By Knighthawks
ROCHESTER – The Rochester Knighthawks released forward Craig Point last week, and reflected on the impact he had during his eight seasons with the organization.
“Craig has been one of our main offensive weapons ever since we welcomed him to the organization,” said Knighthawks Owner and General Manager Curt Styres. “He has scored some of the biggest goals in franchise history; we thank him for the passion he brought to the team every night.”
Point arrived in Rochester after being acquired in a three-player, one draft pick deal with the Minnesota Swarm in February of 2009. The former NLL Rookie of the Year had immediate success with the Knighthawks as he posted 28 points in just 10 games. While with Rochester, the Six Nations product scored 133 goals, which is 10th best in team history, and added 127 assists for 260 points in 84 games. The versatile Point also ranks sixth in team history with 199 faceoff wins.
“I don’t think anyone shoots the ball as hard as he does,” said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. “Go back to the championship game at home against Calgary; he scored two clutch, big-time goals that allowed us to win a third straight Cup.”
It was during the team’s run of three straight Champion’s Cups (2012 to 2014) that Point really showed off his scoring abilities. In 10 playoff games over three seasons, he netted 15 goals and dished out 12 assists. He scored the biggest goals of his career in the decisive 10-minute tiebreaker game against Calgary in the 2014 NLL Championship series. Point’s first tally cut the deficit to one and his second, with just 59 seconds to play, proved to be the game winner in a 3-2 victory. That night, the Knighthawks made history by winning their third straight Champion’s Cup.
“He was a guy who stepped up his game when he needed to,” said former Knighthawks teammate Mike Accursi. “He basically won us the championship in 2014 when he scored the game winner. He had that knack of getting a big goal when we needed it most. I wish him the best of luck.”
