Saturday night will be a big night at the Blue Cross Arena, as the 0-2 Rochester Knighthawks host the 2-1 Toronto Rock. The struggling defending champion Knighthawks have lost two one-goal games so far. The Hawks dropped a 13-12 contest to the Stealth on Opening Night, then lost a heartbreaking 14-13 game on Banner Night against the rival Bandits last Saturday.
Toronto started out 2-0 before dropping a tough 8-7 game to Philly. Goalie Nick Rose is quickly establishing himself as one of the top goaltenders in the NLL, while Colin Doyle, Garrett Billings and Kasey Beirnes are the top point-getters to watch on the floor.
For Rochester, many players have been productive as far as scoring goes; Cody Jamieson is the leading point-getter, but so far nine players have three points or more, and everybody has chipped in and done their part to try and get wins. But they haven’t yet which is obviously disappointing for an offense considered by many as the best in the league. Forward Joe Walters knows the importance of this game, telling me Wednesday, “We have our hands full with Toronto coming to town. They are a well-coached, disciplined team. Our goal as a team is to get better each time we are together. We know it’s a process and our overall goal is being the last team standing. To beat Toronto we will need to play our game. Offensively, move the ball and not settle for outside shots. Everyone has a role and it is important that each guy understands that and does their job. I think this is a must-win game for us. To be 0-2 doesn’t sit well with us, but we are a few goals away from being 2-0. It’s important to get in the win column, but most importantly, to continue improving and gelling as a team.” Johnny Powless added, “The game is very important, we need to get that first win to gain our confidence with the new look we have this year. In order to win everybody has to do their job on the floor.”
Catch the Rock-Knighthawks game at 7:30 Saturday night by tuning into The Lacrosse Network Youtube channel. Enjoy the game and check back for a recap on Sunday!
