Members of the Rochester Rhinos thought they were just being gracious hosts when they recommended to the Vancouver Whitecaps a few bars to hit after the teams played the 2006 USL First Division championship game last September.

But the Whitecaps upset the Rhinos, 3-0, in the title game at PaeTec Park, and after the contest some of the dejected Rhinos ran into the Whitecaps as the Vancouver team celebrated its victory at one of those bars. The Whitecaps had even brought the championship trophy with them, and they didn't hesitate to remind the Rhinos who had won that day.

That, needless to say, didn't go over very well with the Rhinos.

"They rubbed it in our faces a little bit," says Rochester midfielder John Ball. "I didn't like that too much. I almost stole the trophy."

Fast forward to the present. The Rhinos are now preparing for the 2007 home opener against...the Vancouver Whitecaps. When asked whether the Rhinos will be especially motivated when they take the field at 8 p.m. Friday, May 4, at PaeTec, Ball plays a little coy.

"Last year is last year," he says with a slight grin and a shake of his head. "That's the bottom line. We have a new crew of guys this year. For us, we look at (the home opener) as a stepping stone, to see how we fare against the defending champions. It's our third game of the season, so it means really nothing. You just want to get the points at home and establish your home turf."

Call it the non-denial denial. Other Rhinos are politically correct when discussing how they feel about the chance for revenge this Friday.

"This team will be ready for it," says Rochester coach Laurie Calloway. "We want to win every game, but the home opener has special meaning. It sets the tone for the season. That it's against Vancouver just adds a little more spice to it. I don't think we'll need motivation for that."

Defender Kenney Bertz, who shone as a rookie in 2006, also tempered his comments about the rematch with the Whitecaps.

"There will be a lot of motivation running through it, and we're excited to open against Vancouver," he says. "The stakes aren't the same (as they were last fall), but it's good to have a strong opponent for the home opener."

Friday's game will be just the first in a long line of strong opponents the Rhinos will face in 2007 as Rochester attempts to not only match last year's success by again reaching the title game, but to top it by winning the championship. That's something the team hasn't done since 2001.

Bertz says the squad feels like it needs to take that extra step in 2007. "I don't know if I'd call it pressure," he says, "but we do want to win a championship. That's what we shoot for every year, and we're definitely determined to come out with a championship this year."

This season's Rhinos lineup features a fair amount of new faces - forward Hamed Diallo, midfielder Ryan Wileman, goalkeeper Chase Harrison - to keep opponents guessing, but there's also plenty of familiar faces - Bertz, Ball, goalkeeper Scott Vallow, midfielder Aaran Lines, defender Scott Palguta, forwards Rey Martinez, Johnny Menyongar and Matthew Delicate - to draw longtime fans and maintain consistency.

The Rhinos head into their home opener with a 1-1 mark, and, with the sting of last season's title-game loss to Vancouver still fresh in the players' minds. Friday's game promises to provide enough drama worthy of a home opener.

While the Rhinos' season is starting up, the seasons of two other Rochester teams are winding down.

After dominating the National Lacrosse League competition for much of the regular season and entering the playoffs as the overwhelming favorites to win it all, the Rochester Knighthawks have had to grind out wins in the playoffs, first against Toronto, then against a Buffalo team that had already lost to the Knighthawks twice this year.

"It's the playoffs," said Knighthawk Chris Schiller, a Rochester-area native. "This is when teams come to play. We've worked hard, that's all I can say."

On Friday against Buffalo, the K-hawks came back from a three-goal deficit in the fourth quarter to force overtime. That's when all-world forward John Grant took over, scoring the winning goal just 26 seconds into overtime to secure a 14-13 win. "He's the equivalent of Michael Jordan," Rochester coach Ed Comeau says of Grant. "When the game is on the line, you put the ball in his stick."

The K-hawks will now face Arizona, a team Rochester beat in the regular season, in the NLL title game. Rochester will be gunning for its first championships since 1997.

Meanwhile, the Rochester Americans were bounced from the first round of the American Hockey League playoffs by rival Hamilton on Saturday. Although the Amerks had defeated the Bulldogs in four previous playoff series, Hamilton gained revenge this year by winning the series four games to two.

The loss capped a streaky season for the Amerks, who struggled for consistency most of the year and battled numerous call-ups to their NHL parent teams in Buffalo and Florida. At times the Amerks played like one of the best teams in the league; at other times, they played like one of the worst. In the end, they probably overachieved in 2006-07, but they also didn't reach their full potential.