JR KNIGHTHAWKS IN ALL 3 FINALS

(August 31, 2014)... The Junior Knighthawks win over the Junior Bandits in the Midget Semifinal guaranteed all three Knighthawks teams will play for the Champion’s Cup at the Junior National Lacrosse League Tournament. The Pee Wee, Bantam and Midget teams are now combined 13-0 at the event being held at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre (TRAC).

The Junior Knighthawks Pee Wee team opened the final day with a hard-fought 4-2 victory over the Junior Rush in a Sunday morning semifinal. Drew Fitzhenry led the way with three points (1+2), while Connor O’Toole, son of coach and NLL Hall of Fame Pat O’Toole, earned the win in goal. The team is also coached by Chris Horsman and Cam Hill.

“It was a big win. The Rush came out hard and made our boys work hard,” said Pat O’Toole. “We got great goaltending and constant pressure on their goalie, who played well. It was a great, tight game to prepare us for the Final.”

The Junior Knighthawks erased a 1-0 deficit in the first half with two goal in the final minute. Ross Hill tied the game at 19:09 and just 15 seconds later Fitzhenry gave the Jr. K-Hawks the lead. Hadowas Smith made it 3-1 four minutes into the second half, but the Rush pulled back within one at 9:15. Dante Kulas netted the game’s final goal from Fitzhenry at 14:02 to put the Junior Knighthawks in the Championship Game. The Pee Wee Finals will play the Junior Rock at 4:00 p.m.

The Junior Knighthawks and Junior Rock will also play in the Bantam Finals at 5:30 p.m. The Junior K-Hawks (3-0) earned a bye into the finals. Coach Ron Elijah is joined on the bench by fellow coaches Ronnie Elijah-Brown and Bill Montour.

“They have come together really quick here. They have done a really good job,” said Elijah. I couldn’t be happier with what I have seen.”

Chris Scanlan is second in the Bantam Division with 21 points (12+9). William Carnduff (13+6), Payton Cormier (8+7) and Landon General (7+5) have also been impressive for the Junior Knighthawks. Goalie Owen Dew leads his age group with a 3-0 record and a 6.50 goals-against average.

“It’s an honor to play for the Knighthawks. Hopefully, we can win it this year,” said Scanlan. “(Wearing the Knighthawks uniform) makes me want to try even harder to win.”

The Midget team was the third Junior Knighthawks squad to earn a trip to the Finals after defeating the Junior Bandits 19-1 this morning. Jerry Staats had eight points (2+6), and Daylen Hill (2+3) had five to help the Junior K-Hawks improve to 4-0. The Midget team is being coached by Miles General, Nick Skye, Knighthawks Ontario Scout Chris Driscoll, and Knighthawks Owner and General Manager Curt Styres.

“It’s always exciting competing for a championship,” said Driscoll, who has won six NLL Championships.

The Junior Knighthawks will play the Junior Stealth, who they beat 16-6 Saturday, in the Midget Finals at 7:00 p.m.

“It’s great playing for the Knighthawks. They won the championship last year,” said Hill. “It seems like all the (Junior Knighthawks) teams are doing well. It would nice if we could sweep the whole thing.”