# Rochester Knighthawks

The Rochester Knighthawks (also known as the K-Hawks) are an American professional box lacrosse team based in Rochester, New York, that competes in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The team plays its home games at Blue Cross Arena.
The Knighthawks are owned by Terry Pegula who purchased the intellectual property of the team from former owner Curt Styres. Styres moved the previous version of the team to Halifax, Nova Scotia, as the Halifax Thunderbirds 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 followed the original franchise to Halifax.

## History

The original Knighthawks played in Rochester from 1995 until 2019. They began as members of the Major Indoor Lacrosse League from 1995 to 1997 then became members of the NLL beginning with the league's inaugural 1998 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).
On September 13, 2018, owner Curt Styres announced that he would be accepting a new team in Halifax, Nova Scotia 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 (the latter of whom was raised in the Rochester suburbs) along with an expansion franchise 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. The new franchise does not count as a continuation of the previous franchise. All championships and records were transferred to Halifax.
On June 27, 2019, the Knighthawks named Mike Hasen, who had coached the original Knighthawks since 2011, as head coach, Dan Carey as General Manager, and Pat O'Toole as assistant coach.

## All-time record

| Season | Division/Conference | W–L | Finish | PCT | Home | Road | GF | GA | Coach | Playoffs |
| 2020 | North | 2–10 | 4th | .167 | 2–3 | 0–7 | 115 | 165 | Mike Hasen | No playoffs held |
| 2021 | Eastern | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2022 | Eastern | 4–14 | 8th | .222 | 2–7 | 2–7 | 184 | 221 | Mike Hasen | Did not qualify |
| 2023 | Eastern | 10–8 | 4th | .556 | 6–3 | 4–5 | 218 | 214 | Mike Hasen | Lost Conference Semi-Final |
| 2024 | Unified | 8–10 | 8th | .444 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 214 | 226 | Mike Hasen | Lost Quarterfinals |
| Total | 4 Seasons | 24–42 | 24–42 | .364 | 14–18 | 10–24 | 731 | 826 | | |
| Playoff Total | 2 Appearances | 0–2 | 0–2 | .000 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 14 | 29 | 0 Championships | 0 Championships |

## Playoff results

| Season | Game | Visiting | Home |
| 2023 | Conference Semi-Final | Rochester 8 | Buffalo 20 |
| 2024 | Quarterfinals | Rochester 6 | Toronto 9 |

## Head coaching history

| # | Name | Term | Regular Season | Regular Season | Regular Season | Regular Season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| # | Name | Term | GC | W | L | W% | GC | W | L | W% |
| 1 | Mike Hasen | 2020– | 66 | 24 | 42 | .364 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 |

## Award winners

| Year | Player | Award |
| 2023 | Dan Carey | General Manager of the Year |

## Draft history
### NLL Entry Draft

First Round Selections
* 2019: Ryland Rees (2nd overall)
* 2020: Ryan Smith (3rd overall)
* 2022: Thomas McConvey (1st overall), Austin Hasen (18th overall)
* 2023: Graydon Hogg (15th overall), Ben MacDonnell (16th overall)
* 2024: None