NLL Insider

The Rochester Knighthawks kicked off their 2009 season at home on Saturday night against the Philadelphia Wings in front of 7,422 eager spectators. This was more than just the first game of the season for Rochester. Countless storylines swirled around the arena long before the opening faceoff. From the return of Gary Gait to the National Lacrosse League, to the long overdue arrival of Joe Walters, to the quick hiring of Paul Gait after Paul Suggate vacated the post just weeks ago, to say the Knighthawks have had a chaotic off season is a giant understatement.

So it didn’t help matters in the Flour City that Philadelphia, playing without Athan Iannucci, managed the leave “the barn down by the river” with a 16-13 win.

“I’m disappointed first of all.” said Gary Gait after the game. “It was our home opener and we gave ourselves a chance, but we just didn’t finish the game. I think that comes from a lot of adversity coming in. Losing players to changing coaching staff, we just didn’t have it together and couldn’t put the game away.”

One of the reasons the Knighthawks were unable to put the game away was the play of game MVP Kyle Wailes, who tallied one goal and six assists. Perhaps overshadowing Wailes’ strong game was the play of goalie Brandon Miller. Miller looked like a human slinky as he flopped all over the turf at the Blue Cross Arena. He finished with 36 saves on 49 shots, 15 of which came in the fourth quarter.

“In the first half we kept battling back. Every time they’d get one, we’d get one. I think that brought us together and set us up for a good second half,” said an overjoyed Miller after the game.

It only took a little more than five minutes for Gary Gait to record his first goal in a Knighthawks uniform, but he was far from done. Gait finished with five goals in the defeat. Prior to the game, Miller was not looking forward to facing arguably the greatest lacrosse player in history.

“I was thinking about it all week. I remember playing against him in Colorado. His shot comes from so high and it’s so quick. I tried to read the ball and react to it, but it just wasn’t working.”

Philadelphia already had a 2-0 lead, on goals by David Mitchell and Merrick Thomson, when Gait tap danced around a pair of defenders to cut the lead in half. Joe Walters recorded his first NLL point on one of the assists on the play. Rochester got goals from Aaron Wilson and Gait to take the lead 3-2 at 9:49. The Wings responded less than a minute later on a marker from Matt Giles. Shawn Evans scored a crazy goal with a defender draped all over him at 11:35. After some back and forth scoring, including an empty net goal by Philly, the teams concluded the first with Rochester clinging to a 5-4 lead.

The beginning of the second quarter belonged to the Wings. A goal from Wailes and two from Merrick Thomson gave Philadelphia a 7-5 lead just over three minutes in. After Thomson’s goal, Rochester goalie Phil Wetherup was replaced in net by the recently acquired Derek Collins. Gait scored his third of the game and Shawn Williams scored his first to tie the game at 7-7. Two more from each side made the game 9-9 at the half.

With Collins in net and Brandon Miller playing like a brick wall, the second half was much more defensive. Chris Schiller scored just 20 seconds into the half to get Rochester a 10-9 edge. That would be the last lead the ‘Hawks would have as the Wings used a three goal run in each of the remaining quarters and ridiculously stingy defense en route to a hard-earned 16-13 win.

Miller and the rest of the Wings are very happy with their 1-1 start, after having started the season on the road in two of the most raucous arenas in the league.

“We looked at our schedule and we said going in to Buffalo and then going in to Rochester, if we can get one out of two we’ll be real happy. We’ve got a week off now to get ready for a home and home with Boston.”

So, after the well documented off-season changes in Rochester, the Knighthawks season began on a sour note, but Gait isn’t too discouraged by his team’s effort on the floor.

“I think it’s OK. Having Patty O’Toole out was huge. Evans and Junior and there’s just been so many changes. We’ll get it together. This wasn’t a bad effort from us, considering what we’ve been through,” he said. “Those guys have already played one game and they made some adjustments already. They’re a week ahead of us. I’m hoping next week we’ll come back.”

Rochester was led by Gait (5g), Williams (2g, 6a) and Collins (18 saves on 27 shots). Philadelphia was led by Geoff Snider (24 face off wins out of 32 attempts), Merrick Thomson (4g, 1a), Wailes (1g, 6a) and Miller (36 saves on 49 shots).

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