O'Toole One Save Shy of NLL Record
from press releases
Rochester Knighthawks goalie Pat O’Toole will establish the National Lacrosse League’s all-time saves record with his first stop against the Buffalo Bandits on Saturday, March 27.
The K-Hawks netminder tied the mark of 6,356 saves set by Hall
of Fame goalie Dallas Eliuk on March 13. The 7:35 p.m. contest at
Blue Cross Arena will be broadcast live on The Zone 94.1 FM and thezone941.com.
Fans can also catch all the action on NLL.com.
Knighthawks Notes: Rochester (5-5) enters the
game in fourth place in the East Division, but is only one game
behind division-leading Orlando (6-4). The Knighthawks have
struggled lately losing two straight home games. Rochester dropped
a 12-11 overtime decision to Edmonton on February 27th and lost 9-4
to Orlando on March 13th. The loss to the Titans was the fourth
time this season that the K-Hawks have been held to single-digit
goals. Only the Colorado Mammoth (90 goals) have scored less goals
this season than the Knighthawks (96). Rochester is in the midst of
a season-high four-game homestand. John Grant Jr. leads the
Knighthawks with 51 points (21+30) in nine games. He is also 11th
in the NLL in points. Craig Point is tied for the team lead with 21
goals. Shawn Williams is five points away from 700 as a Knighthawk.
Rochester’s penalty-killing unit was a perfect
seven-for-seven last game and has killed off 23 of the last 26
opportunities (88 percent). O’Toole is fourth in the NLL with
a 10.19 goals-against average. Saturday is defenseman Scott
Ditzell’s 27th birthday.
Baby Grant: John and his wife, Raygen, welcomed
their first child, Gabrayel Louise Grant, into the world at 12:39
a.m. on Sunday. She weighed in at seven pounds and 2.4 ounces.
Buffalo Notes: The Bandits enter the contest as
one of the hottest teams in the NLL, winning three straight and
four of their last five. Buffalo has climbed within one-half game
of the fourth and final playoff spot in the East at 5-6. Last
weekend, the Bandits won consecutive road games in overtime against
Toronto and Boston. In the past two games, John Tavares recorded
seven goals, four assists and 15 loose balls en route to NLL
Offensive and Overall Player of the Week honors. The league's
all-time leading scorer had the OT game winners in an 11-10 win at
Toronto on March 12th, and a 9-8 win at Boston on March 13th.
Fellow forward Mark Steehius is fifth in the NLL with 58 points
(24+34). Head Coach Darris Kilgour became the NLL’s all-time
leader in wins on March 12th after earning his 94th victory to pass
legendary coach Les Bartley. Goalie Mike Thompson has started the
last two games and has made 101 saves in 130 minutes of work.
Head-to-Head: Rochester is 2-0 against the
Bandits this season, winning 10-5 on January 9th and 13-11 on Jan.
16. John Grant led the way with five goals and 11 assists. The
Knighthawks lead the all-time series with a record of 24-14.
Silent Auction: Spirit of the Stick, in
conjunction with the Knighthawks, GAIT Debeer Lacrosse & Marc
Mesh; will host a silent auction of specially prepared lacrosse
sticks signed by the members of the Knighthawks, NLL Hall of Fame
members, Bandits players and the charity’s co-chair, Jim
Veltman. The mission of Spirit of the Stick is to “use
lacrosse, the Creator’s game, to provide an experience for
‘in need’ communities/children & adolescents that
is empowering, inclusive, sustainable and that provides growth that
is emotional, physical, psychological and spiritual.”
Postgame Events: After the game, fans can head
down to the turf for a full-team autograph session. The Toronto
Nationals (MLL) will be bringing the Steinfeld Trophy to the game
so fans can take pictures with the Cup. Fans can also meet their
favorite players at Legends Bar and Grille in the Radisson for the
official postgame party.
Next Game: The Knighthawks will hold their
“Breast Cancer Night” when they host the defending
champion Calgary Roughnecks on Saturday, April 3rd. The Knighthawks
will wear pink helmets and jerseys during the 7:35 p.m. contest at
The Blue Cross Arena. Fans can bid on the jerseys until the start
of the third quarter. Those paying with cash can take their jerseys
right off the players’ backs after the game. The funds raised
will go to the Knighthawks/Amerks Charitable Foundation, Inc.,
which will distribute the money to local cancer-related charities.
The helmets will be auctioned off by the NLL through their website
at a later date. The Knighthawks will also showcase their pink
dashers, which will be the first of their kind in NLL history. The
first 5,000 fans will receive a noisemaker courtesy of Time Warner
Cable.
Blazers' Dawson Headlines NLL Award Winners
Dan Dawson of the Boston Blazers was named the National Lacrosse
League’s Overall Player of the Week and Offensive Player of
the Week for Week #11 of the 2010 NLL Season. Dawson scored
five goals and tallied two assists in Boston’s 12-5 road
victory over the Edmonton Rush on Saturday. The win improved
the Blazers’ record to 6-5 and allowed them to keep pace in
the tightly-packed Eastern Division playoff chase. The Week
11 NLL schedule consisted of games played on the weekend of March
20th.
Boston Blazers Goaltender Anthony Cosmo was named Defensive Player
of the Week. Cosmo made 35 saves on 40 Edmonton shots faced,
allowing only five goals in the 12-5 win at Edmonton.
The Transition Player of the Week was Jeff Shattler of the Calgary
Roughnecks. In a rematch of last season’s championship
game, Shattler scored one goal and added two assists while scooping
up ten loose balls as Calgary defeated the Orlando Titans 13-6 at
Orlando on Saturday.
Boston Blazers Transition Player Ryan Hotaling was named Rookie of
the Week. Hotaling won 13 out of 22 faceoffs and picked up six
loose balls in the Blazers’ 12-5 win at Edmonton.
The NLL Weekly Player Awards are determined each week by a vote of
the general managers and head coaches of the league’s 11
member clubs.
