Week 13 action came to you from Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York. Saturday night’s tilt featured two teams in desperate need of a win to keep pace in the standings and increase any chance of a playoff spot. The visiting Las Vegas Desert Dogs took a massive step towards that, blanking Rochester in the fourth quarter en route to a 12-8 victory. Hope you like teeter-totters because the first three quarters felt like we were on one.
Casey Jackson drew first blood for Las Vegas, but was quickly answered by three-straight from Rochester courtesy of Thomas McConvey, Connor Fields, and Dan Lomas. Charlie Bertrand buried his first of the game against his former club, and Jack Hannah followed suit to make it 3-3 after one.
The second quarter was much of the same, only this time, Rochester outscored Las Vegas by one goal, which at this point, felt like it could have been 100. The scoring was “every other” much like that teeter-totter we talked about. Kyle Waters started it off, but was answered by Rob Hellyer. Ryan Smith tallied his first, but Sean Westley responded. Smith’s second closed out the quarter and we were at 6-5 Knighthawks going into the break.
The goaltenders were both spectacular in the first half. Landon Kells faced a flurry of shots, and as we know, ended up having a monster game. He stopped 23 of 28 in the first half. Riley Hutchcraft didn’t face nearly as many shots, but was still stout, stopping 11 of 16.
“We talked about having a good start,” said Smith at halftime. “We just have to keep going and get back to the little things. It’s just making sure we play a full second half.”
The third quarter was much like the second, except Las Vegas were the ones who outscored the opposition. Fields kicked off the scoring with his second, this one on the power play. Las Vegas roared right back as Dylan Watson scored twice in a row to tie the game back up. Dizzy yet? Fields’ hat trick and Hellyer’s second closed out the quarter, making the score 8-8 going into the fourth.
The final frame is what knightmares are made of for Rochester. (see what we did there?) In a game that was so tightly contested, the last thing you want is for your offense to run dry. Well, that’s exactly what happened. Las Vegas completely shut down Rochester, Kells was unreal, and the offense added four goals to cruise to victory. Scorers in the fourth were Jackson twice, giving him three, Hellyer, his third, and Hannah, his second. All in all, your final from Blue Cross, 12-8 Desert Dogs.
Players of the game for Las Vegas were Hellyer (3+3), Jackson (3+2), and Hannah (2+3). Kells was downright filthy in the second half, stopping 47 of 55 in total. For Rochester, Fields (3+3) and Smith (2+4) led the way. Hutchcraft presumably would love to have the fourth quarter back, along with some offensive help, but such is. He stopped 28 of 40 for the game.
“I think it’s just the game plan the coaches put in for us,” said Kells postgame. “We knew Rochester was a high flying offense, so it was a matter of containing that and getting our own offense to go. This win was everything for us.”
Rochester (3-6) has now lost six-straight and is in need of some answers, fast. They look to right the ship this Sunday against Panther City Lacrosse Club down in Texas. Las Vegas (4-6) looks to string some wins together to try and get into the top eight. Their next chance to do so is this Friday night at home against Toronto (8-2) at 10pm.
