The March to May Heats Up: Week 15 Friday Night Recap
March 8, 2025By: Jon Rapoport
Thunderbirds Winning Streak is No More
Week 15 launched in Nova Scotia, where the red-hot Halifax Thunderbirds hosted the disappointing Toronto Rock. Halifax entered Friday winners of five consecutive games, with just shy of 10,000 fans packing Scotiabank Centre to see if the streak could extend to a half-dozen. In an unfortunate development for the home loyalists, it was Toronto hitting the Atlantic Coast night winners of a 15-12 slugfest.
The Thunderbirds raced to a 6-5 second quarter lead. Come the late second and early third, the Rock connected on five straight scores of their own, the last two of which came from the stick of Corey Small, who finished the contest with four goals. The hosts notched a trio of goals in the fourth stanza, cutting the separation to a mere 13-12 margin, only to see the men from Canada’s largest metropolitan area seal the proceedings with two decisive scores.
A thriller at The Nest ends with the visiting @TorontoRockLax taking the 15-12 W over Halifax with Small and Dawick combining for 7 goals.
In addition to Small’s exploits, Josh Dawick posted three goals and two helpers, while Tom Schreiber hallowed his teammates with four assists. All told, nine Rock players found the back of the net in victory.
On the losing side of the ledger, Cody Jamieson tabulated a highly impressive four scores, with Thomas Hoggarth adding three goals and two assists.
Newly minted Rock starting goalie Troy Holowchuk knocked down 40 of 52 shot attempts.
Rochester Knighthawks @ Las Vegas Desert Dogs (Photo Credit: Stephen Greathouse)
The Knighthawks and Desert Dogs Combined for 34 Goals
A near capacity crowd packed Lee’s Family Forum for an absolutely wild matchup between the Rochester Knighthawks and Las Vegas Desert Dogs, with the 21-13 Rochester triumph resembling a football score as much as a box lacrosse tally.
Led by Connor Fields (6G,5A), Ryan Smith (4G,2A), and Graydon Hogg (4G,1A), the Knighthawks take down the Desert Dogs 21-13
The three-win Desert Dogs jumped out to a 4-0 advantage. Rochester cut the lead to 5-3, and then the chaos ensued. The Knighthawks blasted an unfathomable 13 uninterrupted goals, including three each from Graydon Hogg and Connor Fields, followed by four straight from Ryan Smith. Vegas connected on five consecutive second-half scores, bringing the battle a bit closer, but nothing for the Upstate New Yorkers to truly concern themselves with.
The Knighthawks took control of the 1st half, going on a 10-goal run to make it 12-5.
Will Rochester stay hot?
Will Vegas go on a run of their own?
The aforementioned Fields was on another level, scoring six and distributing another five. Smith and Hoggs secured four apiece, while Ryan Lanchbury and Curtis Knight combined for a whopping 13 assists.
Holden Cattoni served as the standout for the Sin City locals, blasting three goals and two assists. Adam Poitras, Casey Jackson, and Jonathan Donville each tickled the twine on two occasions, but it was far from enough to hang with the Knighthawks’ unmitigated explosion.
Rochester is now back at .500, owing a 7-7 record.
Seals vs. Warriors, March 7, 2025 – Photo credit: Alexis Goeller
A Game of Wild Swings in San Diego
The Vancouver Warriors traveled down the Pacific Coast to take on the San Diego Seals, with both clubs entering the melee holding identical 5-6 records. The Pechanga Arena tenants would go on to claim sweet victory in this one, as the Seals escaped with a 13-11 conquest, evening their record at 6-6.
Late heroics from Wes Berg and Rob Hellyer give @SealsLax the 13-11 win over Vancouver.
This free-for-all took on the appearance of a breakneck roller coaster one may encounter at nearby SeaWorld. In the wake of the Seals’ gathering the first goal, the Warriors scored four straight. This was followed by San Diego attaining four, Vancouver netting three, the Seals asserting six, the Warriors avenging four, and finally the Southern Californians capturing the final two scores, including the game-winner courtesy of Wes Berg, with just 1:20 showing on the fourth quarter clock.
Talk about a game of runs!
Berg scored four and assisted on three. Ryan Benesch unloaded a hat trick, while Rob Hellyer etched a stat line of two scores and a blistering seven helpers.
Ryan Martel set the pace for the Warriors, bestowing three goals and two assists. The normally high-scoring duo of Keegan Bal and Adam Charalambides only combined for two connectors.
Vancouver’s Alec Stathakis had a night to remember, celebrating the very first goal of his NLL career.
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