Thanks to the Toronto for the Picture
It was a game 15 years in the making.
Fifteen years and two days, to be exact. That’s the last time the Toronto Rock won the National Lacrosse League championship: May 15, 2011, an 8-7 win over the Washington Stealth.
Now, the Rock are once again on top of the NLL as League Champions, winning the NLL Cup two games to none in a best-of-three Finals over the Halifax Thunderbirds. The Rock won 13-11 at TD Coliseum in Hamilton on Friday, and 12-7 at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax on Sunday evening. This win ties the franchise with the Buffalo Bandits for the most NLL titles with seven each.
“I’m just so proud of these guys,” Rock captain Challen Rogers told TSN’s Ashley Docking. “We’ve been grinding trying to get to this moment and everyone stepped up all year. We lose five guys to season ending injuries and have so much depth throughout the year and everyone is stepping up and making plays. It’s a dream come true.”
Rogers is part of the Rock’s veteran core, the pre-COVID team members: Nick Rose, Billy Hostrawser, Brad Kri, Latrell Harris, Dan Craig, Josh Jubenville and Rogers. They all are celebrating their first NLL championship along with head coach Matt Sawyer.
The Rock owe their win to their defence and its ability to recover. Game 1 was a tale of two halves: the Thunderbirds controlled the first, racking up a 9-5 lead on the strength of a Jason Knox hat trick. Toronto scored eight of the game’s last 10 goals for the two-goal win while the D held Halifax scoreless for 24 minutes. Game 2’s first half was more back and forth but the defence stepped up again in the second half. After Brendan Bomberry’s marker 1:28 into the third, the Thunderbirds did not score again as Hostrawser, Kri, Jubenville, et al limited shots, blocked shots completely, and sent the ball back up the floor time and again.
Bonded and Bound
The best interviews always come as soon as the final buzzer has gone, when players haven’t had a chance to truly process what they’ve just accomplished. Here are some of the more memorable quotes.
“I don’t have the words right now. We worked so hard for so long and now we’re bonded and bound by blood, sweat and tears for the rest of our life. No other team deserved this more than this group.” – Chris Boushy
“We’ve had some ups, but we’ve always come short. Just to get over the hump with those guys and the trials and tribulations we’ve had throughout the seasons. We’re champions and no one can take that away from us. We’ll have that forever.” – Challen Rogers
“It’s a hard league. Professional sports are hard. You battle through the adversity together, you experience it together and it’s created a bond between that crew and the rest of the squad and it’s pretty special.” – Sam English
English Named NLL Finals MVP
Rookie Sam English was named the Finals MVP with a stat line of three goals, four assists, zero penalties, 19 loose balls and two caused turnovers.
The Transition Player of the Year finalist was all over the floor for the Rock, though he was quick to deflect credit in his acceptance speech to the veterans on the team.
“It’s the older guys on this team, the dudes that have been doing it for a while now. They lead us in the right way, they lead by example, they’re the ones keeping us going, they make it fun to be in the locker room,” English told Docking.
“Grateful for this sport. Grateful to these guys.”
English gave a special shoutout to Billy Hostrawser, a member of the Rock since 2016, who blocked a shot late in the game (and four in the series), was visibly limping, and still managed to pick up a loose ball and kill the clock to help ice the game.
“An absurd block,” English called it. “Top down. Unbelievable. I love this team.”
English is the first rookie to win the NLL Finals MVP since John Tavares won the award in 1992.
Legacy Game for Rose
Rose, the longest serving member of the Rock – since he was first acquired in a 2012 trade with Calgary – finally raised the NLL Cup over his head for the first time in his 16-year career. He made 72 saves in two games and held Halifax scoreless for the final 28:32 of Game 2.
“What a performance he’s had this season, [these] playoffs, his entire career,” Rogers praised. “Just to see him hoist that trophy is amazing and I’m just so proud of him. The disrespect and all that has never bothered him, and I couldn’t be happier for him. He deserves it so much.”
The 38-year-old former Goaltender of the Year (2024) has faced his share of fan frustration in the past when the Rock have faltered, but he’s always been a favourite of his teammates and is synonymous with the team. He stayed the path and was finally rewarded after spending half of the 2025 season back in Calgary before returning as a free agent to Toronto.
“Nothing like it. I can barely breathe. I wanna be in here so bad. We did it and we’re champions,” Rose said.
Rock Rookies Really Shine
“I’m so jealous of those guys winning in their first year. They re-energized this group and they’re a huge reason why we got this done,” said Rose on the five Rock rookies that played in the Finals.
In Game 1, Halifax was up 9-4, but Kirst’s second goal of the game cut the deficit to 9-5 at halftime. Just 1:10 into the third, he scored his third, with goal number four coming three minutes later to complete the natural hat trick. He also assisted on two goals. That was the turning point of the game as the Rock ended up on a six-goal run, tying the game. Kirst was held to 1G/1A in Game 2, but it was an important marker – the Rock’s 10th of the game, putting it out of reach for Halifax. Kirst was way outside and shot wide around a defender.
Hiltz’s underhand goal with two seconds left in the second quarter of Game 2 was the game winner – the Cup clincher. He had a hat trick in the game and one assist after putting up two goals and two assists in Game 1. He also had 13 loose balls over the two games.
Kelleher had one assist in Game 1, and both he and Hucal had a goal and an assist in Game 2.
