Justin Ivey, Beat Writer New England Black Wolves
Lacrosse is Awesome
For the second week in a row the New England Black Wolves (6-5) and Toronto Rock (6-6) squared off. Last week, the Black Wolves beat the Rock in overtime at the Air Canada Centre to keep first place in the very tight East Division. That win knotted the season series at 1-1, and Friday’s game would decide any possible tiebreak between the two teams at the end of the season. In front of a crowd of 5,832 Toronto pulled away with a late run, snapping their three-game losing streak. Final Score: Toronto-14, New England-9.
The first quarter started off with a flurry of scoring. Exactly one minute in, Kieran McArdle (3G, 2A) ripped a low shot from outside past New England goaltender Aaron Bold to give Toronto the early lead. The lead was short lived, as Johnny Powless (2G, 1A) scored just 26 seconds later. On the next New England possession, Stephan Leblanc (2G, 4A) dodged to the crease on the left side and found the net behind Rock goalie Nick Rose, giving the Black Wolves their first lead of the game. But Toronto answered right back. Brett Hickey (2G, 2A) tied the game at two on the next Toronto possession. With 2:22 gone in the first, four goals had already been scored. The quick start did not continue. Neither team would be able to score, or even really set up their offense for over 10 minutes. Forced turnovers caused by strong rides, and tight defenses allowing no passes in the middle set the pace for the rest of the game. Toronto found themselves a man down with under five minutes remaining, but New England was unable to find a good shot. Soon after the penalty expired though, rookie Anthony Joaquim (1G) scored an unassisted goal in transition to give the Black Wolves a 3-2 lead with 3:17 remaining. The breakaway score was Joaquim’s first career goal in the NLL. At the end of the first quarter, New England led Toronto 3-2.
The second quarter started just as fast as the first. Leblanc scored his second of the game with only 42 seconds off the clock, and the Black Wolves had a two-goal lead. Toronto erased that lead with two straight over the next five minutes. Adam Jones (2G, 5A) scored just a minute after Leblanc on a beautiful pick and roll down low, and McArdle tied it up with 9:28 remaining in the half. On the ensuing New England possession, Kevin Crowley (3G) blasted a shot past Rose and the Black Wolves had the lead again. With 6:04 remaining in the half, Damon Edwards (1G) tied the game, scoring easily on a fast break. With three minutes left, Reid Reinholdt (2G) gave Toronto their first lead since early in the first quarter with a crafty diving score. Under a minute later, Phil Caputo (1G) made that lead two goals, connecting with twine from outside. With the three-goal run to end the half, Toronto turned a one goal deficit into a two-goal lead. At halftime, Toronto led New England 7-5.
It took just under three minutes for the second half scoring to commence. Crowley cut the deficit to one with his second of the game. The goal was the veteran Crowley’s 500th point of his career. Toronto answered immediately with two goals in the next 43 seconds. Dan Lintner (2G) scored off the faceoff with a backhand trick shot and with possession off the next faceoff, Hickey found himself open for his second of the game. Lintner made it a three-goal run with his second of the quarter with 8:45 remaining in the quarter to put Toronto up 10-6. New England fought back before the end of the quarter to keep the game close. Powless scored his second of the night with 7:27 remaining, and Crowley completed his seventh hat trick of the season with 1:29 remaining. At the end of the third quarter, Toronto led New England 10-8.
New England scored first in the fourth quarter, and it seemed quite possible that we were headed to another overtime thriller between these two teams. Callum Crawford (1G, 3A) scored his first goal at home for the Black Wolves 5:26 in to make it 10-9. But Toronto had no plans to play past regulation. Reinholdt scored just over two minutes later to get the lead back to two. An illegal substitution was called that interfered with a breakaway for Toronto, so a penalty shot was awarded. Jones took it and scored. With 3:54 remaining, Toronto now led 12-9. 1:01 later, Hellyer brought the lead to four. Trying to find an advantage, Bold was pulled from the net in favor of an extra attacker for the faceoff. It worked, and the Black Wolves gained possession, but could not score. McArdle took the ball the other way and scored the empty netter. Toronto ended the game on a four-goal run after the Black Wolves were able to get within one. Final Score: Toronto-14, New England-9.
Up Next:
The New England Black Wolves (6-6) host the Buffalo Bandits (6-7) on Friday, March 23 at 7:30 PM EST.
The Toronto Rock (6-6) travel to play the Calgary Roughnecks (5-7) on Saturday, March 24 at 9:00 PM EST.