Rochester Rising: Knighthawks New No. 1 in NLL Power Rankings

Week 6 of the National Lacrosse League season saw the Colorado Mammoth finally raise their championship banner, two teams stay unbeaten and others continue to solidify themselves as contenders.

On the other end of things, four teams — two in each conference — remain winless as the hill to climb to remain in playoff contention gets steeper each week.

1. ROCHESTER KNIGHTHAWKS (4-0)

If you thought the K-Hawks’ emergence was solely because of Connor Fields, think again. Rochester was without its early MVP candidate yet still put up a season high for goals in a 17-9 victory against Panther City. The offense came from a variety of faces, with Thomas Hoggarth and Holden Cattoni each scoring four times, Ryan Smith notching a hat trick and Curtis Knight dishing out six assists. With the win, Rochester has already matched its win total from last season and doubled the total from Year 1. Last week: 2 

2. SAN DIEGO SEALS (4-0)

Wesley Berg had eight points and Austin Staats had seven in his second game back in the Seals lineup, as San Diego stayed perfect with a 16-11 win against Vancouver. The Seals have the opportunity to really create space in the standings early in the year with upcoming games against Calgary and Colorado. Last week: 1

3. BUFFALO BANDITS (3-1)

The Bandits, already stacked on offense, have seemingly found another weapon in Brandon Robinson. The lefty forward had only totaled nine goals in his previous three seasons and never more than four in a campaign but exploded onto the scene with five goals and an assist in Buffalo’s 18-9 shellacking of Georgia. He’s getting an extended opportunity with Chris Cloutier injured. Last week: 3

4. HALIFAX THUNDERBIRDS (3-1)

Ryan Benesch passed Gary Gait to move into seventh in all-time points, Eric Fannell scored a tremendous one-handed goal and the T-Birds ended the game on a 4-0 run to secure a 14-11 victory against the Albany FireWolves. Chris Boushy tied the game at 11 with 8:40 remaining, then Randy Staats notched the eventual game-winner about two minutes later. Last week: 4

5. SASKATCHEWAN RUSH (2-1)

The Rush had the weekend off and return Friday at Colorado. Last week: 5

6. COLORADO MAMMOTH (2-1)

It was an emotional night in the Loud House, as coach Pat Coyle noted postgame it was hard not to cry watching highlights from the NLL Finals on the big screen during the banner raising ceremony. Players received their rings and gave the fans more to cheer about in a 9-8 come-from-behind victory against Calgary. Rhys Duch became the 12th player in league history to reach 1,000 points, and Connor Robinson scored the go-ahead goal with nine-and-a-half minutes remaining, as the Mammoth escaped a 5-2 halftime deficit. Last week: 6

7. TORONTO ROCK (2-2)

The Rock dug out of an early 3-0 hole against the New York Riptide with a five-goal run, then really put the beatdown on by scoring nine straight in a spurt stretching from the second quarter into the fourth in a 15-7 win. Tom Schreiber led the way with seven points, and Stephen Keogh had a hat trick. Defensively, four players recorded multiple caused turnovers. Last week: 9

8. PHILADELPHIA WINGS (2-1)

Joe Resetarits and Ben McIntosh combined for nine goals, and Philadelphia outscored Las Vegas 9-4 in the second half to secure a 14-9 victory. The Wings have stabilized after a disastrous opener against Halifax, thanks largely to Resetarits finding his place in the offense. He has 16 points in his last two games. Last week: 10

9. CALGARY ROUGHNECKS (2-2)

The Roughnecks appear just a step behind the top West contenders early in the season, having fallen by three goals to San Diego and one to Colorado following a pair of season-opening victories against last-place Vancouver. Tyler Pace tied the score at 8 with 10 minutes remaining against Colorado, but the Riggers weren’t able to beat Dillon Ward again. Last week: 8

10.  ALBANY FIREWOLVES (1-2)

Albany took the lead twice on Halifax in the final quarter but couldn’t finish the job to secure a second win against an NLL Finals hopeful. First-year FireWolves Connor Kelly and Kieran McArdle were the offensive leaders with five and four points, respectively. Last week: 7

11. PANTHER CITY LACROSSE CLUB (2-3)

Jonathan Donville recorded his first career hat trick, but it wasn’t enough to halt Panther City’s three-game slide. Patrick Dodds was held pointless and Tony Malcom goalless, an impressive feat for the Knighthawks’ defense. After starting the campaign with back-to-back wins against Las Vegas, the schedule has ramped up with the likes of Saskatchewan, Colorado and now Rochester. Last week: 11

12. NEW YORK RIPTIDE (0-3)

Jeff Teat was held to just two assists and Callum Crawford just two goals in an unusually quiet offensive showing against Toronto. The unit got just 34 shots on Rock goalie Nick Rose, with opportunities limited thanks to a 20-to-6 faceoff disparity in favor of Toronto’s TD Ierlan. The Riptide hoped Teat’s sophomore season would mark a turning point for the franchise, but it isn’t looking that way so far. Last week: 12

13. LAS VEGAS DESERT DOGS (0-3)

After opening its history with two games against Panther City, Las Vegas fared rather well against East playoff hopeful Philadelphia. A three-goal run to end the first half forced a tie at 5 before the Wings’ backbreaking run in the third. The Desert Dogs featured one of the best stories of the weekend, with 30-year-old rookie Emerson Clark scoring in his debut. Last week: 14

14. GEORGIA SWARM (0-3)

Saturday’s contest against Buffalo marked the least goals scored and most allowed for the Swarm on the season, a disastrous combination. And if you hear groans from Atlanta, it’s because Georgia sees this same Bandits team again next week. The growing pains are real for this young unit. One bright point: former No. 2 pick Ryan Lanchbury scored his first career goal. Last week: 13

15. VANCOUVER WARRIORS (0-4)

The five-goal loss to San Diego marked the smallest final deficit the Warriors have faced all season, and the squad also reached double-digit goals for the first time this year. Still, it wasn’t enough for Vancouver to erase the goose egg in the win column. Adam Charalambides, the team’s third-leading scorer, was a surprising healthy scratch. Last week: 15