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BUF at SD - Sat. 10pm ET on ESPNews Schedule

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WK
1
Fri, Dec 2
FINAL
Philadelphia
8
Halifax
18
Sat, Dec 3
FINAL
Vancouver
8
Toronto
19
Sat, Dec 3
FINAL
San Diego
15
New York
14
Sat, Dec 3
FINAL
Albany
11
Buffalo
10
Sat, Dec 3
FINAL
Rochester
16
Georgia
11
Sat, Dec 3
FINAL
Colorado
6
Saskatchewan
18
WK
2
Fri, Dec 9
FINAL
Las Vegas
11
Panther City
13
Fri, Dec 9
FINAL/OT
Saskatchewan
12
San Diego
13
Sat, Dec 10
FINAL
Toronto
7
Rochester
11
Sat, Dec 10
FINAL
Vancouver
9
Calgary
11
WK
3
Fri, Dec 16
FINAL
Calgary
14
Vancouver
5
Fri, Dec 16
FINAL
Panther City
9
Las Vegas
3
Sat, Dec 17
FINAL
Buffalo
11
Toronto
8
Sat, Dec 17
FINAL
Rochester
14
Albany
13
Sat, Dec 17
FINAL
Philadelphia
13
Georgia
12
Sat, Dec 17
FINAL
Halifax
20
New York
11
Sat, Dec 17
FINAL
Colorado
12
Panther City
9
WK
5
Fri, Dec 30
FINAL
Halifax
13
Buffalo
18
Fri, Dec 30
FINAL
San Diego
17
Calgary
14
Sat, Dec 31
FINAL
Panther City
9
Saskatchewan
11
WK
6
Fri, Jan 6
FINAL
Philadelphia
14
Las Vegas
9
Sat, Jan 7
FINAL
Panther City
9
Rochester
17
Sat, Jan 7
FINAL
Halifax
14
Albany
11
Sat, Jan 7
FINAL
Buffalo
18
Georgia
9
Sat, Jan 7
FINAL
Toronto
15
New York
7
Sat, Jan 7
FINAL
Calgary
8
Colorado
9
Sat, Jan 7
FINAL
Vancouver
11
San Diego
16
WK
7
Fri, Jan 13
FINAL/OT
Albany
11
Halifax
10
Fri, Jan 13
FINAL/OT
Saskatchewan
10
Colorado
11
Sat, Jan 14
FINAL
Halifax
8
Toronto
17
Sat, Jan 14
FINAL
Panther City
12
Philadelphia
10
Sat, Jan 14
FINAL
Georgia
9
Buffalo
11
Sat, Jan 14
FINAL
San Diego
10
Calgary
14
Sat, Jan 14
FINAL
Las Vegas
16
Vancouver
19
Sun, Jan 15
FINAL
Rochester
11
New York
8
WK
8
Fri, Jan 20
FINAL
Buffalo
12
Rochester
15
Fri, Jan 20
FINAL
Vancouver
14
Las Vegas
15
Sat, Jan 21
FINAL
Toronto
14
Philadelphia
5
Sat, Jan 21
FINAL
New York
16
Albany
10
WK
9
Fri, Jan 27
FINAL
Rochester
7
Halifax
17
Fri, Jan 27
FINAL
Buffalo
13
Philadelphia
9
Sat, Jan 28
FINAL
Buffalo
16
New York
10
Sat, Jan 28
FINAL
Las Vegas
10
Saskatchewan
15
Sat, Jan 28
FINAL/OT
Toronto
11
Calgary
10
Sat, Jan 28
FINAL
San Diego
13
Colorado
9
Sat, Jan 28
FINAL
Panther City
20
Vancouver
7
WK
10
Fri, Feb 3
FINAL
Georgia
10
Colorado
13
Sat, Feb 4
FINAL/OT
Calgary
12
Halifax
11
Sat, Feb 4
FINAL
New York
14
Toronto
22
Sat, Feb 4
FINAL
Albany
5
Philadelphia
13
Sat, Feb 4
FINAL
Rochester
10
Buffalo
13
Sat, Feb 4
FINAL
Panther City
10
San Diego
12
Sat, Feb 4
FINAL
Saskatchewan
14
Vancouver
8
Sat, Feb 4
FINAL
Colorado
8
Las Vegas
13
WK
11
Fri, Feb 10
FINAL
Toronto
11
Georgia
10
Fri, Feb 10
FINAL
Saskatchewan
6
Calgary
13
Sat, Feb 11
FINAL
Halifax
14
Rochester
16
Sat, Feb 11
FINAL
Albany
12
New York
14
Sat, Feb 11
FINAL
Vancouver
13
Panther City
14
Sat, Feb 11
FINAL
Colorado
9
Calgary
13
WK
12
Fri, Feb 17
FINAL
Calgary
14
Vancouver
9
Fri, Feb 17
FINAL
Saskatchewan
16
San Diego
11
Sat, Feb 18
FINAL
Georgia
7
Toronto
16
Sat, Feb 18
FINAL
Las Vegas
12
Albany
10
Sat, Feb 18
FINAL/OT
Philadelphia
12
Buffalo
13
Sat, Feb 18
FINAL
Colorado
7
Panther City
13
Sun, Feb 19
FINAL
New York
12
Halifax
13
WK
13
Fri, Feb 24
FINAL
Panther City
12
Colorado
14
Fri, Feb 24
FINAL
Calgary
9
Las Vegas
11
Sat, Feb 25
FINAL/OT
New York
10
Rochester
11
Sat, Feb 25
FINAL
Albany
4
Georgia
20
Sat, Feb 25
FINAL
Vancouver
16
Saskatchewan
12
WK
14
Fri, Mar 3
FINAL
Buffalo
10
Halifax
9
Sat, Mar 4
FINAL
New York
12
Philadelphia
19
Sat, Mar 4
FINAL
Las Vegas
12
San Diego
15
Sat, Mar 4
FINAL
Rochester
8
Toronto
9
Sat, Mar 4
FINAL/OT
Georgia
9
Albany
8
Sat, Mar 4
FINAL
Saskatchewan
10
Panther City
16
Mon, Mar 6
FINAL
Toronto
10
Philadelphia
11
WK
15
Fri, Mar 10
FINAL/OT
Halifax
9
Buffalo
10
Fri, Mar 10
FINAL
Calgary
16
Colorado
10
Sat, Mar 11
FINAL
Albany
6
Toronto
12
Sat, Mar 11
FINAL
Philadelphia
10
New York
13
Sat, Mar 11
FINAL
San Diego
12
Saskatchewan
11
Sat, Mar 11
FINAL
Vancouver
14
Las Vegas
5
Sun, Mar 12
FINAL
Rochester
19
Georgia
18
WK
16
Fri, Mar 17
FINAL
Saskatchewan
6
Calgary
11
Fri, Mar 17
FINAL
San Diego
16
Vancouver
9
Sat, Mar 18
FINAL
Georgia
13
Philadelphia
12
Sat, Mar 18
FINAL
Toronto
12
Halifax
14
Sat, Mar 18
FINAL
Albany
10
New York
13
Sat, Mar 18
FINAL
Colorado
13
Buffalo
8
Sat, Mar 18
FINAL
Las Vegas
8
Panther City
11
Sun, Mar 19
FINAL/OT
Philadelphia
9
Rochester
8
WK
17
Fri, Mar 24
20:30:00
San Diego
Panther City
Sat, Mar 25
19:00:00
Toronto
Albany
Sat, Mar 25
19:00:00
Halifax
Philadelphia
Sat, Mar 25
19:30:00
Georgia
New York
Sat, Mar 25
21:30:00
Calgary
Saskatchewan
Sat, Mar 25
22:00:00
Buffalo
San Diego
Sat, Mar 25
22:00:00
Colorado
Vancouver
Sat, Mar 25
22:30:00
Rochester
Las Vegas
WK
18
Fri, Mar 31
19:00:00
New York
Georgia
Fri, Mar 31
21:00:00
Las Vegas
Colorado
Fri, Mar 31
22:00:00
Calgary
San Diego
Sat, Apr 1
19:00:00
Buffalo
Toronto
Sat, Apr 1
20:00:00
Albany
Panther City
Sat, Apr 1
21:30:00
Vancouver
Saskatchewan
Sun, Apr 2
13:00:00
Georgia
Halifax
Sun, Apr 2
18:00:00
Rochester
Philadelphia
WK
19
Sat, Apr 8
19:00:00
Albany
Rochester
Sat, Apr 8
19:00:00
Saskatchewan
Georgia
Sat, Apr 8
21:00:00
Panther City
Calgary
Sat, Apr 8
21:00:00
Vancouver
Colorado
Sat, Apr 8
22:30:00
San Diego
Las Vegas
WK
20
Fri, Apr 14
21:00:00
Las Vegas
Calgary
Fri, Apr 14
21:00:00
San Diego
Colorado
Sat, Apr 15
19:00:00
Philadelphia
Toronto
Sat, Apr 15
19:00:00
Georgia
Albany
Sat, Apr 15
19:30:00
New York
Buffalo
Sat, Apr 15
21:30:00
Halifax
Saskatchewan
Sat, Apr 15
22:00:00
Panther City
Vancouver
WK
21
Fri, Apr 21
20:30:00
Calgary
Panther City
Sat, Apr 22
18:00:00
New York
Halifax
Sat, Apr 22
19:00:00
Georgia
Rochester
Sat, Apr 22
20:00:00
Toronto
Buffalo
Sat, Apr 22
21:30:00
Colorado
Saskatchewan
Sat, Apr 22
22:00:00
Las Vegas
San Diego
Sun, Apr 23
15:00:00
Philadelphia
Albany
WK
22
Sat, Apr 29
19:00:00
Philadelphia
Rochester
Sat, Apr 29
19:00:00
Buffalo
Albany
Sat, Apr 29
19:00:00
Halifax
Georgia
Sat, Apr 29
22:00:00
Colorado
San Diego
Sat, Apr 29
22:00:00
New York
Vancouver
Sat, Apr 29
22:30:00
Saskatchewan
Las Vegas
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Welcome To The Roc: Toronto At Rochester

The Rochester Knighthawks welcome the Toronto Rock to the Blue Cross Arena on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET as part of NLL Face Off Weekend 2015 to open the National Lacrosse League’s 29th season. Watch the opener live on NLL LIVE via NLL.com in the U.S. and TSN.ca in Canada.

The Knighthawks are coming off their historical three-peat as league champions and return to the turf where they defeated the Calgary Roughnecks 3-2 in the decisive Game 3 tiebreaker game to end the 2014 season.

“We’re excited to get going especially at home,” said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. “Just seeing our fans and getting our feet underneath us. There’s not a better place to start than at home. We’re looking for a loud crowd this weekend.”

Rochester once again is coming off a championship season and is taking the same mentality into this season opener as every other one in years past.

“We always have the same mindset every season, every training camp, and that’s to win a championship,” said Rochester defenseman Mike Kirk. “We’ve kind of forgotten about what we’ve done the past few years, and we’re focused on this Saturday and that’s the game with Toronto…We’ve got our routines and our systems and we just go about our way and try to put ourselves in a good position to win games.”

The 2015 edition of the Knighthawks is a bit different from last year’s edition. The main players are still there, with IL Indoor’s sixth-ranked NLL player Matt Vinc still in goal and their number one player Cody Jamieson still leading the offense. However, Johnny Powless who was fourth on the team in scoring last season is gone, along with Joel McCready who turned in some very clutch plays this past season.

Enter forwards Jordan Hall, who was acquired via draft day trade, and newly-signed veteran Aaron Wilson.

“Both of them are good quality team-first guys,” coach Hasen said. “Wilson’s probably one of the better off-ball players in this league, and he’s been that way for a very long time. You turn your head and he’s going to find an opening. The guys on our team are always looking for those guys cutting and will find them, and they’ll have lots of opportunities.

Jordan, he just brings a different skill set. He’s so quick and he’s so smart…he’s going to take a lot of pressure off [Jamieson]. He’s also going to work hard off the ball and get himself open and get his teammates open. Quality guys. It’s tough, you can’t replace Joel McCready or Johnny Powless.”

Meanwhile, the Rock will get a chance to test a new-look team that includes six new faces to the opening day roster against one the league’s all-time best dynamos. While the Rock carry a dramatically different roster – the most notable changes being the absence of Colin Doyle and Garrett Billings – the Knighthawks land in 2015 with virtually the same list of players with Dan Dawson and Cody Jamieson surely to lead the way once again. Toronto, like many others around the league, had its hands full with Rochester losing all three times against the 14-4 powerhouse last season.

“It’s always a difficult place to start – Rochester being the defending champion, but it’s a good place to gauge where you are early in the season,” said Rock head coach John Lovell, who enters his second season as coach after posting a 9-9 record in 2014.

The Rock, an offseason removed from a 15-13 first round playoff loss to the Buffalo Bandits on home floor, will look to rebound, offsetting the stark inconsistencies of a .500 2014 season. The effort however will not include two of their top players in Doyle (out for the season with a torn rotator cuff) and Billings (out indefinitely with a torn ACL) leaving the Rock with two massive and likely irreplaceable holes on offense. The two combined for 173 points (63+110) last season. Their 63 goals accounted for nearly 30 percent of the team’s goal scoring over the entire regular season.

“Our offense has been pretty solid for us for a number of years, but we can’t replace [Billings and Doyle],” Lovell said. “We’re not thinking of those things. We have to deal with what we have, we like what we have. We can’t worry about guys that aren’t going to be there because they’re not going to be there,” he said.

Last season’s 2014 acquisition of Kevin Ross from the former Philadelphia Wings (now known as the New England Black Wolves after relocating this offseason) could prove as an important move as Lovell looks to the nine-year veteran as a possible band-aid fix to a seemingly diminished offense.

“Kevin Ross has been a pretty decent player in this league for a number of years, we’re hoping he can replace a little of what Colin Doyle brought,” said Lovell.

Ross, in two games last season with Toronto, posted eight points (2+6). The 29-year-old from Toronto is three seasons removed from scoring a career-high 28 goals with the Minnesota Swarm.

Despite the woeful reality of missing two of the league’s best all-time players, Lovell still has high belief that Toronto will find ways to hit the net, at least on an adequate bases. Josh Sanderson, Stephan Leblanc, Rob Hellyer and Kasey Beirnes each scored 50 or more points with at least 20 goals scored.

“I think Josh Sanderson is still one of the premiere guys in the league, he’s good with the ball and he can find people. Stephan Leblanc is coming off of a pretty solid season and we need his to repeat that,” said Lovell, who saw his team net 219 goals last season, good enough for tops in the East Division.

Without ambivalence, the Rock made several offseason moves to improve their defensive play, a glaring weakness which proved vital many times last season. The Rock surrendered 12 or more goals ten times last season including their playoff loss to Buffalo. Toronto will largely look to the additions of transition players Brodie Merrill and Brock Sorensen as well as defender Jeff Gilbert to tighten the screws on the back end.

“We made some changes defensively because we identified that as an area that needed to get better. I think we’ve done that with [those] acquisitions,” said Lovell.

Those three new pieces, dubbed as the saving grace for Toronto’s lackluster defense, have combined for 274 games played. Each player proved to have a knack for capturing loose balls as a combined 367 were posted among the three of them.

“I think it’s been a positive change for me. It’s been different in many ways, it’s been a little rejuvenating,” said Merrill, who will play alongside his brother Patrick for the first time in the NLL.

Story by Jeremy Pike (@KnighthawksBeat) and Justin Millerson (@RockBeatToronto) for NLL.com.

NLL