Dream Team: Grant, Gait Go Off in Hawks' Opener
Week 1 Coverage
* Scoreboard
* Roughnecks Pick
Up Where They Left Off
* Titans Top
Wings in Orlando Debut
* Rock
Scorches Blazers in Season Opener
* Grant, Gait
Dazzle in Dream Team Debut for Knighthawks
* Stealth
Pulls Mammoth in Everett Debut
from press release
John Grant Jr. and Gary Gait served notice to the National
Lacrosse League on Saturday. They combined for 13 points in their
first pro game together, as the Rochester Knighthawks defeated the
Buffalo Bandits, 10-5, in front of 8,192 fans at The Blue Cross
Arena.
Grant, who missed the entire 2009 season due to knee surgeries,
led the way with two goals and six assists. He now stands just four
goals shy of reaching the 400-goal plateau. Gait chipped in three
goals and two assists. Goalie Pat O’Toole was also stellar in
goal, making 42 saves and holding Buffalo to one second-half goal.
Rochester was also deadly on the power play, going 4-for-5.
Buffalo was led by a three-point effort from Mark Steenhuis.
Buffalo was limited to just five goals without the presence of the
league’s all-time leading scorer, John Tavares, who was
scratched. Goalie Ken Montour stopped 46 Rochester shots in the
loss.
Rochester opened the 2010 season with a 3-0 run as Gait, Shawn
Evans and Grant scored in a 5:21 span. The first goal was one that
Grant, who grew up idolizing Gait, won’t soon forget. Grant
fed Gait at 1:34 of the first quarter.
Buffalo, however, responded with two goals in 22 seconds to cut
the lead to 3-2 and get their fans back in the game. The two goals
were part of a 4-0 Buffalo run to take a 4-3 lead at 4:18 of the
second quarter. The lead was short-lived as Gait (two) and Grant
(one) scored the next two goals to stake Rochester to a 5-4
advantage and spark a 4-0 run of their own. The Knighthawks held a
7-4 halftime lead. Cory Bomberry registered the K-Hawks' seventh
goal, which was his first in a Rochester uniform since March 29,
2003.
The second quarter belonged to the Knighthawks, as Rochester
notched one goal in the third and two in the fourth. Buffalo scored
one goal at 5:20 of the quarter and was held scoreless for the past
24:40.
With the win, Rochester now leads the all-time series with a mark
of 23-14, which includes a 15-5 record at home. Rochester also
improved to 8-8 on opening night and 8-8 in home openers. The
victory was their first home-opening win since they defeated
Toronto 10-6 on Jan. 13, 2007.
Rochester hits the road for a three-game road trip that makes
stops in Buffalo, Toronto and Orlando. The first road game is set
for Saturday, Jan. 16 at 7:30 p.m. at HSBC Arena.
