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23-569: On September 13, 2018, the NLL approved a franchise relocation to the city of Halifax. Curt Styres, the previous owner of the NLL's Rochester Knighthawks , moved the Knighthawks' franchise to Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Knighthawks intellectual property (name and logo) was sold to Pegula Sports and Entertainment , owners of the Buffalo Bandits , which founded a new expansion franchise that started play in

46-541: A new expansion franchise with the same name but different logo that started play the following season. The new franchise based in Rochester is not a continuation of original franchise as all of the original team's championships and records were transferred to Halifax as part of the relocation. {{{Head Coach}}} Roster updated 2023-01-14 NLL Transactions First-round selections Rochester Knighthawks (1995-2019) The Rochester Knighthawks (also known as

69-562: 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 who purchased the intellectual property of the team from former owner Curt Styres who moved

92-581: Is now past-due. On June 16, 2008, the Knighthawks and Americans announced a new five-year lease with the Blue Cross Arena. 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

115-538: The 2019–2020 season under the Knighthawks moniker. While located in Rochester the franchise won 5 championships. The Halifax Thunderbirds made their league debut on December 7, 2019, defeating the New York Riptide 12–4 in front of a crowd of 6,847 at the Scotiabank Centre . The Thunderbirds made their first playoffs in the 2022 season but were defeated in the first round in overtime 14–13 by their rival,

138-797: The Boston Blazers in 1992 when they moved to Boston. While in Worcester, the Blazers played at the Worcester Centrum . In Boston, they played at the Boston Garden from 1992–1995 and then moved to the FleetCenter in 1996 and played there until 1997. A separate franchise, also known as the Boston Blazers , was founded in 2007 and played in the National Lacrosse League from 2009 to 2013. While

161-727: 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

184-626: 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. 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

207-518: The Toronto Rock . According to the Toronto Star , Curt Styres got the idea for the team's name when he saw a lacrosse stick made from the wood of tree that had been struck by lightning and wanted to reflect the "one in one thousand odds" that was the lacrosse stick's embodiement. The franchise was founded in 1995 during the Major Indoor Lacrosse League era and first played their home games at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester , New York . The team made

230-525: 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. 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

253-593: 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

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276-563: 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

299-592: 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

322-594: The name of the new team was chosen "in part due to the popularity and nostalgia associated with the former Boston Blazers franchise" it did not share any lineage with the MILL Blazers. This article about a sports team in Massachusetts is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This lacrosse -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to sports in Boston

345-605: 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 . First Round Selections Boston Blazers (1992%E2%80%9397) The Boston Blazers were a member of the Major Indoor Lacrosse League from 1989 to 1997. They were called the New England Blazers from 1989 to 1991 while based in Worcester, Massachusetts , and were renamed

368-516: The playoffs their first 13 seasons in a row and won 5 championships between 1997 and 2014. In 2018 after losing to the Saskatchewan Rush in the NLL finals , it was announced the franchise would move to Halifax. Franchise owner, Curt Styres sold the team's original name and logo to Terry and Kim Pegula (Owners of Pegula Sports and Entertainment ) and relocated the franchise to Halifax. PSE founded

391-480: 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 were transferred to Halifax. The Rochester Knighthawks found success throughout their history despite playing in a small market. In their inaugural season they finished 3rd during

414-465: 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

437-576: 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

460-570: 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,

483-438: 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 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. In June 2011, the Americans and Knighthawks were split up when Terrence Pegula purchased

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506-500: 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. During the 2007 season, a dispute over concession revenues between owner Steve Donner and the Sports Management Group , then operators of

529-546: 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. {{{Head Coach}}} Roster updated 2019-01-18 NLL Transactions *The Knighthawks had

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