Knighthawks win against Ottawa, clinch playoffs
- Jonpaul D'Agostino
- 6 minutes ago
- 5 min read
By: Jonpaul D'Agostino
ROCHESTER, N.Y.--- The Rochester Knighthawks hosted the Ottawa Black Bears Saturday evening. The Knighthawks were victorious as they won against the Black Bears 12-6, not only extending a 5-game winning streak to six, but clinching a spot in the playoffs as well.
“There's a lot of smiles on our faces.” Rochester Knighthawks goalie Ryan Hartley said. "The feeling is really good. The chemistry gets stronger, the want gets greater, and you just keep pressing for what's next."
The game was never really in Ottawa's sight, with the smallest gap in score coming in the early fourth at 9-5 Rochester after Ottawa forward Reilly O'Conner made a low left-handed shot to cap off a 2-0 scoring run. The Knighthawks responded though as forward Kyle Waters started a 3-0 Rochester scoring run as he made his 14th goal of the year off a right-handed shot to make it 12-5.
Knighthawks Forwards Ryan Smith and Connor Fields were the offensive stars for the Knighthawks. Smith led both teams in goals scored with four on the night. Fields was the player of the game, as the forward led the game in assists with six and points with nine (6+3).
The first quarter was messy for both teams, but the Knighthawks prevailed as they outscored Ottawa 4-1. The first penalty came quickly as wellas Ottawa defender Callum Jones got sent to the box for two minutes for a holding call.
Fields started the scoring action, taking advantage of the man-up opportunity and sank an over-the-top left-handed shot to put the Knighthawks up 1-0. Knighthawks forward Thomas McConvey picked up the assist on the play.
Defender Brad Gillies for Rochester put things in jeopardy as he was out of action for 2 minutes after a holding call, giving Ottawa its own power play. With only 10 seconds left on the power play, the Black Bears answered back with their own goal in quick fashion as forward Reilly O'Connor landed a shot to tie the game 1-1.
The quarter soon slipped away for the Black Bears, as they didn't get a score for the rest of the first.
A holding penalty followed by Ottawa's John LaFontaine gave the Knighthawks its second power play of the night.
Fields once again capitalized as he sunk a right-handed shot. Ottawa challenged the goal and after a few minutes of referee deliberations, they determined that it stood, making it 2-1 Knighthawks.
Ottawa couldn't get a break as Jones was once again penalized, this time for a slashing call. Less than 20 seconds later, Smith sunk a right-handed shot to make it 3-1 Knighthawks.
Another penalty came as with 2:05 left in the quarter as Knighthawks' transition Mike Sisselberger committed a slashing penalty, giving Ottawa a power play for two minutes. Despite being a man down, McConvey sunk a left-handed shot to make it 4-1 Rochester.
The penalties stayed consistent, but the second quarter was slower offensively, with three goals scored compared to five in the first quarter.
Ottawa defenseman Matt Marinier committed a roughing penalty a little under five minutes in to give Rochester an advantage. Smith then hit an over-the-top right-handed shot for his 45th goal of the season and increase the score to 5-1. Fields and McConvey were both credited with the assist.
Two minutes later, Ottawa earned its first goal of the second with forward Jeff Teat landing a shot after being assisted by his teammate and fellow forward Travis Longboat, making it 5-2 Rochester.
Fields joined Smith with 45 goals on the year as he hit a shot that landed in the left of the crease to give Rochester 3 times more points than Ottawa at 6-2.
Despite being ahead, Rochester couldn't afford to play soft in order to stay ahead in the third quarter and the game. The Knighthawks reflected that as only 34 seconds in, with defenseman and captain Josh Piseno committing a holding stick penalty that gave Ottawa a power play.
Rochester's lack of discipline gave Ottawa forward Larson Sundown the opportunity he needed to give Ottawa some momentum, as Sundown sunk a diving left-handed shot to make it 6-3 Rochester.
Despite that momentum, Rochester recovered and would go on a 3-0 run to close out the third quarter, making it 9-3 for the Knighthawks.
Knighthawks transition Josh Medeiros started the run with a low left-handed shot to make it 7-3 Rochester, with the assist coming from fellow captain and defenseman Chad Tutton.
The final goal of the run came as Smith landed his third goal for the hat trick after shooting it between the Ottawa goalie's legs. The play itself was messy as both Ottawa defenseman Matt Marinier and Rochester Forward Ryan Lanchbury were sent to the box. Marnier was called for a dead-ball foul while Lanchbury got called for an unsportsmanlike conduct.
Ottawa answered back with a streak of its own, as the Black Bears went on a 2-0 run late in the third that carried over into the fourth.
The first goal came with only 16 seconds left on the clock as Ottawa forward Jeff Teat made his second goal of the night to make it 9-4 Rochester. O'Connor then joined Teat as multi-goal performers on the night after landing a low left-handed shot to make it 9-5 Rochester.
The Knighthawks didn't let momentum fall into Ottawa's hands in the final quarter, going on a 3-0 scoring run. Smith and Lansbury both got their goals less than two minutes apart from each other, with both being assisted by Fields.
“I think we're playing as a team, we're winning as a team, we're losing as a team,” Rochester Knighthawks forward Connor Fields said. “At the end of the day, I think we're getting better each week, that's what we said we want to do in preseason.
With a little over four minutes left, McConvey was called for goalie interference, his second box trip of the game. Despite the game being out of reach, Ottawa forward Connor Kearnen took advantage of the power play and sunk a low shot to put his name on the score sheet and make it 12-6 Rochester.
With the win, the Knighthawks clinch a spot in the playoffs and improve to 10-7 which sits Rochester fourth in the standings. The Knighthawks will play next against Toronto (5-9) on Friday, Apr. 19, 2025. With another win, Rochester will secure a home playoff game.