Knighthawks Pound Rock, 18-10

Shawn Evans powered the Rochester Knighthawks to an 18-10 win over the Toronto Rock in front of 6,739 tonight at The Blue Cross Arena. The win was Rochester’s third consecutive win at home and its second straight as the Knighthawks remained unbeaten with a 14-0 record at home against the Rock. Evans led the way offensively for the Knighthawks as he posted seven goals to go along with seven assists for 14 points to finish one point shy of tying John Grant’s 2007 single-game team record of 15 points. Shawn Williams (5+5) and lacrosse legend Gary Gait (3+3) also chipped in with mirror figures on the score sheet, while goaltender Pat O’Toole made 37 saves to earn the win between the pipes for Rochester. Luke Wiles (3+1) and Blaine Manning (2+2) each contributed four points for the Rock as Bob Watson and Curtis Palidwor combined for a 27-save effort. Rochester quickly jumped out to a 5-0 lead just under eight minutes into the contest with three goals from Evans and two from Gait to help establish a lead they would never relinquish. Toronto would go on to score three of the next four goals to make it 6-3 game at the end of one quarter to play. The Knighthawks quickly made it a 13-3 game, their biggest lead of the night, after a seven goal-run with Williams and Evans each netting three more in that span to help Rochester outscore Toronto 8-2 in the second quarter. The Knighthawks and Rock would continue to exchange goals in the second half as Rochester was limited to just two goals in each of the remaining quarters and Toronto would score just five times The Knighthawks remain at home after the 2009 NLL All-Star break as they host the Buffalo Bandits on Saturday, March 14th at The Blue Cross Arena.