Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York played host to a monster East Conference matchup Saturday night. The Knighthawks welcomed the red-hot Georgia Swarm to town. Going in, Rochester sat in third place in the East and Georgia was fighting for that fourth playoff spot. To say this was going to be fun would be an understatement.
Rochester used eight different goal scorers to propel themselves to a 12-10 victory over the Swarm. With that win, Rochester clinched a playoff berth in this year’s playoffs, something that had seemed inevitable weeks ago with their hot 6-0 start to the season. A recent four-game losing skid to teams lower than the Knighthawks in the standings was concerning, and with Georgia’s total reversal from 0-7 to get to .500, there was actually a chance for the Knighthawks to just miss out.
The beginning of this game definitely had a “feeling out” process. Georgia drew first blood as Bryan Cole buried his first on the power play. That lead didn’t last long as Rochester rattled off the next three to close out the quarter. Scorers were Thomas Hoggarth, Turner Evans and Paul Dawson. Dawson’s was a transition beauty as he went the length of the field before firing a bouncer. 3-1 Rochester after one.
The floodgates opened in the second quarter, as both teams found their groove and started burying shots. Ryan Lanchbury scored just about 30 seconds in, but was answered by Holden Cattoni’s first. Lanchbury’s was pretty as he scooped up a loose ball behind the net, swung around, and shoveled the shot in, one-handed. Shayne Jackson tallied the next Swarm goal, but Rochester once again had the answer. This time the Knighthawks scored two straight, the first from Hoggarth, his second, and the other from Connor Fields. Georgia saw that two from Rochester and answered with three of their own. Swarm scorers were Jackson, his second, Lyle Thompson and Brendan Bomberry. Just like that we were all tied up, 6-6, going into the half.
Rylan Hartley was as acrobatic and stout as usual, stopping 21 of 27. On the other side, Brett Dobson was equally as stout. The young netminder made 14 saves on 20 shots.
“We know if we win, that’ll be a playoff spot for the first time in our franchise,” said Hoggarth at halftime. “We know what’s at stake and we’re working hard. I think when our shots start dropping, it’ll be a totally different game.”
The track meet back-and-forth continued as the third quarter began. Georgia scored the first two goals of the frame, each from someone with the last name Thompson. Lyle got the first, which was his second goal of the game. The second was on the ensuing faceoff, as Jeremy drove right in and scored. Jeremy’s goal capped off a five-goal run for Georgia between the second quarter and now. Rochester needed an answer and they had one with a four-goal run of their own. Scorers in the Knighthawks’ run were Curtis Knight, Fields, his second and 50th on the year, Ryan Smith and Matt Gilray. Georgia stopped the bleeding as Lanchbury got his second of the game to close out the third. 10-9 Rochester going into the fourth.
As you can see, the second and third quarters were track meets. The fourth quarter was the exact opposite. Rochester really sulked this game away and took their time. Hartley was outstanding and the Knighthawks’ defense completely shut the Swarm down. Evans got his second of the game at the 8:52 mark of the quarter. The next goal wasn’t scored until there was 27 seconds remaining as Gilray tallied his second of the game with an empty netter. Bomberry got his second with a few seconds left, but that’d be it in this one. Your final from Blue Cross, 12-10 Knighthawks.
Players of the game for Rochester were Fields (2+3), Gilray (2+2) and Hoggarth (two goals). Hartley was a freak all game, making timely save after timely save. The youngster made 46 saves on 56 shots. For Georgia, Jackson (2+3), Lyle Thompson (2+1) and Bomberry (2+1) led the way. Dobson had his ups and downs all game, eventually coming up short. Dobber stopped 32 of 43 on the night.
“First, we owe it to our fans, they’ve been here for the good, the bad, the ugly,” said Hartley after the game. “It feels great to be able to go to the playoffs and it feels huge for this franchise and the beginning of something good.”
Rochester (10-7) punched their ticket and sit in the third spot in the East Conference. They have one more game left as they stay home and welcome the Philadelphia Wings (8-9) to town, this Saturday at 7 p.m. Georgia (8-9) fell out of the fourth spot in the East with that loss. They, too, have one more game left and it’s against the team that jumped over them in the standings, the Halifax Thunderbirds (9-8). That game is in Halifax, this Saturday at 7 p.m. and is win and in.
