NLL Rochester Knighthawks

Knighthawks Face Tough Test This Weekend With Two Road Games

January 13, 2009 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Rochester Knighthawks News Release


(Rochester, NY)... The Rochester Knighthawks hit the road for a tough two-game set this week. The Knighthawks open the road trip on Friday, January 16th against the defending champion Buffalo Bandits at 7:30 p.m. at HSBC Arena. The game will be broadcast tape-delayed at 10:00 p.m. on WYSL 1040-AM and wysl1040.com. Then on Sunday, January 18th, Rochester battles the 2008 Western Division champion San Jose Stealth at 8:30 p.m. at HP Pavilion. The game will be broadcast live on WYSL 1040-AM and wysl1040.com. Fans can watch both games live online and free of charge via the NLL Network at NLL.com.

Rochester leads the all-time series with a mark of 21-12 versus Buffalo. Rochester has won the last two games in Buffalo against the Bandits. The game on January 16th is the first of three games against the Bandits this season. The next game is Saturday, March 14th at The Blue Cross Arena.

The game at Buffalo features the top two scorers in NLL history as Rochester's Gary Gait battles Buffalo's John Tavares. Six-time league MVP Gary Gait enters the game second in goals (601) and points (1,097). Tavares, who is in his 18th season with the Bandits, is the league's all-time leader with 625 goals and 1,334 points.

Rochester enters the game after losing its home and season opener, 16-13, to the Philadelphia Wings on January 10th. Shawn Williams led the 'Hawks with eight points (2+6) and Gary Gait notched five goals in his return to the National Lacrosse League. His fourth goal of the night was his 600th, making him only the second player in league history to reach that plateau. John Tavares of Buffalo is the other member of the 600 club. Defenseman Regy Thorpe became the only person to ever play in an NLL game, while also serving as the general manager. Rochester has 11 new players on its 23-man roster and used seven of them in the team's season-opening game. Head Coach Paul Gait is looking for his first professional coaching win after the home loss. Rochester is without John Grant and Scott Evans, who both suffered offseason injuries. Grant had successful ACL surgery on January 8th.

The Bandits are 2-0 after recording wins over Philadelphia and Toronto to open the season. In their last victory, the Bandits' Ken Montour made 38 saves to hold the Rock to just six goals in an 8-6 win at the Air Canada Centre on January 11th. Mark Steenhuis led the Bandits with three goals and one assist, while Tavares chipped in two goals and one assist. Buffalo opened its title defense with a 15-11 win over Philadelphia on January 3rd. Steenhuis is currently tied for third in the NLL with 12 points (7+5). Buffalo has the best penalty-killing unit in the league after limiting opponents to one goal on six attempts (83 percent). However, the Bandits' power-play is 11th, scoring only three times in 12 chances (25 percent). Last season, Buffalo won its fourth championship (1992, 1993, 1996 and 2008). Buffalo Head Coach Darris Kilgour played for the Rochester Knighthawks during the 1999 season.

After Friday night, the Knighthawks travel to play the San Jose Stealth on Sunday. San Jose is 0-2 this season after losing 10-7 to the Minnesota Swarm on January 10th. Colin Doyle (2+3) and Jeff Zywicki (1+3) led the Stealth offensively. Rhys Duch (Reese Dutch) also chipped two goals and two assists. Doyle and Zywicki lead San Jose scoring this season with 11 and 10 points respectively. The Stealth opened the season on January 9th with a 12-10 loss to the Calgary Roughnecks. Rochester owns a 3-1 all-time record against the Stealth, including winning 14-11 at HP Pavilion on January 5, 2007.

Walters selected as one of the top rookies: Rochester Knighthawks forward Joe Walters was selected the fifth best rookie in the National Lacrosse League this week by Steve Kojima of the NLL insider. The Rochester native was a four-time All-American at Maryland and in 2008 he won a Major League Lacrosse title en route to Playoff MVP and All-MLL Team honors.

Next Home Game: Rochester's next home game is Saturday, January 24th against the New York Titans at 7:35 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on WYSL 1040-AM and wysl1040.com. The contest will also be televised taped-delayed on Time Warner Cable SportsNet Channel 26.

Hall of Fame Night: The Rochester Knighthawks will hold their inaugural Hall of Fame Night on Saturday, January 31st, sponsored by CURE Childhood Cancer Association and IKON Office Solutions. That night, the franchise will induct former Head Coach Paul Day and forwards Tim Soudan and Duane Jacobs. The historic evening will also include a jersey auction to honor the Hall of Fame inductees, as three 1997 replica championship jerseys will be auctioned off with proceeds going to CURE Childhood Cancer Association. The silent auction will also include 1997 jerseys for current Knighthawks John Grant and Gary Gait. Further, the Knighthawks will hold an autograph session at the end of the game on the turf, which will feature the Hall of Fame inductees, and past and present Knighthawks players and coaches.

Knighthawks to join Amerks at CF Foundation Dinner: The Rochester Knighthawks lacrosse team will team up with the Rochester Americans this year to participate in the 19th Annual Celebrity Waiter Dinner & Auction. The event is scheduled for Wednesday, February 25th at The Blue Cross Arena at the Rochester War Memorial. Donations to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Rochester fund on-going, groundbreaking medical research aimed at curing and controlling cystic fibrosis. The CF Ambassador of Hope is again Kyle Schuhart. VIP registration is at 5:45 p.m. and general admission registration is at 6:00 p.m. General admission tickets are just $60 and VIP tickets are $75. For dinner, auction and ticket information, contact the Rochester chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation at (585) 697-0777 or go to http://rochester.cff.org/celebritywaiters.

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