NLL Week 7 recap: Knighthawks defeat Bandits in western New York clash

Week 7 of the 2025-26 NLL season is now in the rear-view mirror, following eight games on the schedule.

The Rochester Knighthawks were one of two teams to play on Friday and Saturday, and won both contests to move into second place behind the Saskatchewan Rush. Rochester’s second win was a tightly contested 12-9 win over their Western New York rival Buffalo Bandits.

Click here for the updated standings after Week 7. And remember, all games this season can be seen on the ESPN App and in the NLL streaming hub.

Here’s what you might have missed from each game (or might want to watch again):

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Friday’s games

Halifax Thunderbirds 13, Ottawa Black Bears 11

A back-and-forth tilt in the Canadian capital included a 5-0 second quarter for the hosts, followed by a 5-1 third quarter for Halifax. In the end, the visitors were a bit too much, earning a narrow win. Will McLeod finished with four goals and two assists to pace the Thunderbirds while Reilly O’Connor had two goals and six assists for the Black Bears.

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Rochester Knighthawks 16, Philadelphia Wings 13

The two clubs battled to an 8-8 halftime score, before the Knighthawks pulled away in the third quarter and held off a late challenge from Philly. Connor Fields had three goals and five helpers for Rochester, while Michael Sowers pumped in four goals and added three assists for Philadelphia.

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Vancouver Warriors 11, Calgary Roughnecks 10

An instant classic between these Western Canadian rivals. Vancouver led 7-5 at the half and bumped that up to 10-6 after three quarters. A dominant fourth quarter by the host Roughnecks sent the game to overtime; unfortunately for the home fans, it was Vancouver’s Curtis Dickson who had the game-winner, his fourth tally of the night.

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Saskatchewan Rush 21, Las Vegas Desert Dogs 15

Hopefully the fans in Vegas like offense, because this game featured an astounding 36 goals! Four players from the Rush and five from the Desert Dogs finished with multiple goals in this one, but Ryan Keenan had the hottest stick; the Oshawa native finished with an even six goals and six assists to lead all scorers.

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Toronto Rock 12, San Diego Seals 7

No. 1 overall draft pick CJ Kirst put on a show for the home fans in Toronto, with five goals including two in the fourth quarter to seal the deal over San Diego.

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Saturday’s games

Rochester Knighthawks 12, Buffalo Bandits 9

In the second game in as many nights for the Hawks, Rochester got hat tricks from Thomas McConvey and Zed Williams en route to a statement win over the Bandits. Kyle Buchanan scored four in a losing effort for Buffalo.

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Oshawa FireWolves 16, Halifax Thunderbirds 9

Facing off against a Thunderbirds squad that had just earned a hard-fought win on Friday against Ottawa, the FireWolves took advantage — particularly Tye Kurtz, who scored seven goals (!) to earn the much-needed W for Oshawa.

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Colorado Mammoth 7, Georgia Swarm 5

Goal prevention was the story in this clash, as Colorado’s Dillon Ward and Georgia’s Brett Dobson combined for 89 saves. In the end, the Mammoth had a little more offensive output.