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Professional indoor lacrosse in Rochester traces its roots back to the Griffins. Playing in the original National Lacrosse League, the Griffs played only two seasons at the War Memorial, winning a championship in their inaugural season of 1974. The indoor game made its return to the Flower City in 1995 as the Rochester Knighthawks, playing in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League.
The expansion team featured veterans of the indoor game including Hall of Famers Paul Gait and Tim Soudan of Fairport.
"The training camp and everything that we went through, we just kind of bonded right away and it was a great feeling. It was great to be home in Rochester. The first night, the crowd was great. Rochester has a great history of box lacrosse in the old days and I think people were just excited to come out. It was loud. It was one of the louder buildings that I ever played in," said Soudan.
Rochester advanced to the title game that season, losing to Philadelphia in overtime. Making the playoffs again in 1997, the K-Hawks beat Philadelphia and rival Buffalo enroute to their first championship. The millennium saw the arrival of John Grant Jr., arguably the greatest player in franchise history.
"John Grant was the new up and coming superstar. He was 25 years old. Everyone wanted him. We ended up getting him first overall and he really kind of transformed our franchise," said Craig Rybczynski.
Playing ten seasons with the Knighthawks, Grant is the team's all-time leader in points and goals scored.
"He was doing things, the behind the back shots. Shooting on the run, off-hand, throwing twisters in on goal. Pretty much anytime he had the ball, you thought he was going to score a goal," said Rybczynsk.
Leading Rochester to the 2007 Champions Cup, Grant also won league and championship MVP honors that season.
Canadian businessman Curt Styres purchased the team in 2008. Building up the team through the draft, Styres drafted defenseman Sid Smith and forward Cody Jamieson. They proved to be the cornerstones of the Knighthawks run to an unprecedented, three straight championship seasons from 2012-2014.
"There's just a huge level of pride to see those guys do well every year," said Soudan.
With the indoor game's popularity at an all-time high and plans for league expansion in place, the Knighthawks remain one of the model franchises in the NLL.