarter when the offence wasn’t scoring. This was a big game for him after losing the net last week when Drew Hutchison got the start. Hill entered this game with a 13.58 GAA and a 74 save percentage.
“He’s our wall back there, and it starts with him. When he can give us performances as great as he did tonight, we always have a chance,” said Pearson.
The Thunderbirds came out flying to start the third quarter. Mike Robinson scored just over a minute into the quarter. Shortly afterwards, Randy Staats scored his third goal of the game and made the score 6-4.
Mike Robinson is starting to heat up for the Thunderbirds. The rookie forward had a goal and four points last week. Tonight, he was second on the team in points, with two goals and three points.
“He’s been great; his addition has been awesome. I know he’s fitting in the locker room really well and getting along with all the guys great. I think he’s starting to find his role a little bit more on offence and what is going to make him most successful and, in turn, our offence as well,” said Pearson.
Off the ensuing face-off after Staats’s goal, Graeme Hossack ran down on a break-a-way and scored, but the goal was called back because his toe was in the crease. A few minutes later, Clarke Petterson had another goal called back for the same reason. Randy Staats also hit the post on a power-play.
Rochester capitalized on Halifax’s bad luck. Connor Fields moved inside and outside to give him some space up high, and he fired the ball past Warren Hill.
However, a minute later, Fields got called for embellishment, and Cody Jamieson scored. Shortly after, Petterson muscled his way inside to score and stretch Halifax’s lead to 8-5 heading into the fourth quarter.
It was Rochester who struck first in the fourth. Turner Evans was alone on the right side of the net. Ryland Rees passed him the ball, and Evans made no mistake.
Connor Fields scored two quick goals to tie the game. On his second goal, he fired the ball from up high and starred down Hill afterwards.
“I didn’t say anything, but you also want to let him know when you’re there, right,” said Fields. “We’re here, and we’re coming the whole game at ya. I think he played great in net, and he’s a great goalie. For us to get a couple there at the end and put 10 on them is a great game for us.”
However, Hill got back at Fields. He launched a pass down the floor to Colton Armstrong, who went on a breakaway and scored.
Rochester tied the game at nine a minute later when Thomas McConvey scored on the power-play. Rochester took the lead with four minutes left. Fields spun around defender Max Wilson and passed the ball over to Ryan Smith, who scored to take the 10-9 lead.
With 36 seconds left, the Thunderbirds pulled their goalie to try to score. Rochester had the ball on an outlet pass, but Colton Armstrong made a great play by diving at the stick of a Knighthawk to force a turnover. Halifax had a couple of great chances, including Jason Knox firing the ball over Hutchcraft, but just missed the open net. Rochester hung on to split the season series against Halifax.
Connor Fields led the game with four goals and six points. Ryan Smith had two goals and three points and Ryan Lanchbury had four assists. Riley Hutchcraft stopped 36 of 45 shots.
For Halifax, Randy Staats led the way with three goals and five points. Mike Robinson and Clarke Petterson had two goals and three points each. Warren Hill stopped 44 out of 54 shots.
Halifax had a chance to get to an even record with a win but dropped to two wins and four losses. Rochester has also struggled to start this year, losing a couple of close games, but their record improved to three wins and five losses.
“To come out with a win, it gives us the confidence as a group, but you learn a lot from it. Sticking to the game plan, trusting each other and knowing that we can come out on top for these games, ” said Fields.
