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NLL Rochester Knighthawks

Knighthawks Visit Toronto Saturday In Search Of Fourth Straight Win

March 17, 2009 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Rochester Knighthawks News Release


(Rochester, NY)... The Rochester Knighthawks (4-5) visit the Toronto Rock (3-7) on Saturday, March 21st at 7:30 p.m. at Air Canada Centre. The contest is the 200th regular-season game in Rochester history. The Knighthawks have an all-time regular-season record of 125-74. The contest will be broadcast live on WYSL 1040-AM and wysl1040.com. Fans can watch the game live online at knighthawks.net and via the NLL Network at NLL.com.

Head-to-Head: The game is the third and final meeting between the two teams. In the last meeting, the Knighthawks defeated the Rock 18-10 on February 28th at The Blue Cross Arena. Shawn Evans led the way offensively for the Knighthawks as he posted seven goals and seven assists to finish one point shy of tying John Grant's 2007 single-game team record of 15 points. Shawn Williams (5+5) and lacrosse legend Gary Gait (3+3) also contributed to the offense, while goaltender Pat O'Toole made 37 saves to earn the win.

Knighthawks Notes: Rochester enters the game in fourth place in the East Division after a thrilling 15-14 overtime win over the first-place Buffalo Bandits on March 14th. Evans scored the overtime game winner at 4:23 to complete a 10-point night (4+6). Craig Point also chipped in four goals and one assist and Mac Allen recorded three assists, seven loose balls and 25 faceoff wins. Pat O'Toole improved to 4-2 in a 22-save effort. The Knighthawks have now won three straight games and the last four at home. Williams continues to lead the team in points with 56 (19+37). He is also sixth in the NLL in points and 13 points away from the 800th of his career (444+343). Rochester's power play is third in the National Lacrosse League at 51.72 percent. Steve Toll is fourth in the league with 109 loose balls. Goalie Pat O'Toole is fifth in the league with a 10.70 goals-against average.

Give me five to start please: Rochester has jumped out to 5-0 and 5-1 leads in their last two games, which were both wins. The Knighthawks stung the Rock with a 5-0 lead on February 28th and tagged the Bandits with five as part of an early 5-1 lead.

Big 'Mac' and a side of faceoffs: Rochester's Mac Allen has been stellar in the last two games, collecting four assists, 13 loose balls and 40 faceoff wins. He has won 68-percent of his faceoffs in the last two games or 40 of his last 59.

Evans on Fire: Knighthawks forward Shawn Evans has 32 points (14+18) in his last three games. In his last two games he has 11 goals and 13 assists to move within one goal of the 100th of his career. Evans has picked it up offensively since the acquisition of Craig Point. The former Six Nations teammates won a Minto Cup together in 2007. Point has 12 points (7+5) in his last three games since coming over from the Minnesota Swarm on February 19th.

Toronto Notes: Toronto (3-7) enters the week in sixth place in the East. The Rock are coming off their biggest win of the season, defeating the Boston Blazers 9-8 in overtime at TD Banknorth Garden on March 14th. Scott Campbell netted the game winner to help Toronto end its four-game losing streak. Bob Watson made 47 saves in goal and Luke Wiles was named the Game MVP with three goals and two assists. Wiles leads the Rock with 40 points (20+20) in 10 games. Forward Blaine Manning (280) is only nine assists away from passing Colin Doyle as the team's all-time leader. Manning is also second to Doyle in goals (330) and points (610). Toronto boasts the fourth-best penalty-killing unit with a 54.10 percent success rate (33 of 61). The Rock have struggled at home this season, winning only once in five chances. In fact, Toronto has lost seven of its last eight home games dating back to April 5, 2008, which was a 9-6 loss to Rochester.

Next Game: The Knighthawks will host the Boston Blazers on Saturday, March 28th at 7:35 p.m. at The Blue Cross Arena. That evening is Breast Cancer Night as fans will have a chance to help raise money for cancer research by bidding on the special pink game-worn jerseys that the Knighthawks will be wearing that game. Fans that wear pink can get $10 tickets in 200 corner seating. Tickets can be purchased day of game only at The Blue Cross Arena Box Office. The game will be broadcast live on WYSL 1040-AM and wysl1040.com. Fans can watch the game live online via the NLL Network at NLL.com and on knighthawks.net.

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