Rochester Knighthawks

Rochester Knighthawks

Team logo
Division	Eastern
Founded	1995
Home arena	Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial
Based in	Rochester, New York
Colors	Black, Teal, Purple
Head coach	Mike Hasen
General manager	Curt Styres
Local media	CW-WHAM, Time Warner Cable Sports Channel, WHAM, WROC, WHTK
Championships	1997, 2007, 2012, 2013, 2014
Division Championships	2003, 2007, 2014
PLPA representative	Pat O'Toole (?-2010)
Website	www.knighthawks.com

The Rochester Knighthawks (sometimes abbreviated as the K-Hawks) are a professional lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League. They play in Rochester, New York at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. The Knighthawks were previously members of the Major Indoor Lacrosse League from 1995 to 1997. They have been members of the NLL since the league's inaugural 1998 season.

The Knighthawks reached the playoffs in each of their first 13 seasons, from 1995 to 2007. This is a league record (going back to the league's original creation, the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League). The previous record was 11 straight years, held by the Philadelphia Wings. They are also the first NLL team to win three consecutive championships (2012–14).

The Knighthawks are owned by Curt Styres, formerly the owner of the Rochester Americans.

History

The Rochester Knighthawks have found success throughout their history despite playing in the smallest arena in the smallest market in the NLL.

In their inaugural season they finished 3rd during the regular season and dispatched the Boston Blazers in the playoff semifinals to get to the finals as an expansion team. As they would do three times later on, they found themselves coming up just short in the championship game, falling in overtime to the Philadelphia Wings.

Just two seasons later, the Knighthawks would find their way to the top of the MILL heap, claiming the final North American Cup before the merger with the National Lacrosse League prior to the 1998 season. It would be ten years before the Knighthawks claimed their second title. They beat the Edmonton Rush for the 2012 Championship 9-6. The year after in 2013 they recorded the first back-to-back championships since the 2002-2003 Toronto Rock beating the Washington Stealth 11-10.

2007 season

After starting the season with a record of 2-2, the Knighthawks beat Toronto Rock 19-15 in Toronto, where they had only won twice before in team history. The Knighthawks followed this victory up with 11 more, finishing the season with a franchise-record 12 regular-season-game winning streak and a 14-2 record. The Knighthawks were a perfect 8-0 at home, becoming the first team since the 2003 Bandits to post a perfect record at home.^[1] The winning streak was extended to 13 games after they defeated the Rock 10-6 in the division semi-finals;^[2] and to 14 after beating the Bandits in overtime, 14-13, for the East Division title.^[3] After the season, head coach Ed Comeau was named the 2007 Les Bartley Award winner.^[4]

Despite having the best overall record, they could not host the championship game due to a scheduling conflict with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus at the Blue Cross Arena.^[5] Playing the game instead in Arizona, the Knighthawks defeated the Arizona Sting 13-11 on May 12, 2007, to win their first NLL championship. John Grant, Jr., regular-season league MVP, was named MVP of the game.

The winning streak continued during the 2008 season, as the Knighthawks defeated the Buffalo Bandits in the opening game on January 11, 2008.^[6] However, the next night in Rochester, the streak was halted at 16 games as they were defeated by the Bandits 14-9.^[7]

Lease issue

During the 2007 season, a dispute over concession revenues between owner Steve Donner and the Sports Management Group, operators of the Blue Cross Arena, jeopardized the continued play of the Knighthawks in Rochester. Donner claimed that the Knighthawks and the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League had lost over $500,000 the previous two seasons, and without concession revenue sharing, he would be unable to continue to operate the teams in Rochester. An agreement was reached between the Amerks/Knighthawks SMG, and the City of Rochester on a one-year lease extension on May 11, 2007 that will allow for long-term negotiations to continue through both teams' 2008 season. Under the extension, the Amerks/Knighthawks have agreed to an independent audit of their finances and the city agreed to forgo additional luxury suite revenue from the arena and to loan the Amerks an additional $100,000, added on to a $500,000 loan that is now past-due. All parties involved will now work diligently to reach a long-term agreement by the start of the 2007–08 AHL season in October 2007. However, on June 16, 2008 the Knighthawks and Americans announced a new five-year lease with the Blue Cross Arena.

Sale of team

On May 28, 2008 the National Lacrosse League's Board of Governors approved the sale of a majority stake of the Knighthawks to the President of Arrow Express Sports Curt Styres at a price of $5,575,000, the highest price paid for a team in league history. The league's approval is conditional upon whether or not the Knighthawks and Sports Management Group can secure a new lease for play at the Blue Cross Arena.^[8] Styres had also recently been approved by the American Hockey League to purchase the Americans.^[9]

In June 2011, the Americans and Knighthawks were split up when Terrence Pegula purchased the Americans.

Awards and honors

Year	Player	Award
1997	Steve Dietrich	Championship Cup MVP
2000	John Grant, Jr.	Rookie of the Year
2003	Pat O'Toole	Goaltender of the Year
2004	Paul Day	Les Bartley Award
2005	Andrew Turner	Defensive Player of the Year
2007	John Grant, Jr.	Most Valuable Player[10]
	Ed Comeau	Les Bartley Award[4]
	Steve Toll	Transition Player of the Year[11]
	John Grant, Jr.	Champion's Cup MVP[12]
2010	Shawn Williams	Sportsmanship Award[13]
2011	Matt Vinc	Goaltender of the Year[14]
	Pat McCready	Defensive Player of the Year[14]
	Jordan Hall	Sportsmanship Award[15]
	Curt Styres	GM of the Year[16]
	Mike Hasen	Les Bartley Award[16]
	Curt Styres	Executive of the Year Award[17]
2012	Johnny Powless	Sportsmanship Award[18]
	Cody Jamieson	Champion's Cup MVP
2013	Matt Vinc	Goaltender of the Year
	Cody Jamieson	Champion's Cup MVP
2014	Dan Dawson	Champion's Cup MVP

NLL Hall of Fame members

• Gary Gait, 2009-2011 (class of 2006)
• Paul Gait, 1995-1997 (class of 2006)
• Darris Kilgour, 1999 (class of 2007)
• Steve Dietrich, 1995-2001 (class of 2012)
• Pat O'Toole 1999-2010 (class of 2013)

Roster

Rochester Knighthawks roster
Active (20-man) roster				Inactive roster		Coaches
Goaltenders 55 Angus Goodleaf 48 Matt Vinc Defensemen 37 Scott Campbell  2 Paul Dawson 16 Dylan Evans 26 Mike Kirk (A) 29 Ian Llord 19 Zac Reid  5 Scott Self 79 Sid Smith (C) 32 Jon Sullivan		Forwards  6 Dan Dawson 88 Cody Jamieson (A) 28 Stephen Keogh  9 Craig Point 15 Joe Resetarits 23 Cory Vitarelli  1 Joe Walters Transition 91 Joel Matthews 25 Brad Self		Practice Squad 66 Zach Williams (T)		Head Coach Mike Hasen Assistant Coaches Jason Johnson Pat O'Toole Paul Day Andy Secore Legend * Suspended list (C) Captain (A) Alternate captain updated 2015-05-01 NLL Transactions

All-time record

Season	Division	W-L	Finish	Home	Road	GF	GA	Head Coach	Playoffs
1995		4-4	3rd	3-1	1-3	97	94	Barry Powless	Lost Championship
1996		6-4	4th	4-1	2-3	148	137	Barry Powless	Lost in semifinals
1997		5-5	4th	2-3	3-2	156	136	Barry Powless	Won Championship
1998		6-6	3rd	3-3	3-3	168	159	Paul Day	Lost in semifinals
1999		8-4	3rd	4-2	4-2	169	160	Paul Day	Lost Championship
2000		8-4	3rd	5-1	3-3	187	149	Paul Day	Lost Championship
2001		10-4	3rd	6-1	4-3	198	159	Paul Day	Lost in semifinals
2002	Central	13-3	2nd	8-0	5-3	261	202	Paul Day	Lost in semifinals
2003	Central	12-4	1st	6-2	6-2	214	173	Paul Day	Lost Championship
2004	Eastern	8-8	2nd	6-2	2-6	173	186	Paul Day	Lost in Division semifinals
2005	Eastern	10-6	3rd	5-3	5-3	193	179	Paul Day	Lost in Division finals
2006	Eastern	9-7	2nd	6-2	3-5	196	180	Ed Comeau	Lost in Division finals
2007	Eastern	14-2	1st	8-0	6-2	249	194	Ed Comeau	Won Championship
2008	Eastern	8-8	5th	4-4	4-4	197	171	Ed Comeau	Missed playoffs
2009	Eastern	7-9	4th	6-2	1-7	169	197	Paul Gait	Lost in Division semifinals
2010	Eastern	7-9	5th	4-4	3-5	155	181	Paul Gait	Missed playoffs
2011	Eastern	10-6	3rd	4-4	6-2	176	159	Mike Hasen	Lost in Division semifinals
2012	Eastern	7-9	2nd	5-3	2-6	191	197	Mike Hasen	Won Championship
2013	Eastern	8-8	2nd	3-5	5-3	179	165	Mike Hasen	Won Championship
2014	Eastern	14-4	1st	8-1	6-3	210	167	Mike Hasen	Won Championship
2015	Eastern	12-6	2nd	7-2	5-4	205	173	Mike Hasen	Lost in Division finals
Total	21 seasons	186-120		107-46	79-73	3,891	3,538
Playoff Totals		22-15		13-3	9-12	421	409

Playoff results

Season	Game	Visiting	Home
1995	Semifinals	Buffalo 8	Rochester 10
	Championship	Rochester 14	Philadelphia 15 (OT)
1996	Semifinals	Rochester 10	Buffalo 18
1997	Semifinals	Rochester 15	Philadelphia 13
	Championship	Rochester 15	Buffalo 12
1998	Semifinals	Rochester 14	Baltimore 15
1999	Semifinals	Rochester 14	Baltimore 12
	Championship	Rochester 10	Toronto 13
2000	Semifinals	Rochester 15	Buffalo 11
	Championship	Rochester 13	Toronto 14
2001	Semifinals	Rochester 11	Philadelphia 12
2002	Quarterfinals	Vancouver 10	Rochester 11
	Semifinals	Rochester 10	Albany 14
2003	Semifinals	Buffalo 13	Rochester 16
	Championship	Toronto 8	Rochester 6
2004	Division Semifinals	Buffalo 13	Rochester 9
2005	Division Semifinals	Rochester 17	Buffalo 16
	Division Finals	Rochester 10	Toronto 12
2006	Division Semifinals	Rochester 16	Toronto 8
	Division Finals	Buffalo 15	Rochester 10
2007	Division Semifinals	Toronto 6	Rochester 10
	Division Finals	Buffalo 13	Rochester 14 (OT)
	Championship*	Rochester 13	Arizona 11
2008	missed playoffs
2009	Division Semifinals	Rochester 10	New York 11 (OT)
2010	missed playoffs
2011	Division Semifinals	Rochester 6	Toronto 13
2012	Division Semifinals	Philadelphia 13	Rochester 14
	Division Finals	Rochester 17	Toronto 13
	Championship	Edmonton 6	Rochester 9
2013	Division Semifinals	Philadelphia 8	Rochester 10
	Division Finals	Minnesota 10	Rochester 12
	Championship	Rochester 11	Washington 10
2014	Division Finals	Rochester 8	Buffalo 12
		Buffalo 8	Rochester 13
		Buffalo 1	Rochester 2 (OT)
	Championship	Rochester 7	Calgary 10
		Calgary 10	Rochester 16
		Calgary 2	Rochester 3

*The Knighthawks had the overall top seed in the playoffs, but were unable to host the Championship game due to a scheduling conflict at the Blue Cross Arena.

Head coaching history

#	Name	Term	Regular Season				Playoffs
			GC	W	L	W%	GC	W	L	W%
1	Barry Powless	1995—1997	28	15	13	.536	5	3	2	.600
2	Paul Day	1998—2005	114	75	39	.658	13	5	8	.385
3	Ed Comeau	2006—2008	48	31	17	.646	5	4	1	.800
4	Paul Suggate	2009	Resigned prior to season
5	Paul Gait	2009—2010	16	7	9	.438	1	0	1	.000
6	Mike Hasen	2011—present	84	51	33	.607	17	12	5	.706

Draft history

NLL Entry Draft

First Round Selections

• 1994: Cam Bomberry (1st overall)
• 1995: Derek Collins (5th overall)
• 1996: Cory Bomberry (3rd overall)
• 1997: None
• 1998: Casey Powell (1st overall) & Brad MacArthur (5th overall)
• 1999: John Grant (1st overall) & Ben Hunt (9th overall)
• 2000: Lindsay Plunkett (8th overall)
• 2001: Teddy Jenner (11th overall)
• 2002: Pete Benedict (11th overall)
• 2003: Scott Evans (5th overall)
• 2004: Mike Morrison (8th overall)
• 2005: Shawn Evans (2nd overall)
• 2006: Jack Reid (10th overall)
• 2007: Matt McLeod (8th overall) & Andrew Potter (14th overall)
• 2008: None
• 2009: Sid Smith (1st overall)
• 2010: Cody Jamieson (1st overall)
• 2011: Stephen Keogh (2nd overall), Johnny Powless (5th overall)
• 2012: None
• 2013: None
• 2014: Jeremy Noble (2nd overall)
• 2015: Graeme Hossack (2nd overall), Brad Gillies (9th overall)

NLL Dispersal Draft

• 2002 from Montreal Express: Steve Penny (10th overall); Declined to pick (22nd overall)
• 2003 from Ottawa Rebel: Mat Giles (10th overall); Shawn Zettel (21st overall); Declined to pick (32nd overall)
• 2004 from Vancouver Ravens: Chris McKay (5th overall); Peter Morgan (14th overall)
• 2005 from Anaheim Storm: Cam Bergman (8th overall)
• 2007 from Arizona Sting & Boston Blazers: Jack Reid, Boston (12th overall); Matt Lyons, Arizona (13th overall); Alex Smith, Arizona (36th overall)
• 2008 from Arizona Sting: Lindsay Plunkett (5th overall); Matt Brown (18th overall)
• 2008 from Chicago Shamrox: Mike Kirk (4th overall); Bobby McBride (16th overall); Craig Robertson (24th overall); Pat Saunders (25th overall); Brock Boyle (26th overall)
• 2009 from Arizona Sting: Dan Stroup (17th overall)
• 2010 from Orlando Titans: Jordan Hall (3rd overall); Dan Hardy (13th overall); Kenny Nims (23rd overall); Mike Evans (33rd overall); Bobby Horsey (40th overall)
• 2011 from Boston Blazers: Mike Kirk (5th overall), Casey Powell (14th overall), Jack Reid (23rd overall)

NLL Expansion Draft

• 1999 to Albany Attack: Josh Sanderson (2nd overall)
• 2001 to Calgary Roughnecks, New Jersey Storm, Vancouver Ravens & Columbus Landsharks: Randy Mearns, Calgary (8th overall); Marc Landriault, Calgary (14th overall); Lindsay Plunkett, Vancouver (16th overall); Kevin Howard, Calgary (30th overall)
• 2004 to Minnesota Swarm: Jon Harasym (N/A overall)
• 2005 to Portland Lumberjax & Edmonton Rush: Pat Campbell, Edmonton (8th overall); Mat Giles, Portland (9th overall)
• 2006 to Chicago Shamrox & New York Titans: Carter Livingstone, Chicago (17th overall); Ryan O'Connor, Chicago (19th overall)
• 2007 to Boston Blazers: Brian Croswell (13th overall)
• 2008 to Boston Blazers: Matt Lyons (3rd overall)

See also

• Rochester Knighthawks seasons

References

1. "Week 16 News and Notes". NLL.com. April 16, 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
2. "Knighthawks Edge Rock 10-6". NLL.com. April 20, 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
3. "Knighthawks Advance to Championship Game". NLL.com. April 26, 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
4. "Ed Comeau Wins Les Bartley Award". NLL.com. May 3, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-03.
5. "Arizona To Host Championship Game". NLL.com. April 30, 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
6. "K-Hawks Top Bandits in Friday's Opener, 12-9". NLL.com. January 11, 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-13.
7. "Bandits end K-Hawks Streak with 14-9 Win". NLL.com. January 12, 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-13.
8. Knighthawks sold for nearly $6 million, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle 28 May 2008
9. Also on June 16th 2008 the Knighthawks and Americans announced a new five-year lease with the Blue Cross Arena.ARROW EXPRESS SPORTS ANNOUNCES MAJORITY OWNERSHIP OF AMERKS, Amerks.com
10. "John Grant Wins Dodge Nitro MVP Award". NLL.com. May 10, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-10.
11. "Toll named Transition Player of the Year". NLL.com. May 1, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-01.
12. "John Grant Named Championship Game MVP". NLL.com. May 12, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-13.
13. "Stealth's Takata Named Executive of the Year". NLL.com. May 10, 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-11.
14. "Shattler, McCready, & Vinc Honored". NLL.com. 2011-05-09. Retrieved 2011-05-09.
15. "Hall, Bailey Win First Two Awards of 2011". NLL.com. 2011-05-03. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
16. "Rochester Sweeps GM & Head Coach Awards". NLL.com. 2011-05-05. Retrieved 2011-05-05.
17. "Curt Styres Named Executive of the Year". NLL.com. 2011-05-04. Retrieved 2011-05-04.
18. "Knighthawks rookie Powless wins Sportsmanship Award". NLL.com. May 7, 2012. Retrieved October 16, 2012.