Rochester Knighthawks forward John Grant notched one goal and one assist in his first action since missing the entire 2009 season.
K'HAWKS & SWARM WINNERS IN PRESEASON ACTION
Preseason action heats up as 2010 season nears
12/13/2009
The Minnesota Swarm and Rochester Knighthawks both notched wins Saturday night in preseason tune-ups for the 2010 season.The Swarm defeated the Colorado Mammoth 17-8 at Odeum Colorado. Minnesota opened the game with a 6-2 run early in the contest and finished the game with a 9-2 streak covering the final two-plus periods. The contest was filled with the spirit of a midseason rivalry, featuring several fights between players on the two clubs.
Colorado was led in scoring by brothers Ilija and Alex Gajic, who netted two goals each. Cory Conway added a pair of goals while assisting on two others. With less than two weeks to final roster cuts, the Mammoth rotated three goalies in net throughout the night. Andy Leyshon, Curtis Palidwor and Neil Tyacke all saw action against a feisty Swarm offense that was firing on all cylinders Saturday.
The other preseason tilt saw the Rochester Knighthawks top the Orlando Titans 15-2 at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena.
Craig Point (2 goals 1 assist) and Cory Bomberry (1 2) led Rochester with three points (2 1) apiece, while Peter Jacobs (2 0), Gary Gait (2-0), John Grant (1-1), Bobby McBride (1 1) and Mat MacLeod (0 2) each recorded two points for the Knighthawks. Pat O'Toole earned the win as he left the game with a 5-0 lead after 25 minutes of action. New Knighthawk Aaron Bold took over in goal and played the remainder of the second and the third. Jake Henhawk played the final quarter.
The Titans got third-quarter goals from Josh Coveleski and Jesse Guerin. Matt Vinc played the first half for Orlando and Kurtis Wagar backstopped the Titans for nearly two quarters. Gus Dingley played the final 6:14 for the Titans.
Gait scored the game's first goal from Grant and Bomberry. The power-play goal was at 5:34 of the first quarter. Bomberry had a hand in the second Rochester goal as he fed Scott Evans, who drove the crease and beat Vinc with a bounce shot at 11:40. Evans and Grant both missed the 2009 season with injuries.
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