The Rochester Knighthawks coming into Saturdays game sat at a record of (1-3) and were sitting at second to last place in the East Division Standings. While Buffalo came into this Week 7 game with a record of (4-1) tied for first in the East Division. The last time these two teams met earlier this month the Bandits held the Knighthawks to a franchise low 4 goals at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo. Saturday’s matchup was at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester.
While this is a much heated rivalry game between Rochester and Buffalo both player and fans from each team took time to honor American Veterans. The Knighthawks in conjunction with the Veterans Outreach Center (VOC) and Isaac Heating & Air Conditioning, held their fifth annual Military Appreciation Night at Blue Cross Arena. The Knighthawks and Bandits both wore special military-themed jerseys for the occasion. All proceeds from the game benefited the VOC.
The night started with a pair of goals scored by Austin Shanks within a minute of each other to give the Knighthawks a quick 2-0 lead. After three straight games with the offense looking slow it was much needed offensive adrenaline boost for the Knighthawks. Kyle Jackson and Joe Resetarits (Resetarits 100th Goal as a Knighthawk) also added to the offense in the first quarter for Knighthawks. The Bandits were able to tack on a pair of goals to give the Knighthawks a 4-2 lead at the end of the 1st.
After a brief a rugby scrum between a couple of players from Rochester and Buffalo, the Bandits scored first in the 2nd with a pair of goals coming from Chase Fraser and Thomas Hoggarth to tie the game at 4-4. After a seesaw battle between the two teams with both teams trading goals, Rochester was then able to gain control. Knighthawks goals coming from Scott Campbell, Graeme Hossack, Cody Jamieson, and a pair goals coming from Austin Shanks. Shanks had 4 goals in the 1st half. Rochester held a 9-6 lead going into half.
Shanks would tack on his 5th goal to start the scoring for the Knighthawks in the 2nd half. Rochester would then score another goal by Pat Saunders but was later overturned to keep the score 10-6 early in the 3rd quarter. The Bandits were able to capitalize on a few Knighthawks turnovers to get a pair of goals to make the score 10-8 but Buffalo could not keep up with the Knighthawks offense. Rochester would then score 3 goals to make the score at the end of the 3rd quarter to make it 13-8.
Matt Vinc after having an historic night against the Knighthawks in his last matchup was pulled after the 3rd bringing in his backup Zach Higgins. Higgins was thrown into the fire and it showed. Buffalo allowed 5 straight goals to start the 4th before scoring. The 4th quarter was all Rochester with the Knighthawks scoring at will. Austin Shanks ended up finishing the night with 8 pts (7 G, 1A,). The final score was 18-13 in favor of the Knighthawks
Up next for the Knighthawks (2-3) is a 2 game slate next week with a game against the Philadelphia Wings on Friday, February 1st, in Philadelphia. Then Saturday, the Knighthawks will face the Georgia Swarm in Rochester
3 Stars of The Game:
- Austin Shanks
- Angus Goodleaf
- Joe Resetarits
