The original Rochester Knighthawks (also known as the K-Hawks) were a professional box lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League. They played in Rochester, New York at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. The Knighthawks were previously members of the Major Indoor Lacrosse League from 1995 to 1997. They were members of the NLL since 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).

The new Knighthawks are owned by the Seneca Nation of New York, via their subsidiary Seneca Holdings, LLC. They took over in 2025 from previous owner Terry Pegula, who had purchased the intellectual property of the original Knighthawks in 2019 from former owner Curt Styres who 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 original 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 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 National Lacrosse League 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 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 in 2002 and 2003 by defeating the Washington Stealth 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 Bandits 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, 14–13, for the East Division title. After the season, head coach Ed Comeau was named the 2007 Les Bartley Award 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 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 and the Sports Management Group, 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 of the American Hockey League 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.Knighthawks sold for nearly $6 million, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle 28 May 2008 Styres had also recently been approved by the American Hockey League to purchase the Americans. On June 16, 2008, the Knighthawks and Americans announced a new five-year lease with the Blue Cross Arena.ARROW EXPRESS SPORTS ANNOUNCES MAJORITY OWNERSHIP OF AMERKS, Amerks.com

In June 2011, the Americans and Knighthawks were split up when Terrence Pegula purchased the Americans. The split was necessary at the time due to Pegula owning the Buffalo Bandits. 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 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.

Awards and honors Year Player Award 1997 Steve Dietrich Championship Cup MVP 2000 John Grant, Jr. Rookie of the Year 2003 Pat O'Toole Goaltender of the Year 2004 Paul Day Les Bartley Award 2005 Andrew Turner Defensive Player of the Year 2007 John Grant, Jr. Most Valuable Player Ed Comeau Les Bartley Award Steve Toll Transition Player of the Year John Grant, Jr. Champion's Cup MVP 2010 Shawn Williams Sportsmanship Award 2011 Matt Vinc Goaltender of the Year Pat McCready Defensive Player of the Year Jordan Hall Sportsmanship Award Curt Styres GM of the Year Mike Hasen Les Bartley Award Curt Styres Executive of the Year Award 2012 Johnny Powless Sportsmanship Award Cody Jamieson Champion's Cup MVP 2013 Matt Vinc Goaltender of the Year Cody Jamieson Champion's Cup MVP 2014 Dan Dawson Champion's Cup MVP 2015 Matt Vinc Goaltender of the Year

NLL Hall of Fame members Gary Gait, 2009–2011 (class of 2006) Paul Gait, 1995–1997 (class of 2006) Steve Dietrich, 1995–2001 (class of 2012) Pat O'Toole 1999–2010 (class of 2013)

Final roster

All-time record Season Division W–L Finish Home Road GF GA Coach Playoffs 1995 4–4 3rd 3–1 1–3 97 94 Barry Powless lost final 1996 6–4 4th 4–1 2–3 148 137 Barry Powless lost semi-final 1997 5–5 4th 2–3 3–2 156 135 Barry Powless Champions 1998 6–6 3rd 3–3 3–3 168 156 Paul Day lost semi-final 1999 8–4 3rd 4–2 4–2 169 160 Paul Day lost final 2000 8–4 3rd 5–1 3–3 187 149 Paul Day lost final 2001 10–4 3rd 6–1 4–3 198 159 Paul Day lost semi-final 2002 Central 13–3 2nd 8–0 5–3 261 202 Paul Day lost division final 2003 Central 12–4 1st 6–2 6–2 214 173 Paul Day lost final 2004 Eastern 8–8 2nd 6–2 2–6 173 186 Paul Day lost division semi-final 2005 Eastern 10–6 3rd 5–3 5–3 193 179 Paul Day lost division final 2006 Eastern 9–7 2nd 6–2 3–5 196 180 Ed Comeau lost division final 2007 Eastern 14–2 1st 8–0 6–2 249 194 Ed Comeau Champions 2008 Eastern 8–8 5th 4–4 4–4 197 171 Ed Comeau did not qualify 2009 Eastern 7–9 4th 6–2 1–7 169 197 Paul Gait lost division semi-final 2010 Eastern 7–9 5th 4–4 3–5 155 181 Paul Gait did not qualify 2011 Eastern 10–6 3rd 4–4 6–2 176 159 Mike Hasen lost division semi-final 2012 Eastern 7–9 2nd 5–3 2–6 191 197 Mike Hasen Champions 2013 Eastern 8–8 2nd 3–5 5–3 179 165 Mike Hasen Champions 2014 Eastern 14–4 1st 8–1 6–3 210 167 Mike Hasen Champions 2015 Eastern 12–6 2nd 7–2 5–4 205 173 Mike Hasen lost division final 2016 Eastern 7–11 4th 3–6 4–5 200 215 Mike Hasen did not qualify 2017 Eastern 7–11 4th 4–5 3–6 175 209 Mike Hasen did not qualify 2018 Eastern 10-8 2nd 5–4 5–4 236 210 Mike Hasen lost final 2019 Eastern 6-12 5th 4-5 2-7 212 226 Mike Hasen did not qualify Total 24 seasons 208–144   118–58 90–86 4,402 4,048     Playoff totals 20 Appearances 27–19   17–3 10–16 499 492   5 championships

Playoff results

Season Game Visiting Home 1995 Semifinals Buffalo 8 Rochester 10 Championship Rochester 14 Philadelphia 15 (OT) 1996 Semifinals Rochester 10 Buffalo 18 1997 Semifinals Rochester 15 Philadelphia 13 Championship Rochester 15 Buffalo 12 1998 Semifinals Rochester 14 Baltimore 15 1999 Semifinals Rochester 14 Baltimore 12 Championship Rochester 10 Toronto 13 2000 Semifinals Rochester 15 Buffalo 11 Championship Rochester 13 Toronto 14 2001 Semifinals Rochester 11 Philadelphia 12 2002 Quarterfinals Vancouver 10 Rochester 11 Semifinals Rochester 10 Albany 14 2003 Semifinals Buffalo 13 Rochester 16 Championship Toronto 8 Rochester 6 2004 Division Semifinals Buffalo 13 Rochester 9 2005 Division Semifinals Rochester 17 Buffalo 16 Division Finals Rochester 10 Toronto 12 2006 Division Semifinals Rochester 16 Toronto 8 Division Finals Buffalo 15 Rochester 10 2007 Division Semifinals Toronto 6 Rochester 10 Division Finals Buffalo 13 Rochester 14 (OT) Championship* Rochester 13 Arizona 11 2008 missed playoffs 2009 Division Semifinals Rochester 10 New York 11 (OT) 2010 missed playoffs 2011 Division Semifinals Rochester 6 Toronto 13 2012 Division Semifinals Philadelphia 13 Rochester 14 Division Finals Rochester 17 Toronto 13 Championship Edmonton 6 Rochester 9 2013 Division Semifinals Philadelphia 8 Rochester 10 Division Finals Minnesota 10 Rochester 12 Championship Rochester 11 Washington 10 2014 Division Finals Rochester 8 Buffalo 12 Buffalo 8 Rochester 13 Buffalo 1 Rochester 2 (OT) Championship Rochester 7 Calgary 10 Calgary 10 Rochester 16 Calgary 2 Rochester 3 2015 Division Semifinals Rochester 14 Buffalo 11 Division Finals Toronto (2) Rochester (1) 2016 missed playoffs 2017 missed playoffs 2018 Division Semifinals New England 11 Rochester 15 Division Finals Rochester 9 Georgia 8 Championship Rochester 9 Saskatchewan 16 Saskatchewan 8 Rochester 13 Rochester 10 Saskatchewan 15 2019 missed playoffs

*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 Blue Cross Arena.

Head coaching history

# Name Term Regular season Playoffs GC W L W% GC W L W%  1  Barry Powless 1995—1997 28 15 13 .536 5 3 2 .600 2 Paul Day 1998—2005 114 75 39 .658 13 5 8 .385 3 Ed Comeau 2006—2008 48 31 17 .646 5 4 1 .800 4 Paul Suggate 2009 Resigned prior to season 5 Paul Gait 2009—2010 16 7 9 .438 1 0 1 .000 6 Mike Hasen 2011—2019 120 65 55 .552 17 12 5 .706

Draft history

NLL Entry Draft