The Rochester Knighthawks were a lacrosse team based in Rochester, New York that played in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The 2007 season was the 13th in franchise history. Rochester started the season 2-2 but then won their last 12 consecutive regular season games. After defeating Toronto and Buffalo in the playoffs, they won the right to host the Championship game against Arizona. However, due to scheduling conflicts at the Blue Cross Arena, the Sting hosted the final game.[1] The Knighthawks extended their winning streak by defeating the Sting 13-11 for their first NLL Championship since 1997.
| 2007 Rochester Knighthawks | |
|---|---|
| Champion's Cup Champions | |
| East Division Champions | |
| League | NLL |
| Division | 1st East |
| 2007 record | 14-2 |
| Home record | 8-0 |
| Road record | 6-2 |
| Goals for | 249 |
| Goals against | 194 |
| General Manager | Jody Gage |
| Coach | Ed Comeau |
| Captain | Mike Hasen (injured) Regy Thorpe (acting) |
| Alternate captains | Shawn Williams John Grant, Jr. |
| Arena | Blue Cross Arena |
| Average attendance | 10,458 |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | John Grant, Jr. (51) |
| Assists | John Grant, Jr. (60) |
| Points | John Grant, Jr. (110) |
| Penalties in minutes | Scott Ditzell (68) |
| Loose Balls | Steve Toll (177) |
| Wins | Pat O'Toole (13) |
| Goals against average | Pat O'Toole (11.80) |
The winning streak would continue into the 2008 season, but only by a single game.
Regular season
editConference standings
editReference: [2]
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rochester Knighthawks – xyz | 16 | 14 | 2 | .875 | 0.0 | 8–0 | 6–2 | 249 | 194 | +55 | 15.56 | 12.12 |
| 2 | Buffalo Bandits – x | 16 | 10 | 6 | .625 | 4.0 | 6–2 | 4–4 | 207 | 188 | +19 | 12.94 | 11.75 |
| 3 | Minnesota Swarm – x | 16 | 9 | 7 | .562 | 5.0 | 4–4 | 5–3 | 200 | 207 | −7 | 12.50 | 12.94 |
| 4 | Toronto Rock – x | 16 | 6 | 10 | .375 | 8.0 | 3–5 | 3–5 | 187 | 183 | +4 | 11.69 | 11.44 |
| 5 | Chicago Shamrox | 16 | 6 | 10 | .375 | 8.0 | 4–4 | 2–6 | 176 | 191 | −15 | 11.00 | 11.94 |
| 6 | Philadelphia Wings | 16 | 6 | 10 | .375 | 8.0 | 4–4 | 2–6 | 178 | 186 | −8 | 11.12 | 11.62 |
| 7 | New York Titans | 16 | 4 | 12 | .250 | 10.0 | 3–5 | 1–7 | 195 | 233 | −38 | 12.19 | 14.56 |
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colorado Mammoth – xy | 16 | 12 | 4 | .750 | 0.0 | 7–1 | 5–3 | 209 | 179 | +30 | 13.06 | 11.19 |
| 2 | Calgary Roughnecks – x | 16 | 9 | 7 | .562 | 3.0 | 4–4 | 5–3 | 219 | 202 | +17 | 13.69 | 12.62 |
| 3 | Arizona Sting – x | 16 | 9 | 7 | .562 | 3.0 | 6–2 | 3–5 | 188 | 181 | +7 | 11.75 | 11.31 |
| 4 | San Jose Stealth – x | 16 | 9 | 7 | .562 | 3.0 | 4–4 | 5–3 | 181 | 170 | +11 | 11.31 | 10.62 |
| 5 | Edmonton Rush | 16 | 6 | 10 | .375 | 6.0 | 4–4 | 2–6 | 160 | 189 | −29 | 10.00 | 11.81 |
| 6 | Portland LumberJax | 16 | 4 | 12 | .250 | 8.0 | 3–5 | 1–7 | 153 | 199 | −46 | 9.56 | 12.44 |
x: Clinched playoff berth; c: Clinched playoff berth by crossing over to another division; y: Clinched division; z: Clinched best regular season record; GP: Games Played
W: Wins; L: Losses; GB: Games back; PCT: Win percentage; Home: Record at Home; Road: Record on the Road; GF: Goals scored; GA: Goals allowed
Differential: Difference between goals scored and allowed; GF/GP: Average number of goals scored per game; GA/GP: Average number of goals allowed per game
Game log
editReference:[3]
| Game | Date | Opponent | Location | Score | OT | Attendance | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | December 30, 2006 | @ Colorado Mammoth | Pepsi Center | L 15–20 | 15,670 | 0–1 | |
| 2 | January 5, 2007 | @ San Jose Stealth | HP Pavilion at San Jose | W 14–11 | 4,417 | 1–1 | |
| 3 | January 13, 2007 | Toronto Rock | Blue Cross Arena | W 10–6 | 10,321 | 2–1 | |
| 4 | January 19, 2007 | @ Minnesota Swarm | Xcel Energy Center | L 10–11 | 8,174 | 2–2 | |
| 5 | January 20, 2007 | @ Toronto Rock | Air Canada Centre | W 19–15 | 16,882 | 3–2 | |
| 6 | January 27, 2007 | New York Titans | Blue Cross Arena | W 22–18 | 9,611 | 4–2 | |
| 7 | February 3, 2007 | Chicago Shamrox | Blue Cross Arena | W 13–8 | 8,618 | 5–2 | |
| 8 | February 17, 2007 | Portland LumberJax | Blue Cross Arena | W 18–12 | 9,774 | 6–2 | |
| 9 | February 24, 2007 | Arizona Sting | Blue Cross Arena | W 19–16 | 9,352 | 7–2 | |
| 10 | March 3, 2007 | @ Philadelphia Wings (1987–2014) | Wachovia Center | W 14–13 | 11,491 | 8–2 | |
| 11 | March 17, 2007 | @ Chicago Shamrox | Sears Centre | W 15–12 | 8,017 | 9–2 | |
| 12 | March 24, 2007 | @ New York Titans | Madison Square Garden | W 21–15 | 7,746 | 10–2 | |
| 13 | March 31, 2007 | Philadelphia Wings (1987–2014) | Blue Cross Arena | W 12–10 | 11,200 | 11–2 | |
| 14 | April 7, 2007 | Minnesota Swarm | Blue Cross Arena | W 19–9 | 9,536 | 12–2 | |
| 15 | April 13, 2007 | @ Buffalo Bandits | HSBC Arena | W 14–10 | 15,334 | 13–2 | |
| 16 | April 14, 2007 | Buffalo Bandits | Blue Cross Arena | W 14–8 | 11,200 | 14–2 |
Playoffs
editGame log
editReference:[4]
| Game | Date | Opponent | Location | Score | OT | Attendance | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division Semifinal | April 20, 2007 | Toronto Rock | Blue Cross Arena | W 10–6 | 7,003 | 1–0 | |
| Division Final | April 27, 2007 | Buffalo Bandits | Blue Cross Arena | W 14–13 | OT | 8,558 | 2–0 |
| Championship Game | May 12, 2007 | @ Arizona Sting | Jobing.com Arena | W 13–11 | 9,796 | 3–0 |
Player stats
editReference:[5]
Runners (Top 10)
editNote: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; LB = Loose balls; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | LB | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Grant, Jr. | 15 | 51 | 60 | 111 | 81 | 40 |
| Shawn Williams | 16 | 36 | 55 | 91 | 69 | 8 |
| Scott Evans | 16 | 45 | 42 | 87 | 78 | 48 |
| Mike Accursi | 16 | 26 | 51 | 77 | 69 | 0 |
| Shawn Evans | 16 | 32 | 34 | 66 | 121 | 36 |
| Ken Millin | 16 | 19 | 33 | 52 | 58 | 4 |
| Steve Toll | 16 | 14 | 24 | 38 | 177 | 2 |
| Stephen Hoar | 16 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 67 | 25 |
| Bill Greer | 13 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 106 | 17 |
| Totals | 387 | 636 | 459 | 1165 | 67 |
Goaltenders
editNote: GP = Games played; MIN = Minutes; W = Wins; L = Losses; GA = Goals against; Sv% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
| Player | GP | MIN | W | L | GA | Sv% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pat O'Toole | 15 | 838:38 | 13 | 1 | 165 | .774 | 11.80 |
| Phil Wetherup | 10 | 66:30 | 1 | 0 | 14 | .791 | 12.63 |
| Mike Miron | 6 | 50:14 | 0 | 1 | 15 | .674 | 17.92 |
| Grant Crawley | 1 | 0:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .00 |
| Totals | 14 | 2 | 194 | .770 | 12.13 |
Awards
edit| Player | Award |
|---|---|
| John Grant, Jr. | NLL Most Valuable Player |
| Ed Comeau | Les Bartley Award |
| Steve Toll | NLL Transition Player of the Year |
| John Grant, Jr. | Championship Game MVP |
| John Grant, Jr. | First Team All-Pro |
| Steve Toll | |
| Shawn Williams | Second Team All-Pro |
| John Grant, Jr. | All-Stars |
| Scott Evans | |
| Shawn Williams | |
| Steve Toll |
Roster
editReference:[6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Arizona To Host Championship Game". NLL.com. April 30, 2007. Archived from the original on 16 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
- ^ "National Lacrosse League - 2007 Regular Season - Standings". NLL.com. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
- ^ "Rochester Knighthawks - 2007 Regular Season - Game Schedule". NLL.com. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
- ^ "Rochester Knighthawks - 2007 Playoffs - Game Schedule". NLL.com. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
- ^ "Rochester Knighthawks - National Lacrosse League - team stats | Pointstreak Sports Technologies".
- ^ "Rochester Knighthawks - National Lacrosse League - team roster | Pointstreak Sports Technologies".