It was a battle of New York State Saturday night in Rochester, New York. The Rochester Knighthawks played host to an Albany FireWolves team who have had a lackluster season, to say it nicely. Rochester, who also have been struggling as of late, looked to boost their playoff chances and build momentum going into the final weeks of the regular season.
Shockingly to some, Albany came out red hot and stunned Rochester in front of their home crowd, winning 14-12. Rochester made it interesting in the fourth quarter, but it wouldn’t be enough. Let’s do it.
It was evident very early on that this was going to be a physical game. Tanner Thomson opened the scoring with a beauty of a shot from the side of the net. Nick Chaykowsky tallied another for Albany with a beautiful interception, finishing the transition goal. Connor Kelly scored next as he walked right in and beat Rylan Hartley. Kelly had a monster night, so this would be the first of a few for the kid. Thomas Hoggarth finally got Rochester on the board in the final minute of the frame. 3-1 Albany after one.
Kelly got his second of the game just 19 seconds into the second quarter. Holden Cattoni got the next one for Rochester, however Jackson Reid and John Piatelli answered with two-straight to continue the FireWolves’ momentum. At the 8:13 mark of the second quarter, Tyler Biles and Brent Mitchell dropped the mitts, presumably an argument about who plays for the prettier New York city. The dust settled, and that seemed to be a nice momentum boost for Rochester. Ryan Smith got his first and Cattoni got his second to cut the deficit. Thomson got his second on the power play in the final minute to make it 7-4 Albany going into the half.
Doug Jamieson was spectacular in the first half. The former Goalie of the Year made 22 saves on 26 shots. Hartley was no slouch either, making his usual acrobatic saves. The young netminder stopped 19 of 26.
“He’s one of the best, we trust him through and through,” said Kelly about having Dougie in net. “The defense is running down the floor, so the goalies have to make saves. We’re going to capitalize.”
Rochester has proven that when they fall behind in the first half of games, they should never be counted out. Cattoni got his hat trick to begin the third. Jake Fox and Connor Fields traded goals before Albany went on another two-goal run. Both Fox’s second and Kelly’s hat trick kept the Knighthawks at an arm’s reach. Or did it? Rochester rattled off three-straight to end the quarter and most importantly, cut the deficit to just one. Goal scorers were Curtis Knight twice, the first on the power play, and Fields, his second. 10-9 FireWolves as we head to the fourth.
Fields’ second goal was his 100th career goal and his 100th point on the season. With that, Fields became only the third American born player to reach the century mark in a season. Big congrats to Connor.
Albany got two of those goals back as Thomson got his hat trick and Reid got his second. At this point, Rochester had to break through, all while shutting down Albany’s offense. Spoiler, that didn’t happen. Any time Rochester scored, Albany had the answer. Cattoni got his fourth of the game, but was answered by Kelly’s fourth. The Knighthawks got back to within one, as Hoggarth got his second and Knight got his hat trick, but it just wouldn’t be enough. Kelly got his fifth with about 30 seconds remaining, which would be the dagger. Your final from Blue Cross arena, 14-12 Albany.
Players of the game for Albany were Kelly (5+2), Thomson (3+2), and Fox (2+2). Jamieson was a big reason for the victory, making 42 saves on 54 shots. As for Rochester, Fields (2+8), Cattoni (4+1), and Knight (3+2) led the way. Hartley, while coming up short, was impressive at times. He made 37 saves on 51 shots.
“It’s about time, I know we’ve been working at this the last 10 weeks,” said Kelly about snapping the team’s 10-game losing streak. As for his last goal, Kelly added, “I got the green light and had two seconds left, why not let it fly. High bouncers go.”
Albany (3-12) is simply looking for moral victories at this point and maybe to play spoiler. They travel back home to take on the red-hot Georgia Swarm (7-8) this Saturday at 7 p.m. As for Rochester (9-7), they need to figure it out, and in a hurry. They still have yet to lock up a playoff spot and are on a four-game losing streak. They have a week off before hosting the Swarm on Saturday, April 22nd at 7 p.m.
