NLL Rochester Knighthawks

Knighthawks Opened Inaugural Season with a Bang

Published on February 22, 2019 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Rochester Knighthawks News Release


Rochester Knighthawks goalie Steve Dietrich
Rochester Knighthawks goalie Steve Dietrich
(Rochester Knighthawks)

When Steve Donner strolled to the podium at the Rochester War Memorial on Oct. 4, 1994, he realized he was taking a risk. But, for the native of the 19th Ward, bringing back box lacrosse was a dream come true.

"Being from Rochester, I felt the city was ready for something new," he said. "Everyone told me that the building was too small; Rochester was too conservative. I heard all the excuses. At the same time, I was pretty nervous that they would be right and I would be wrong."

The Rochester Americans owner, who had achieved marketing and sales success with the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning, knew what he was doing when he founded the sixth team in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League, the precursor to the National Lacrosse League.

Donner had history on his side, having successfully launched the Buffalo Bandits in 1992 with the Knox Family. Box lacrosse was also a sport he was very passionate about, having grown up watching the Rochester Iroquois and Rochester Griffins. Now two decades later, he was the man putting professional lacrosse back in the same building that once housed the Griffins.

Donner's hunch that the market was ready for lacrosse again started to pay off immediately. On the first day that tickets went on sale, the Knighthawks sold 1,100 season tickets - which eventually exceeded 3,100. In December, at the home preseason game at the War Memorial against Buffalo, all the merchandise sold out.

"We expected the phones to start ringing the first day, but at quarter to nine there was a line of people down the stairs, down the hall and all the way down the street," said Donner. "We got a lot of media attention, and the first game sold out pretty easily."

The hype was fueled by a roster that included former Syracuse University and box lacrosse star Paul Gait, along with veterans like Steve Dietrich, Duane Jacobs, Chris Driscoll, and Randy Mearns.

"It was great to bring box lacrosse back to Rochester," said Donner. "We were a hybrid team with Native American, Canadian, and American players all meshed into one. To get off to that good start was pretty awesome. It was an amazing experience to start a franchise and see it take off from there. It was an amazing group of guys. It was old school."

The Knighthawks made sure to tap into the local lacrosse market that first season, as well. NLL veteran and Fairport native Tim Soudan headlined a roster that included Bill Meagher and Brian Silcott from Nazareth, and Anthony Gray and Jeff Tambroni from Hobart. Rochester also went out and signed Syracuse's Regy Thorpe and Mark Burnam, and RIT's Tom Emmick. At the MILL Entry Draft, the team went with local talent by taking Syracuse's Matt Riter and Nazareth College's Jeremy Hollenbeck and Cam Bomberry. It was special for so many local lacrosse alums to wear the Purple and Teal. It was especially meaningful for Soudan.

"Being able to play in my hometown was great and a great motivator for me to do my best and work hard," he said. "The Knighthawks coming to Rochester brought me back home. I was able to play in front of some of the most passionate fans ever put in one building. It was great to be able to move home and to play the game I love."

Soudan can still recall the electricity that filled the arena on Jan. 7, 1995. After spending the previous four seasons with New England/Boston, he finally achieved his dream of playing professional lacrosse for his hometown team. Opening Night was emotional for Soudan, from the moment he charged out onto the turf to the final buzzer.

"What a great feeling to be able to play in front of family and friends in such a unique building for the league at that time," he said. "The War Memorial was not only intimate but loud, and the one end had the stage with some of the rowdiest fans Rochester has ever had. (It was) just a great feeling. There was a lot of excitement about the team, and the atmosphere was electric!"

Rochester thrilled its Opening-Night crowd of 7,379, as it downed the New York Saints, 12-8. Goalie Steve Dietrich made 52 saves to backstop the Knighthawks to their first win in franchise history. He made 30 of those saves in the opening half as he dazzled the crowd with point-blank stops.

With "Chugger" making acrobatic saves in goal, it was Gait who took care of business at the other end of the turf. With the Saints pressing to tie the game, the perennial All-Pro scored three straight Rochester goals over the middle two quarters to give the Knighthawks an 8-5 lead in the third. Gait led the offense with three goals and one assist. His first point was an assist to Brian Lemon, who scored the franchise's first goal just 21 seconds into the game.

"I remember getting the ball in quick transition, off the faceoff, and going down the floor," he said. "I shot far-side low and, as luck would have it, the ball went it in."

The Knighthawks would never trail against the Saints, getting timely goals throughout the contest. After a quick answer by New York tied the game at one, Rochester responded with goals from Mearns and Rex Lyons four minutes apart to reclaim the lead at 3-1. Lyons finished the contest with a pair of goals, while Mearns chipped in with a two-point effort (1+1).

Lyons' second of the night, at 7:30 of the second quarter, gave Rochester a 5-3 advantage. After a Saints' marker, Gait netted the final two goals of the quarter for the Knighthawks to give them a 7-4 lead at halftime. The Knighthawks captain added his third of the contest at the 5:54 mark, after taking a pass from Driscoll. Rochester received other second-half goals from Greg Clements, Mike Benedict, and Peter Parke.

Over the final 30 minutes, the Rochester defense limited the Saints to four goals once again. The closest the Saints would get was 10-8 late in the fourth quarter. Parke, however, struck twice in the final three minutes to secure the win. The outcome capped off a fantastic week of excitement for the league's newest franchise.

"The atmosphere in the building was great," said Dietrich. "It was a good night and a fun atmosphere. A lot of us came from Detroit, where we were playing in front of an empty building. We were sixth- or seventh-class citizens because they had so much going on with the Red Wings and everything else (they were running). To come to Rochester, where we were treated like a professional team, was pretty remarkable for most of us."

"Opening Night felt like big leagues in Rochester," said Donner. "We had (sports icon) Rich Funke doing play-by-play on the radio. There was a buildup for it as we had radio interviews before the game and in-between periods. We had tons of media people doing the news outside before the game. For fans used to hockey, it was pure adrenaline, pure excitement for two hours."

Opening Night set the stage for a fantastic first season, as the Knighthawks sold out all four regular-season home games. Backed by their rabid fans, Rochester knocked off Buffalo, 12-11, in the final game of the regular season to advance to the playoffs. A near-capacity crowd then watched as the Knighthawks defeated the Boston Blazers 10-8 in the semifinals. In the Championship Game, Rochester came within one goal of completing a miracle first season.

"We snuck in the playoffs and made a little run," said Regy Thorpe, who made his pro debut in 1995. "It was a great battle that went right down to the wire against a historic (Philadelphia) Wings franchise. We got down late in the game and battled back. It showed the true character of the fans of Rochester who traveled well and were right there with us in the old Spectrum. We had a great crowd behind our bench. It was an awesome atmosphere."

Two of the diehard fans in those early days were Eric "Gonzo" Driscoll and Tim Knab. After getting hooked on box lacrosse in 1993 at a Buffalo Bandits game, having Rochester get a team two years later changed Driscoll's life. Gonzo was more than a loyal fan; he was one of the first promoters of the sport. He created a fan website and hosted the Hawk Talk radio show. Gonzo was a self-made media guru, interviewing players and editing his show on a cassette recorder. In the infancy of streaming, he also improvised by holding his microphone up to the radio to air games via Windows Media Encoder.

"It was like a dream that came true," he said about the birth of the Knighthawks. "The entertainment value and the competition level were incredible. I didn't know what I was missing until I saw it. When I saw it, I was sold."

For fellow season ticket holder Tim Knab, the inaugural season also began a relationship with the team that has lasted 25 years. The Brockport native, who was a diehard Bandits fan, latched on to the Knighthawks and has never let go.

"Rochester was electric that night; the arena was so loud," he said. "We were playing a major city, New York, in Rochester. It was a sellout, but no one used their seats. Everyone was standing, cheering the hard hits, and amazing Chugger saves. I believe that night cemented this franchise into the cornerstone of Rochester sports.

"The connection we made with those players, coaches, and staff fueled the success of the team. To this day, it makes Rochester the Barn Down by the River that no one wants to play in because of the Knighthawks Knation!"

Check out the Rochester Knighthawks Statistics

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Images from this story

Paul Gait with the Rochester Knighthawks
Paul Gait with the Rochester Knighthawks
 Rochester Knighthawks goalie Steve Dietrich
Rochester Knighthawks goalie Steve Dietrich
  



National Lacrosse League Stories from February 22, 2019


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