The Rochester Knighthawks (1-6) will welcome the Vancouver Warriors (3-5) to Blue Cross Arena for a Sunday afternoon game at 2 p.m. ET in their only matchup of the season.
Both the Knighthawks and Warriors really need a bounce back win after losing their previous games. This is sure to be a great battle as players will be going all out on both sides to secure a much needed win.
The Knighthawks fought valiantly against their North Division rivals the Buffalo Bandits in their game a week ago, but came up short as the Bandits won the game in overtime.
After a tough first half that saw the Knighthawks go down 2-7, their offense exploded in the 3rd Quarter as they scored 5 unanswered goals. The game turned into a track meet as both teams went on runs and Rochester eventually had a 14-12 lead with about 6 minutes left in the game. The Bandits were able to stage a comeback and tied the game with 8 seconds left to send it to overtime. In overtime, a questionable holding call on Paul Dawson put the Bandits on the power play and Corey Small scored to win it for Buffalo.
During that second half surge, the Knighthawks looked the best they have all season as the defense was making stops and the offense was pouring in goals. Holden Cattoni was dominant as he scored 3 goals and had 7 assists to pace the offense. Shawn Evans played with some fire in his eyes as he scored 4 goals and added 4 assists in his first game against his old team.
Craig Wende started in net for the Knighthawks, but was replaced by Steve Fryer in the 2nd Quarter. Fryer played well and was a big part of the second half comeback for the Knighthawks as he made 28 saves. It will be interesting to see who Head Coach Mike Hasen decides to start on Sunday.
The Knighthawks will face a Warriors team coming into Sunday’s game after losing to the Bandits at home on Friday night. They had a day to travel to Rochester, but could still be tired and sluggish, which the Knighthawks will surely try to take advantage of.
The Warriors were riding high before their game on Friday as they were gaining momentum after beating the Colorado Mammoth. On Friday, the Bandits came into Rogers Arena and outgunned the Warriors handing them a 15-8 loss.
The Warriors’ Mitch Jones leads the entire NLL in scoring with 47 points and the Rochester defense will have their hands full trying to limit him. Keegan Bal, Logan Schuss, and Jordan McBride are also dynamic offensive players for Vancouver. The Warriors’ defense has been their backbone with an experienced group led by Captain Matt Beers and Eric Penney in net. If the defense has a good night then the Knighthawks offense will have to get creative to get scoring chances.
The Knighthawks won the last time they played at home in Blue Cross Arena and with it also being Kids Day the home crowd could give them the boost they need to secure their second win of the season against a very solid Warriors squad.
Opening face-off is set for 2:00 p.m. ET Sunday afternoon. The game can be watched with a subscription on the B/R Live app which is available on the web or through iTunes, Google Play, Roku, Apple TV, and A
