The Rochester Knighthawks (also known as the K-Hawks) were a professional

box lacrosse Box lacrosse, also known as boxla, box, or indoor lacrosse, is an indoor version of lacrosse played mostly in North America. The game originated in Canada in the 1930s, where it is more popular than field lacrosse. Lacrosse is Canada's official ...

team in the

National Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United Stat ...

. They played in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. The Knighthawks were previously members of the Major Indoor Lacrosse League from

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

. They were members of the NLL since the league's inaugural

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

season. The Knighthawks reached the playoffs in each of their first 13 seasons, from 1995 to 2007. This is a league record going back to the league's original creation, the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League. The previous record was 11 straight years, held by the Philadelphia Wings. They were also the first NLL team to win three consecutive championships (2012–14). The new Knighthawks are owned by

Pegula Sports and Entertainment Pegula Sports & Entertainment (PSE) is an American sports and entertainment company based in Buffalo, New York. The company was established after multi-billionaire Terry Pegula and his family combined their sports, property and entertainment ass ...

who purchased the intellectual property of the team from former owner Curt Styres who moved the previous version of the team to

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

as the

Halifax Thunderbirds The Halifax Thunderbirds are a professional box lacrosse team in the North Division of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). They play at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. History On September 13, 2018, the NLL approved a franchise reloc ...

at the end of the 2018–2019 season. As an expansion team they are not a continuation of the previous Knighthawks. All records and championships were transferred to Halifax.

History

The Rochester Knighthawks found success throughout their history despite playing in a small market. In their inaugural season they finished 3rd during the regular season and dispatched the

Boston Blazers The Boston Blazers were an indoor lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The Blazers were based in Boston, Massachusetts, and began play in the 2009 NLL season. The team was owned by Tim Armstrong, the former President of Advertis ...

in the playoff semifinals to get to the finals as an expansion team. As they would do three times later on, they found themselves coming up just short in the championship game, falling in overtime to the Philadelphia Wings. Just two seasons later, the Knighthawks would find their way to the top of the MILL heap, claiming the final North American Cup before the merger with the

prior to the 1998 season. It would be ten years before the Knighthawks claimed their second title. They beat the Arizona Sting in the 2007 Championship by a score of 13–11. In 2012, the Knighthawks defeated the

Edmonton Rush The Edmonton Rush were a professional lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) that played from 2006 NLL season to 2015. The team announced on July 20, 2015, that they would be relocating to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, for the 2016 sea ...

for the Championship by a score of 9–6. In 2013, the Knighthawks became the first team in the league to clinch back-to-back championship titles since the

Toronto Rock The Toronto Rock are a professional box lacrosse franchise based in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the North Division of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The team was the first Canadian franchise in the NLL. ...

in 2002 and 2003 by defeating the

Washington Stealth The Washington Stealth were a member of the National Lacrosse League, the professional box lacrosse league of North America from the 2010 NLL season through the 2013 NLL season. They were based in Everett (part of the Seattle metropolitan area ...

11–10. In 2014, the Knighthawks set a new league record by winning their third straight championship title.

2007 season

After starting the season with a record of 2-2, the Knighthawks beat the Toronto Rock 19–15 in Toronto, where they had only won twice before in team history. The Knighthawks followed this victory up with 11 more, finishing the season with a franchise-record 12 regular-season-game winning streak and a 14–2 record. The Knighthawks were a perfect 8–0 at home, becoming the first team since the

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

Bandits Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, and murder, either as an ...

to post a perfect record at home. The winning streak was extended to 13 games after they defeated the Rock 10–6 in the division semi-finals; and to 14 after beating the Bandits in

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society), ...

, 14–13, for the East Division title. After the season, head coach

Ed Comeau Ed Comeau is a Canadian and head coach of the Georgia Swarm of the NLL. He is the former head coach of the Orlando Titans, until they folded in 2010. Comeau began his NLL coaching career with the Toronto Rock, as an assistant coach under the legen ...

was named the 2007

Les Bartley Award The Les Bartley Award is given annually to the National Lacrosse League head coach of the year. The award was simply called the Head Coach of the Year award until 2004, when the award was renamed in honour of Les Bartley, the most successful coach i ...

winner. Despite having the best overall record, they could not host the championship game due to a scheduling conflict with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus at the Blue Cross Arena. Playing the game instead in Arizona, the Knighthawks defeated the Arizona Sting 13–11 on May 12, 2007, to win their first NLL championship. John Grant, Jr., regular-season league MVP, was named MVP of the game. The winning streak continued during the 2008 season, as the Knighthawks defeated the

Buffalo Bandits The Buffalo Bandits are a professional box lacrosse team in the East Division of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). They play at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. The Bandits played in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League from 1992 to 1997, t ...

in the opening game on January 11, 2008. However, the next night in Rochester, the streak was halted at 16 games as they were defeated by the Bandits 14–9.

Lease issue

During the 2007 season, a dispute over concession revenues between owner

Steve Donner Steve Donner is an American sports executive, team owner, and manager. He is the founding Commissioner of the Professional Box Lacrosse Association, and the co-owner of the Elmira Mammoth of the Federal Prospects Hockey League. He is the former ...

and the

Sports Management Group SMG was an American worldwide venue management group headquartered in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, that specialized in managing publicly owned facilities. It began their operation in 1977 with management of the Louisiana Superdome. It was on ...

, then operators of the Blue Cross Arena, jeopardized the continued play of the Knighthawks in Rochester. Donner claimed that the Knighthawks and the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, a ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

had lost over $500,000 the previous two seasons, and without concession revenue sharing, he would be unable to continue to operate the teams in Rochester. An agreement was reached between the Amerks/Knighthawks SMG, and the City of Rochester on a one-year lease extension on May 11, 2007, that would allow for long-term negotiations to continue through both teams' 2008 season. Under the extension, the Amerks/Knighthawks agreed to an independent audit of their finances and the city agreed to forgo additional luxury suite revenue from the arena and to loan the Amerks an additional $100,000, added on to a $500,000 loan that is now past-due. On June 16, 2008, the Knighthawks and Americans announced a new five-year lease with the Blue Cross Arena.

Curt Styres era

On May 28, 2008, the National Lacrosse League's Board of Governors approved the sale of a majority stake of the Knighthawks to the President of Arrow Express Sports Curt Styres at a price of $5,575,000, the highest price paid for a team in league history. The league's approval was conditional upon whether or not the Knighthawks and Sports Management Group could secure a new lease for play at the Blue Cross Arena. Styres had also recently been approved by the

to purchase the Americans. On June 16, 2008, the Knighthawks and Americans announced a new five-year lease with the Blue Cross Arena. In June 2011, the Americans and Knighthawks were split up when

Terrence Pegula Terrence Michael Pegula (born March 27, 1951) is an American billionaire businessman and petroleum engineer. He is the owner of Pegula Sports and Entertainment which owns the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL) and, with his wife Ki ...

purchased the Americans. The split was necessary at the time due to Pegula owning the

. This is a rule that would later be changed.

Original team relocation and replacement

On September 13, 2018, Styres announced that he would be accepting a new team in Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

and would be relocating the Knighthawks to the city for the winter 2019–2020 season. The Knighthawks intellectual property was sold to Terry and

Kim Pegula Kim S. Pegula ( née Kerr; born June 7, 1969) is an American businesswoman and with her husband Terry Pegula, one of the principal owners of the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. She is also the president of Pegula Sports and Enterta ...

(the latter of whom was raised in the Rochester suburbs) along with an

expansion franchise An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...

to ensure Rochester's uninterrupted presence in the league. The original name was used, but the color scheme and logo changed. The team logo, colors, and other officials were announced on May 29, 2019, in an event at

Blue Cross Arena Blue Cross Arena, also known as the War Memorial, is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Rochester, New York. For hockey and lacrosse, its seating capacity is 10,662. The arena opened on October 18, 1955, as the Rochester Community War Memor ...

. The new franchise does not count as a continuation of the previous franchise. All championships and records were transferred to Halifax.

Awards and honors

NLL Hall of Fame members

Gary Gait Gary Charles Gait (born April 5, 1967) is a Canadian retired Hall of Fame professional lacrosse player and currently the head coach of the men’s lacrosse team at Syracuse University, where he played the sport collegiately. On January 24, 2017, ...

, 2009–2011 (class of 2006) *

Paul Gait Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

, 1995–1997 (class of 2006) *

Steve Dietrich Steve "Chugger" Dietrich (born February 18, 1970 in Kitchener, Ontario) is the General Manager of the Buffalo Bandits of the National Lacrosse League. Dietrich is also a NLL Hall of Fame goaltender who has played with the Calgary Roughnecks, Buf ...

, 1995–2001 (class of 2012) *

Pat O'Toole Patrick "Toole Time" O'Toole (born December 24, 1971 in Toronto, Ontario) is an assistant coach for the Rochester Knighthawks in the National Lacrosse League and a retired goaltender. O'Toole was named NLL Goaltender of the Year in 2003. In 19 ...

1999–2010 (class of 2013)

Final roster

All-time record

Playoff results

*The Knighthawks had the overall top seed in the playoffs, but were unable to host the Championship game due to a scheduling conflict at the

Head coaching history

Draft history

NLL Entry Draft

First Round Selections *

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

: Cam Bomberry (1st overall) *

: Derek Collins (5th overall) *

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

: Cory Bomberry (3rd overall) *

: None *

Casey Powell Casey Powell (born February 18, 1976) is a Hall of Fame American former college and professional lacrosse player from West Carthage, New York. In 1998, he graduated from Syracuse University, where he was a four-time USILA All-American. Powell was ...

(1st overall) & Brad MacArthur (5th overall) *

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

: John Grant (1st overall) & Ben Hunt (9th overall) *

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

: Lindsay Plunkett (8th overall) *

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

: Teddy Jenner (11th overall) *

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

: Pete Benedict (11th overall) *

: Scott Evans (5th overall) *

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

: Mike Morrison (8th overall) *

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

: Shawn Evans (2nd overall) *

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

: Jack Reid (10th overall) *

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

: Matt McLeod (8th overall) & Andrew Potter (14th overall) *

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

: None *

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

: Sid Smith (1st overall) *

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Cody Jamieson Cody Jamieson (born July 17, 1987) is a Mohawk lacrosse player from the Turtle Clan at Grand River. He plays for the Halifax Thunderbirds of the National Lacrosse League, the New York Lizards of Major League Lacrosse, and the Six Nations Chiefs in ...

(1st overall) *

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

: Stephen Keogh (2nd overall), Johnny Powless (5th overall) *

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

: Carson Michaud (56th overall) *

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

: None *

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

: Jeremy Noble (2nd overall) *

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Graeme Hossack Graeme Hossack (born July 22, 1992) is a Canadian professional lacrosse player who plays as a defenseman for the Halifax Thunderbirds of the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and Archers Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). In 2020, ...

(2nd overall), Brad Gillies (9th overall)

NLL Dispersal Draft

from

Montreal Express The Montreal Express was a member of the National Lacrosse League during the 2002 season. They played at the Molson Center in Montreal, Quebec. They were inactive during the 2003 and 2004 seasons. The team remained inactive and the franchise wa ...

: Steve Penny (10th overall); ''Declined to pick'' (22nd overall) *

from

Ottawa Rebel The Ottawa Rebel was a team in the National Lacrosse League based in Ottawa, Ontario from 2001 until 2003. They initially played at the Corel Centre (now called the Canadian Tire Centre), but part-way through the 2002 season moved to the smaller ...

: Mat Giles (10th overall); Shawn Zettel (21st overall); ''Declined to pick'' (32nd overall) *

from

Vancouver Ravens The Vancouver Ravens were the original Vancouver National Lacrosse League (NLL) franchise from 2002 to 2004. The team played their home games at General Motors Place, now Rogers Arena, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. At the conclusion of ...

: Chris McKay (5th overall); Peter Morgan (14th overall) *

from

Anaheim Storm The Anaheim Storm was a member of the National Lacrosse League. They played at the Arrowhead Pond, now the Honda Center, in Anaheim, California. They were the New Jersey Storm from the 2002 season to 2003. Starting for the 2004 season the tea ...

: Cam Bergman (8th overall) *

from

Arizona Sting The Arizona Sting was a member of the National Lacrosse League from 2004 to 2007. They played at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, from 2001 to 2003 as the Columbus Landsharks. On August 28, 2003, it was announced that the team was relocating to ...

: Jack Reid, Boston (12th overall); Matt Lyons, Arizona (13th overall);

Alex Smith Alexander Douglas Smith (born May 7, 1984) is an American former quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He played college football at Utah, where he received first-team All-American honors and won the 20 ...

, Arizona (36th overall) *

from

: Lindsay Plunkett (5th overall); Matt Brown (18th overall) *

from

Chicago Shamrox The Chicago Shamrox were an American professional lacrosse team that played in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) in the 2007 and 2008 NLL seasons. Home matches were played at the Sears Centre in northwest suburban Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The t ...

: Mike Kirk (4th overall); Bobby McBride (16th overall); Craig Robertson (24th overall); Pat Saunders (25th overall); Brock Boyle (26th overall) *

from

: Dan Stroup (17th overall) *

from

Orlando Titans The Orlando Titans were a professional lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League that played in the 2010 season. The Titans began as the New York Titans, and played for three seasons in New York before announcing the move to Orlando on Augus ...

: Jordan Hall (3rd overall); Dan Hardy (13th overall); Kenny Nims (23rd overall); Mike Evans (33rd overall); Bobby Horsey (40th overall) *

from

: Mike Kirk (5th overall),

(14th overall), Jack Reid (23rd overall)

NLL Expansion Draft

Albany Attack The Albany Attack was the name of a franchise which played in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) from the 2000 NLL season, 2000 season through the 2003 NLL season, 2003 season. The Attack played in the former Pepsi Arena in Albany, New York (now k ...

: Josh Sanderson (2nd overall) *

Calgary Roughnecks The Calgary Roughnecks are a professional box lacrosse team based in Calgary, Alberta. They are members of the Western Division of the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and play their home games on WestJet Field at Scotiabank Saddledome. The t ...

New Jersey Storm The New Jersey Storm were a member of the National Lacrosse League, based in East Rutherford, New Jersey. They played from 2002 to 2003 playing at the then Continental Airlines Arena. The team was an expansion team that was purchased for by an ...

Columbus Landsharks The Columbus Landsharks were a member of the National Lacrosse League from 2001 until 2003. They were based in Columbus, Ohio. After the 2003 season, the franchise moved to Phoenix, Arizona, becoming the Arizona Sting The Arizona Sting was a me ...

: Randy Mearns, Calgary (8th overall); Marc Landriault, Calgary (14th overall); Lindsay Plunkett, Vancouver (16th overall); Kevin Howard, Calgary (30th overall) *

Minnesota Swarm The Minnesota Swarm was a box lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League who played at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota from 2004 until 2015. The team's previous owners (Minnesota Sports & Entertainment) who also own the NHL's M ...

: Jon Harasym (N/A overall) *

Portland Lumberjax The Portland LumberJax (sometimes referred to as the Jax) were a professional box lacrosse, lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League (NLL), which started playing in the 2006 NLL season, 2006 season and ended operations after the 2009 NLL seas ...

: Pat Campbell, Edmonton (8th overall); Mat Giles, Portland (9th overall) *

& New York Titans: Carter Livingstone, Chicago (17th overall); Ryan O'Connor, Chicago (19th overall) *

: Brian Croswell (13th overall) *

: Matt Lyons (3rd overall)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rochester Knighthawks (1995-2019) Knighthawks Lacrosse clubs established in 1995 Lacrosse clubs disestablished in 2019 Lacrosse teams in New York (state) Major Indoor Lacrosse League teams Defunct National Lacrosse League teams 1995 establishments in New York (state) 2019 disestablishments in New York (state)

History

2007 season

Lease issue

Curt Styres era

Original team relocation and replacement

Awards and honors

NLL Hall of Fame members

Final roster

All-time record

Playoff results

Head coaching history

Draft history

NLL Entry Draft

NLL Dispersal Draft

NLL Expansion Draft

See also

References