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NLL Rochester Knighthawks

Knighthawks' Opener An Evening of Firsts

January 9, 2016 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Rochester Knighthawks News Release


(Rochester, NY)... All it took was mere seconds, 19 to be exact, for Knighthawks forward Cody Jamieson to prove that he was back and ready to take on a new season with his team. Though Rochester fell just short of the win against Colorado, 16-14, in the home opener, the season is sure to shape up to be a great one for the Knighthawks.

"First shift, first goal, that's a statement," said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. "He's ready. We knew he was ready. He's been working hard and he's going to be good this season."

"We had a tough battle and we started good early. Personally I feel great, health-wise," Jamieson said. "Offensively we had some good times. We went through some good minutes where we did everything right, but we've also got a lot to work on."

The Knighthawks defense, which started three of the Knighthawks rookies, stifled the Colorado offense in the first, while the offense went to work, taking a 4-0 lead by the end of the frame.

"Overall it was good," said Hasen. "This is game one of a long 18-game schedule. The three of them played very well."

Rochester was led by a seven-point performance from Jamieson (2+5). Dan Dawson and Cory Vitarelli each posted hat tricks, while Stephen Keogh (2+1), Graeme Hossack (2+0), Jordan Hall (1+1) and Joe Resetarits (1+2) each contributed to the scoring.

Rookie Graeme Hossack, who made his Knighthawks debut in the home opener, showcased his gritty defensive moves while also putting up not one, but two goals in the second half of the game. His effort surely did not go unnoticed by his coaches and teammates.

"I got a few lucky bounces but it was bound to come eventually," Hossack said. "It was good to get it out of the way. I was a little nervous before the game but I'm not going to let that affect me."

"I thought Graeme played really well," Dawson said. "He had those big, big two goals in transition here and brought it really close. He got some tough loose balls. Those are things that may not show up on the scoresheet, but he's a fantastic player and he's only going to get better."

"We don't expect that from him and I'm sure we won't see too many two-goal games from him very often but they were two big goals and he sort of picked us up and kept us going and put a lot of energy back on our bench," Hasen added.

Coming back from halftime, the Knighthawks caught fire, putting up nine goals in the half and cutting a five-goal deficit down to just two by the end of the game but ultimately fell short of regaining the lead.

"Every year we start new and we start fresh," said Hasen. "We put the past in the past. We're just going to make sure that we play our best every time and make sure the next shift is better than the last shift. We had a really good start and were full of energy. One good thing about it was we turned it around in the second half. We kept it close and we had our chances so moving forward there are a lot of good things that will come."

The Knighthawks will be back in action on Thursday, Jan. 14 th as they take on the Toronto Rock at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. The teams will meet again as Rochester hosts the Rock on Saturday Jan. 16 th at 7:30 p.m. at Connors & Ferris Field.

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