Hamilton, ON – The Toronto Rock (8-2) got back in the win column on home floor on Saturday night with a hard-fought 9-5 win over the Vancouver Warriors (2-8) after losing their last two home contests at FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton. The Rock outscored the visitors 7-3 in the second half to remain in a tie for top spot in the NLL with Albany Firewolves who were also winners on Saturday.
While it is a bit of a case of, ‘a win is a win’ for the Rock, after being tied 2-2 at the half, Toronto controlled the second half of the game and are full marks for another victory that inches the club closer to clinching a postseason berth.
“We just couldn’t break it open offensively,” said Rock goaltender Nick Rose who made 45 saves in the win. “And to be fair, we were getting lots of good opportunities, but that’s just kind of how the game goes sometimes.”
The Rock gave up the first goal of the game from the stick of former Rock Kevin Crowley. Toronto scored the next two including an unlikely dunk from Chris Corbeil, as the Rock led 2-1 after one.
The Warriors netted the only goal of the second quarter that sent the game to the halftime break tied 2-2.
It was a very quick start for the Rock to begin the second half, scoring two goals in the first 2:25 of the frame with Josh Dawick scoring first and then Marley Angus scoring his first NLL goal. Vancouver got one back on the power play, but Tom Schreiber drilled home his first of two in the game. The goal was his fourth point of the game and the 500th point of his brilliant NLL career and it just so happened it was also Schreiber’s 32nd birthday on Saturday.
With a 5-3 lead heading for home, the Rock gave up a pair of goals very early in the fourth quarter and the game was tied again, 5-5. From there, it was all Rock. Four straight goals for the home side and that was all she wrote.
The Rock were 1-for-4 on the power play while the Warriors went 1-for-2. Aden Walsh was strong in goal for Vancouver, making 37 saves. Rose’s 45 saves were enough to push him past Mike Poulin for sixth spot on the NLL’s all-time saves list.
Next weekend, the Rock will head west for a double header weekend. On Friday night the Rock visit fabulous Las Vegas to play the Desert Dogs for the first time ever. The next night, it’s a game in San Diego against the Seals as two of the NLL’s top clubs will go head-to-head.
For more information on Toronto Rock tickets, please contact a Toronto Rock account executive by phone at 416-596-3075, by email at tickets@torontorock.com or visit torontorock.com
