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NLL Rochester Knighthawks

Knighthawks Host Bandits in WNY Showdown Saturday

January 30, 2015 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Rochester Knighthawks News Release


The Rochester Knighthawks will host the Buffalo Bandits on Saturday, January 31 st at 7:30 p.m. at The Blue Cross Arena. The contest will be broadcast online on NLL LIVE in the US and on TSN.ca in Canada. The radio broadcast is available on 105.5 The Team and online on theteam.fm.

The last time these two teams met, Rochester downed Buffalo two games to one to advance to the NLL Championship Series. The Knighthawks won two games in one night, beating Buffalo 13-8 in Game Two and then scoring a 2-1 overtime victory in the decisive 10-minute mini-game. The game is the first of three games between the western New York rivals this season, and the 65 th meeting in the 21-year history of the rivalry. The Knighthawks have the edge with a 38-26 record.

"You always look forward to it. You have that on your calendar every single year. You know you are going to get a dynamite game," said Knighthawks Head Coach Mike Hasen. "It's two teams that have historically battled right from the start. The building is going to be loud on both sides of the ball, which makes it a great atmosphere to play in."

Rochester (1-2) enters the game after knocking off the Toronto Rock 8-6 at Connors & Ferris Field at The Blue Cross Arena. Goalie Matt Vinc posted a season-high 47 saves, which included 14 in the fourth quarter. It was a defensive performance indicative of the Knighthawks over the past three seasons.

"As a group, we just got back to how we have been playing the past couple of years," said Paul Dawson. "That's been playing big, strong, solid "D", keeping guys to the outside and letting "V" see the shots. That was the key Saturday and that will be the key moving forward."

On offense, Cody Jamieson scored the game's final two goals to end the night with four points (2+2) to give him a team-leading 15 points (4+11). Cory Vitarelli, who leads the team with eight goals, scored twice to give him three straight multiple-goal outings. Joe Walters collected two assists to pull within one of reaching 100 in his career. Single goals came from Paul Dawson, Dan Dawson, Joel Matthews and Dylan Evans. Dan Dawson also reached a league milestone, becoming only the second man in NLL history to play in 200 consecutive regular season games. After the game, however, Dan was focused on the win and not his own personal accomplishment.

"The win is more important than 200 games," said the humble Dan Dawson. "All I care about is winning right now."

Notes:

Rochester signs Hill: The Knighthawks made a player move prior to the weekend's game against Buffalo, bringing in transition man Marty Hill to a one-year deal. By signing with the Knighthawks, Hill rejoins the team that drafted him in 2010. The 24-year-old from Six Nations has won a Mann Cup and a Creator's Cup (CLax) in the past three years.

Buffalo two-step: Before arriving in Rochester Saturday, Buffalo will begin a two-game in two-night weekend on Friday, January 30 th when it hosts the Minnesota Swarm. The Bandits are 2-2 after dropping a 13-11 decision to the Toronto Rock on January 23 rd .

Road Warriors: After Saturday's game, the Knighthawks will hit the road for three games in 10 days. The longest road stretch of the season begins in Minnesota on Friday, February 6 th at 8:30 p.m. at the Xcel Energy Center. The game will be broadcast online on UniversalSports.com.

Next Home Game: Rochester returns home on Saturday, February 21 st to take on the Bandits. Fans can purchase single-game tickets for all remaining home games at all Ticketmaster outlets and online at ticketmaster.com. For more information, call the Knighthawks Office at (585) 454-HAWK (4295).

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