ROCHESTER, N.Y. (March 21, 2026) – The Las Vegas Desert Dogs (6-7) earned back-to-back wins against the Rochester Knighthawks (5-8) in a high-scoring matchup that ended 17-13 for Las Vegas. The Dogs set a franchise record by scoring 10 goals in the first half and finished the night tied for most goals in a game with 17. With this win, Las Vegas also reached six wins on the season, the most in a single season in Desert Dogs history.
The scoring from last week carried over as the Desert Dogs exploded out of the gate with a 6–0 run. Goals during the stretch came from Jonathan Donville, two from Chris Cloutier, two from Adam Poitras, and Drew Belgrave’s first of the year. Rochester finally snapped the run with a power-play goal, but Las Vegas answered right back as Mitch Jones buried one on a delayed penalty. Poitras capped off a dominant first quarter with a hat trick, giving the Desert Dogs an 8–1 lead, our highest-scoring opening quarter of the season.
The Knighthawks battled back with five goals in the second quarter, but it took until late in the frame for the Desert Dogs to respond. Adam Poitras found his fourth of the night off a rebound, and Jones added his second by slipping one five-hole on the Rochester goaltender. Las Vegas took a 10-6 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Rochester opened the third quarter with a goal off a turnover to cut into the lead. Looking to spark the offense, Kevin Crowley answered with a goal, his 400th career NLL goal, to make it 11-7 Las Vegas. The Knighthawks responded with two straight goals to tighten the game, but defenseman Brandon Goodwin came through in transition and buried one to keep the Desert Dogs ahead by three. Rochester added one more before the end of the quarter, with Las Vegas holding a 12-10 lead heading into the fourth.
The Knighthawks scored three times early in the fourth quarter to take a 13-12 lead. Needing a comeback, Adam Poitras tied it up by diving behind the net for his fifth goal of the night. Kyle Killen gave the Desert Dogs the lead again with a goal halfway through the fourth, marking his seventh straight game with a goal. Jones added a powerplay goal for his hat trick, followed by Cloutier, who also completed a hat trick to put Las Vegas up 16-13 late in the fourth. Jones finished the night with an empty-net goal, and a late five-goal surge allowed the Desert Dogs to win 17-13.
The Las Vegas Desert Dogs will look to keep their winning streak alive when they return home to celebrate Heroes’ Night on March 28 at 7 p.m. PST against the Calgary Roughnecks.
You can get tickets HERE!
LVDD TOP THREE SCORERS
#16 Mitch Jones – 9 points (4G, 5A)
#19 Adam Poitras – 8 points (5G, 3A)
#3 Jonathan Donville – 7 points (1G, 6A)
