Knighthawks Miss Playoffs By One Goal

The Rochester Knighthawks’ season came to an end Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, as the New York Titans held on for a 12-11 victory. The loss ended the Knighthawks’ 13-year playoff run and denied them a chance to defend their 2007 National Lacrosse League title. Rochester finished the season 8-8 and in fifth place in the East Division. The loss also dropped Rochester to 0-5 in one-goal games this season. New York improved to 10-6 and captured its first postseason berth. Matt Vinc made 28 saves and none more important then his stop on Stephen Hoar with 2.4 seconds to play. Ken Millin had cut the lead to 12-11 at 14:41. New York won the game by outscoring Rochester 9-5 in the second half and 4-2 in the final quarter. Jarrett Park’s empty-net goal at 14:27 proved to be the game-winner. Pat Maddalena (0+5) and Brendan Mundorf (4+1) led the Titans with five points each. Rochester got a seven-point effort from Shawn Williams (3+4). Pat O’Toole was stellar in goal, making 38 saves. New York now prepares for the 2008 Champions Cup Playoffs, which will begin on the weekend of May 2-4, and play out over three consecutive weekends. The single-elimination playoffs will consist of seven games; four divisional semifinal games (weekend of May 2-4), two Divisional Finals (weekend of May 9-11) and the Edge NLL Championship Game on the weekend of May 16-18.