The Rochester Knighthawks were the toughest team to project entering the season.

They returned the rather youthful offensive and defensive talent that helped the team reach the NLL Cup for the first time since 2014. However, the Knighthawks had to recover from the loss of Matt Vinc, the reigning Goalie of the Year and a stalwart on Rochester’s defensive side of the ball.

Angus Goodleaf showed the K-Hawks aren’t dead in the water Saturday night at Blue Cross Arena.

Rochester, donning new black uniforms, kicked off its 25th season with a 13-9 win against the Philadelphia Wings, who were playing their first road game in franchise history.

Goodleaf, in a starting role for the first time in his career, made 50 saves and didn’t allow a goal to the expansion franchise until the second quarter.

#InGusWeTrust pic.twitter.com/F7M8jMJSKM

— Knighthawks Lacrosse (@RocKnighthawks) December 30, 2018

Blaze Riorden, who made his Wings debut after missing the opener with injury, had a goal and four assists in his first game in two years.

The Knighthawks honored members of their 25th anniversary team — John Grant Jr., Tim Soudan, Shawn Williams, Paul Gait, Mike Accursi, Cody Jamieson, Regy Thorpe, Chris Schiller, Sid Smith, Scott Campbell, Paul Dawson, Graeme Hossack, Marshall Abrams, Mike Hasen and Pat O’Toole — in a ceremony prior to opening faceoff.

Rush Upset in Opener

Saskatchewan, the other team making its season debut this weekend, didn’t enjoy the same luck.

The Rush went down 4-1 in the first quarter and, despite a comeback in the middle frames, were outscored 2-1 in the fourth as they somewhat shockingly fell to the New England Black Wolves, 12-11.

Reilly O’Connor had four goals and two assists for the Black Wolves, meaning he’s already matched his 2018 output of seven goals through two games. Alex Buque, acquired from the Bandits in a trade this offseason, was strong in his debut with 38 saves.

Mark Matthews had eight points and Robert Church, fresh of a new contract with the Rush, had three goals and an assist.

Late-Game Heroics

Lyle Thompson scored the game-winner with 24 seconds remaining in regulation to clinch a 12-11 victory against the Toronto Rock and move the Georgia Swarm to 2-0.

Thompson had four goals and an assist and scored the Swarm’s final two goals of the game as they came back in the final five minutes.

GAME. WINNER.@lyle4thompson | #SetTheBar pic.twitter.com/O2PpwwB4JV

— Georgia Swarm (@GeorgiaSwarmLAX) December 29, 2018

“Lyle, just — every time you think you’ve seen him do everything, he does something different,” Swarm coach Ed Comeau said in a Swarm press release. “He’s a hard guy to play against and makes everyone else around him better. There are some nights when you need that one guy to take control and make things happen. … Lyle was great tonight and did so many little things, as well, to contribute to the victory.”

His performance overshadowed an incredible individual effort from Rob Hellyer, who accounted for five goals and five assists.

Del Bianco Shuts the Door

Calgary Roughnecks goalie Christian del Bianco personally brought the San Diego Seals back down to earth.

The youthful star allowed only five goals, never more than two in a quarter, in the Roughnecks’ 9-5 home win against San Diego.

“Christian and our defense won us that game,” Dane Dobbie said.

San Diego’s Frankie Scigliano, who was replaced by del Bianco in Calgary, had a strong game in his own right. The teams were tied at four entering the final quarter, but a game-ending 5-1 run fueled by two goals and two assists from Rhys Duch gave Calgary its second win of the season.

“I grew up watching Frank, actually, and then playing with him,” Del Bianco said. “I never really got a chance to play against him, so there was a lot of chirping through the week, kind of going back and forth joking about who was going to owe who a beer. It’s nice to come out on top.”

Austin Staats, who notched nine points in his NLL debut, was held to just two assists in the Saddledome.

Shorthanded Bandits win

Buffalo was playing without two of its strongest offensive players, Dhane Smith and Corey Small, but still rolled past the Vancouver Warriors, 16-10. The final score makes the game seem closer than it was, as the Bandits led 15-6 at one point.

The Bandits used an 8-1 second quarter to get out to the large lead.

“I thought we shot the ball very well,” Buffalo co-head coach John Tavares said.  “Our offense was moving and they working to get each other open. Defense was in good position. They collapsed when they had to, helped when they had to.”

Shawn Evans had four goals and seven assists, continuing his torrid start to the season. He leads the league with 28 points. Josh Byrne had three goals and seven assists and ranks second in the league in scoring with 25 points.

Matt Vinc earned the 100th win of his NLL career.

NLL on B/R Live’s Last Hurdle

Rochester was the stream everyone was waiting to see before declaring a final verdict on the NLL’s broadcast improvements on Bleacher Report Live. The Knighthawks, one of five teams playing outside an NHL or NBA arena, had arguably the worst video quality of any team in the league prior to the improvements.

And, just like the rest of the teams, the Knighthawks’ stream is much better for the 2018-19 season. The days of straining our eyes to make out numbers seems behind us.

Week 4 Preview

Wings at Rock
Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET

Offense: Kiel Matisz has the most loose balls of any forward in the league but is still looking for his first goal. Toronto Americans Tom Schreiber and Kieran McArdle each scored twice in the loss to Georgia.

Defense: Philadelphia’s Trevor Baptiste leads the NLL in faceoff percentage through two games. Toronto captain Challen Rogers leads the NLL in points for a defenseman with five.

Warriors at Swarm
Saturday, 7:05 p.m. ET

Offense: Swam captain Jordan McIntosh has scored twice shorthanded this season, the only player to find the net more than once a man down. Vancouver’s Joel McCready had three goals, two assists and 10 loose balls against Buffalo.

Defense: Warriors Matt Beers and Ian Hawksbee rank first and second in the league in loose balls, respectively. Georgia’s Holden Cattoni trails Lyle Thompson by one point for the team lead.

Knighthawks at Bandits
Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET

Offense: Smith participated in the Bandits’ morning shootaround last week, making a return to action probable. Cody Jamieson led the Knighthawks with three goals and three assists against Philadelphia.

Defense: Vinc plays against his old team for the first time since signing in Buffalo as a free agent. Scott Campbell was named Rochester’s new captain prior to this week’s game.

Seals at Rush
Saturday, 8:30 p.m. ET

Offense: It’s a matchup of two offenses looking to rebound. Saskatchewan ranks last in the league in shooting percentage after one game. Staats is now tied with Philadelphia’s Chris Cloutier in the rookie scoring race.

Defense: San Diego’s Brodie Merrill has snagged at least eight loose balls in each of his last five games, dating back to last season with Toronto. The Rush are still without Nik Bilic and Mike Messenger.

Roughnecks at Mammoth
Sunday, 3 p.m. ET

Offense: Dobbie has four powerplay goals for Calgary, tops in the league. Jacob Ruest is having less luck to start the season, failing to score on 15 shots. No one has shot more without a goal this year.

Defense: Calgary’s Dan MacRae had 10 loose balls last week. Colorado gave up 12 of San Diego’s 17 goals in the middle quarters last week.