Knighthawks are 2-0 with 13-11 Victory over Buffalo

Rochester Knighthawks forward John Grant had his second eight-point game as he continues his comeback tour in a 13-11 victory over the Buffalo Bandits at HSBC Arena tonight. Rochester improved to 2-0 to a start a season for the first time since the 2000 season.

Grant has led the way for the Knighthawks with three goals and five assists to tie Tom Marechek for fourth in NLL history with 399 goals. Shawn Williams also had two goals and three assists, and Craig Point chipped in four goals and 15 faceoff wins. Rochester also converted four of seven power-play chances.

O'Toole (6,168) made 33 saves to climb within just 188 saves away from breaking Dallas Eliuk's league record of 6,356. The win was the 99th of O'Toole's Knighthawks career, placing him two away from becoming the first Rochester goalie to reach the century mark.

Mark Steenhuis led Buffalo with four goals and two assists, while Mike Accursi collected five points (1 4). The NLL's all-time goal-scoring leader, John Tavares, was a late scratch. Goalie Ken Montour stopped 29 saves in the loss. The Bandits dropped to 0-2 to start the season.

Buffalo jumped out to a 3-0 first-quarter lead and a 4-2 second-quarter lead, but each time Rochester responded to tie the game. Grant provided both goals to even the game at four. The teams then traded goals before Steenhuis gave Buffalo a 6-5 lead on the power play at 10:20 of the second.

Rochester scored four of the next five goals to open the third quarter to take a 9-7 lead at 7:25 of the third quarter as Cory Bomberry netted his only goal of the game. Brett Bucktooth cut the lead to one before the end of the quarter with a power-play marker at 11:52.

The Knighthawks controlled the beginning of the fourth quarter with three of quarter's four goals. Bobby McBride, Point and Gary Gait tallied to give Rochester a 12-9 lead. Buffalo chipped in two late goals before Steve Toll clinched the game with an empty-netter.

From NLL.com

Knighthawks Try for Two with Win Saturday in Buffalo

The Rochester Knighthawks (1-0) will complete the tail end of a home-and-home series with the Buffalo Bandits (0-1) on Saturday, January 16th. The 7:30 p.m. contest at HSBC Arena will be broadcast live on The Zone 94.1 FM and thezone941.com. Fans can also watch the game live on the NLL Network. Rochester is attempting to open a season 2-0 for the first time since 2000. The Knighthawks opened their 16th season on January 9th with a 10-5 victory over the Bandits as John Grant Jr. and Gary Gait combined for 13 points (5+8) in their first pro game together.

Grant, who missed the entire 2009 season, led the way with two goals and six assists. He now stands just four goals away from reaching the 400-goal plateau. Gait chipped in three goals and two assists. Goalie Pat O’Toole was also stellar in goal making 42 saves and holding Buffalo to one second-half goal. Rochester was also deadly on the power play, going 5-for-9

Buffalo was led by a three-point (1+2) effort from Mark Steenhuis. Buffalo was limited to just five goals without the presence of the league’s all-time leading scorer, John Tavares, who was scratched Saturday night. Goalie Ken Montour stopped 46 Rochester shots in the loss. Rochester now leads the all-time series with a mark of 23-14.The game is the second of three this season between the two teams.

New Knighthawks debut: First-overall pick Sid Smith, Kevin Fines, Aaron Bold all suited up for the first time for the Knighthawks.
Closing in on history: Pat O’Toole (6,135) is just 222 saves away from breaking Dallas Eliuk’s league record of 6,356.

Buffalo Notes: Buffalo opens the season with three of their first four games on the road. The lone home game is on Saturday, January 16th against Rochester. Forward Roger Vyse had one goal and one assist against the K-Hawks to give him 16 goals and six assists against Rochester in the last six games. Steenhuis also recorded three points on one goal and two assists, which marked the third straight game Rochester has limited him to one goal and two assists. Second-round draft picks Chris Corbeil and Steve Priolo made their NLL debuts last Saturday. Head Coach Darris Kilgour is still four wins shy of passing legendary Head Coach Les Bartley for the all-time record for wins (93).
 
Next Game: Rochester remains on the road for the second of three straight road games as they travel to meet Colin Doyle and the Toronto Rock at 7:00 p.m. at the Air Canada Centre. The contest will be broadcast live on The Zone 94.1 FM and thezone941.com. Fans can also watch the game live on NLL Network.

The following was provided by the Rochester Knighthawks Media Relations Office 

Knighthawks Defeat Rival Bandits 10-5 on Opening Night

The Rochester Knighthawks were led by two figures that are mainstays in the game of indoor lacrosse, John Grant Jr (pictured left) and Gary Gait (pictured lower right)  as they led the Knighthawks to a 10-5 victory over their long time rival Buffalo Bandits tonight at the Blue Cross Arena. In their first pro game together as teammates, Grant and Gait combined for five goals and five assists to lead the Knighthawks offensive attack against a strong Bandits team in which their Hall of Famer John Tavares was not in the lineup due to a lower body injury.

Rochester got the game going with the first three goals in the contest coming off of the sticks of Gait, Shawn Evans and Grant. Then Buffalo would sneak their way back into the contest with goals from Roger Vyse and Mark Steenhuis. Then in the second quarter, Buffalo would tie the game at 3-3 with the shot from former Knighthawk Mike Accursi that beat Pat O'Toole. Then the Bandits would get their first and only lead of the game with AJ Shannon beating O'Toole. Then the Hawks would tie the game with Gait scoring his second of the contest. Then the Rochester offense got going with Grant netting his second and then Gait getting his hat trick goal to make the score 6-4 and then former Bandit Cory Bomberry would make the score 7-4 in favor of the home squad at halftime.

Then in the second half, Buffalo would cut the lead to 7-5 on a Tom Montour goal. But that would be as close as the Bandits would get on this evening as Craig Point, Shawn Williams and Bomberry would score to make it a 10-5 Rochester final infront of the announced crowd of 8191. The Knighthawks would out shoot their Thruway rival 56-47 in the game.

The same two teams will go at it two more times this season including next Saturday night as the Bandits will try to revenge their opening night loss with a win for their home opener. HSBC Arena was not kind to Rochester last season as the Bandits would beat the Hawks 23-6 and 13-9 in their two meetings in Downtown Buffalo. The next time these two hook up on the shores of the Genesee River will be on Saturday March 27th with the faceoff being at 7:35 pm.

Knighthawks Take Flight in 2010 Season Opener

The Rochester Knighthawks open their 16th season against a longtime rival, the Buffalo Bandits, in an 8:05 p.m. East Division showdown at The Blue Cross Arena tonight. The game will be broadcast live on The Zone 94.1 FM and thezone941.com. After the game, the Knighthawks will hold a full-team autograph session on the turf. The first 5,000 will receive a magnetic schedule. The Knighthawks will also debut the Labatt Commemorative Cup series. Fans will receive a Pat O’Toole cup with the purchase of a 16-ounce Labatt Blue or Blue Light draft at The Blue Cross Arena.

Rochester leads the all-time series with their Thruway rivals with a mark of 22-14, including a 14-5 record at home. The game is the first of three games against the Bandits this season. Rochester travels to Buffalo on Saturday, January 16th and the Bandits make a return trip to Rochester on Saturday, March 27th.

The Knighthawks enter the season after earning their 14th postseason berth in 15 seasons in 2009. Rochester finished with a 7-9 record and fell one-goal short of advancing to the East Division Finals. The 2010 version of the Knighthawks has undergone some changes, as 10 different players are on the roster compared to opening night one year ago. The two biggest “additions” are John Grant and Scott Evans, who both missed 2009 with injuries. The duo combined for 91 goals and 180 points in 2008. Goaltender Pat O’Toole also starts the season on the active roster after missing the first three games last season with an injury. Key additions also include Cory Bomberry, Sid Smith, Andrew Potter, Peter Jacobs, Scott Ditzell, Kevin Fines and Aaron Bold. The game will mark the first time that John Grant, who is sixth in NLL history in points, and Gary Gait, who is second all-time, will play for the same professional team.

Rochester is 7-8 on opening night and 7-8 in home openers. The Knighthawks are also looking for their first home-opening victory since they defeated Toronto 10-6 on January 13, 2007. In goal, Pat O’Toole returns for his 16th season of professional lacrosse and 12th as a member of the Knighthawks. He is second in league history in saves (6,093) and is just 264 away from breaking Dallas Eliuk’s league record of 6,356.
Penfield native and McQuaid Jesuit High School product Chris Schiller will play defensive midfielder for Team USA at the 2010 International Lacrosse World Championships in July in Manchester, England.
Knighthawks forward John Grant was voted the favorite local athlete in the Democrat and Chronicle’s first Holiday Sports Poll. Fan favorite Scott Evans signed a five-year contract extension this week. Evans, 28, enters his sixth season with the Knighthawks and returns after suffering a season-ending injury in training camp in 2009. The former first-round pick had a career-high 44 goals and earned an NLL All-Star Game selection the season before his injury.

The Bandits enter the game after finishing second in the East Division (10-6) last season and advancing to the divisional finals. Buffalo won the Champion’s Cup back in 2008. Buffalo is led by the league’s all-time scoring leader, John Tavares, who enters his 19th season with 671 goals, 749 assists and 1,420 points. Buffalo also locked up forward Mark Steenhuis for another five seasons after he finished fourth in the NLL with 101 points (51+50) last season. Tavares and Steenhuis finished tied for the league-lead with 51 goals apiece as Buffalo recorded a league-best 223 goals. In goal, Ken Montour, the 2009 NLL Goaltender of the Year, is coming off a career season that saw him post an NLL leading 9.57 goals-against average and .813 save percentage. Head Coach Darris Kilgour begins 2010 just four wins shy of passing legendary Head Coach Les Bartley for the all-time record for wins (93). Defenseman Chris White was named the team captain of the Bandits and will begin his full-time duties as he plays in his 100th professional game tonight.

Rochester hits the road for a three-game road trip that makes stops in Buffalo, Toronto and Orlando. The first road game is set for Saturday, January 16th at 7:30 p.m. at HSBC Arena. The game will be broadcast live on The Zone 94.1 FM and thezone941.com. Fans can also watch the game live on the NLL Network on NLL.com. Rochester’s next home game is Saturday, January 30th against the Toronto Rock at 8:05 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on The Zone 94.1 FM and thezone941.com. Fans can meet their favorite Star Wars characters, purchase lightsabers and get autographs on Star Wars Night. All the proceeds raised will go to charity.

From Knighthawks.net