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NLL Rochester Knighthawks

Jamieson Shooting for 40, Looking for 60

April 4, 2012 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Rochester Knighthawks News Release


Rochester Knighthawks forward Cody Jamieson will play his first game against the West Division's Calgary Roughnecks on Friday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome. He leads the 5-7 Knighthawks into a key game against Calgary with just four games to play in the regular season. It will be a challenge for the 24-year-old superstar as Rochester fights for one of the remaining playoff spots.

"We have to play a full 60 minutes," he said. "We have to do our best to put a full game together."

The Knighthawks enter the week in third place in the East Division, but are only two games out of first place. Rochester has dropped its last two games after falling 16-12 to the first-place Colorado Mammoth last Saturday. Jamieson led the Knighthawks with a career-high five goals to go along with two assists, as Rochester rallied from three, three-goal deficits to tie the game at 12 early in the fourth quarter.

"We battled back and tied the game, which was a positive for us," he said. "We have to keep striving to get better every game."

Jamieson, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 NLL Entry Draft, ranks third in the league in goals (32) and is tied for fifth in the NLL in points (67). The Syracuse University product collected 23 points in March, as the Knighthawks went 2-2, which included pivotal wins over division rivals Philadelphia and Buffalo.

Last season, the former Six Nations Arrows standout recorded 28 goals and 25 assists for 53 points to lead all NLL rookies. He finished a close second in Rookie of the Year voting and was named to the All-Rookie Team. This season, he has career highs in goals, assists and points. He broke the career 100-point plateau on March 3rd in the win over the Philadelphia Wings. Jamieson is eight goals shy of becoming the first Knighthawk since John Grant Jr. in 2008 to reach the 40-goal plateau in a season. Grant had 47 that season. Jamieson admitted that after some offseason moves, defenses are definitely paying more attention to him.

"I think they are focusing on me a little bit more this season," he said. "But we brought in some younger guys that teams might not have known about in Johnny Powless and Stephen Keogh. Now they are learning what they can do and are starting to pay more attention to them."

Keogh and Powless are third and fifth on the team in points, respectively. Keogh has 39 points since getting selected second overall in the 2011 Draft, while Powless has 31 points to tie for fifth on the Knighthawks in points. Powless, who played in the NLL All-Star Game, was the fifth overall pick in the draft. Although, Keogh, 25, and Powless, 19, are referred to as young players, Jamieson was quick to point out the maturity both rookies possess.

"We have all played lacrosse for so long and people forget that Keogh is the same age as me," said Jamieson. "Even Johnny grew up with the game. We are new to the league, but not new to lacrosse."

On Thursday, Jamieson and the Knighthawks will embark on a home-and-home series with the Roughnecks. The series begins on Friday, April 6th in Calgary at 9:00 p.m. The second contest shifts to Rochester on Saturday, April 14th at 7:30 p.m. The game Friday will be broadcast on Sportsradio 950 ESPN and www.sportsradio950espn.com. Calgary is tied for first place in the West Division with the Colorado Mammoth and have clinched a playoff berth with a 10-3 record.

"One of the big tests is handling their defensive pressure on offense. They are really fast and athletic," said Jamieson. "They are just a great team all around."

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