Riptide vs. Knighthawks- Game Preview

The New York Riptide search for their third win of the season on Saturday, as they travel to face their in-state rival Rochester Knighthawks at 7:00 PM at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, NY. This is the second meeting between these teams this season, with Rochester having defeated New York 11-8 at Nassau Coliseum on January 15.

Rochester is led offensively by Connor Fields, who is third in the league with 28 goals in just 8 of his team’s 9 games. Other threats come from Curtis Knight, who is tied with Fields for a team leading 26 assists, as well as Holden Cattoni and Ryan Smith, who have 46 and 42 points respectively. The defensive end of the field is led by Matt Gilray, whose 77 loose balls are 5th in the league among players with fewer than 50 faceoff wins, and he has also caused 11 turnovers and contributed 15 points, as well as a penalty kill that is operating at 68.8%. In net for Rochester is Ryan Hartley, who stopped 33 of 41 shots in the last meeting with New York, and is 4th in the league in total saves with 365.

New York will look to build from their previous game, a heartbreaking 13-12 loss at the hands of the Halifax Thunderbirds, a game in which Jeff Teat scored 6 goals to take the league lead. Teat has also contributed in other ways, being second on the team in loose balls with 47. Defensively, Scott Dominey and Andrew Borgatti had strong performances in that game, both causing multiple turnovers. Steve Orleman will look to rebound in net, as he was pulled from that game, however, he faces a Rochester team this week against whom he had one of his best performances of the season, making 40 saves and allowing just 11 goals.

The game will be available to watch on MSGSN 2 and ESPN+, and listen to on WRHU 88.7 FM, WRHU.org and the WRHU iPhone App. Live stats and periodic in-game updates will be available via Twitter @ NewYorkRiptide.