(July 19, 2012)… Johnny Powless and Assistant Coach Jason Johnson have bragging rights today over their Rochester Knighthawks counterparts, as they play the biggest game of the day.

When the Iroquois Nationals take to the field in the Semifinals of the 2012 U-19 World Lacrosse Championships at 1:00 p.m., it will kick off a huge day of games for Knighthawks coaches and players. The Nationals, with Powless and Johnson, can advance to the gold medal game with a victory over the United States.

Not only do the 2012 World Champions have a presence in Turku, Finland, but in two Major Series Lacrosse games tonight that will clear up the muddled playoff picture. With less than a week to play in the regular season, Brooklin, Peterborough and Six Nations are separated by just one point with two games to play. The Six Nations Chiefs sit in third with 15 points, as they trail the latter two teams by just one point.

The third-place Chiefs will travel to take on the first-place Peterborough Lakers tonight at 8:00 p.m. Six Knighthawks will play for Six Nations, including Championship Game MVP Cody Jamieson, along with Alex “Kedoh” Hill, Sid Smith, Travis Hill, Stephen Keogh and Craig Point. The Lakers’ roster features Rochester’s Brad Self and Cory Vitarelli. Fans can watch the game live, and free of charge, at www.majorserieslacrosse.co.

The other MSL contest has the Brooklin Redmen visiting the Brampton Excelsiors at 8:00 p.m. The game is chalk-full of Knighthawks, featuring seven players and two coaches. Defenseman Scott Campbell, who is fourth on the team in points, is the lone Knighthawk playing for the Redmen. The defending Mann Cup Champion Excelsiors have enlisted Rochester players Joe Walters, Tyler Burton, Mike Kirk, Dylan Evans, Jake Henhawk and Matt Vinc. The team also includes Knighthawks Head Coach Mike Hasen and Assistant Coach Pat O’Toole. Brampton has three games to play, and trails Six Nations by three points and division-leading Brooklin and Peterborough by four.

For scoring updates from the MSL games, fans can go online to www.pointstreak.com.