Shawn Palmer, Toronto Rock Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©
Featured Image Photo Credit: Angela Burger
The Toronto Rock (2-5) travelled to Scotiabank Saddledome to face the Calgary Roughnecks (3-3) trying to win their second in the row and second of the season. The Roughnecks were coming off an OT win over Georgia last week and one game over .500 on the season. The Rock welcomed Latrell Harris back after he was injured in the first game of the season. The Rock would score early in the first and never looked back as they rode a five-goal run between the second and third quarters to secure their second win of the season by a score of 14 – 9. Nick Rose (1A, 37 saves) who was being criticized on line for the slow start this season for the Rock, played a great game not allowing Calgary to get on track from the very beginning with some in close stops on Dane Dobbie (1G) and Curtis Dickson (1G, 5A) early in the game.
Just one and a half minutes in, Josh Dawick (1G, 5A) passed to a cutting Dan Craig (2G, 3A) whose high to low shot beat Cam Macleod (23 saves) to the bottom stick hand corner for the early one goal lead for the Rock. A couple minutes later, while in transition, Rose passed up the floor to Justin Martin (1G, 1A), he went in all alone and his high to low shot went far bottom corner for a 2-goal lead for Toronto. Calgary would get on the board a little over a minute later while on the power play. Jesse King (3G. 3A) got a pass along the top, took a low-to-low bounce shot that beat Rose stick side cutting the lead to 2 – 1 five minutes into the first quarter. Toronto would shut them down, tallying the next three. Corey Small (1G, 5A) got it started with a skip pass to Tom Schreiber (3G, 3A) and his side arm bounce shot went over the shoulder top corner increasing the Rock lead 3 – 1. Ninety seconds later, Bryan Cameron (2G, 3A) came across the top, passed to Chris Boushy (3G) behind the net, he dove over the net, dunked it over Macleod’s shoulder and into the net to make it 4 – 1 for the Rock. They’d close out the frame four minutes later. Schreiber would come across the top and his low to high shot went over the shoulder to make it 5 – 1. At this point, Calgary would change their goalie and Colby Bowman (13 saves) got the nod. At the end of the first quarter the shots on goal were Toronto 14 and Calgary 12.
After Toronto had two goals called back for being in the crease, the Roughnecks while in transition, Tanner Cook (2A) passed to Mathieu Gauthier (3G) and his shot beat Rose glove side to cut the Rock lead to 5 – 2. A minute later Schreiber from far out, fired a sidearm bounce shot that beat Bowman to the short side for his hat trick goal increasing the lead to 6 – 2. After the short break to calm down, Macleod was put back in net. He held Toronto for four minutes allowing Calgary to get one back. Gautier cut into the middle, received a pass from Cook, faked low and then went high over Rose’s shoulder to make it 6 – 3 for the Rock. Less than a minute later, Toronto, while in transition, sent Dawick out the front door, he got the pass from Mitch de Snoo (1A), his bounce shot went five-hole and it was 7 – 3. After some good movement, Craig passed to the middle to a wide open Boushy, and his side arm missile went over the shoulder top corner, closing out the frame giving Toronto a five-goal lead, 8 – 3. The shots at the end of the first half were Toronto 27 and Calgary 23.
Just over five minutes into the third, Cameron came across the top, fired a sidearm bounce shot on the run that went five-hole on Macleod and Toronto had their largest lead on the night, 9 – 3. They’d put in another while in transition. Small received a pass from Schreiber, went short side with a quick stick and it was 10 – 3 for the Rock. Challen Rogers (1G) would cap the five-goal run in transition. He scooped the loose ball, ran the length of the floor and went over Macleod’s shoulder increasing the Rock lead to 11 – 3 with five minutes left in the frame. After 16 minutes Calgary would finally get on the board. Dickson passed to King and his shot beat Rose over the shoulder for their only tally in the quarter to make it 11 – 4. Toronto would answer less than a minute later. Boushy ran from his wrong side, beat his defender to the net and went far side to make it 12 – 4 and his hat trick goal. It took only 13 seconds for them to notch another. Schreiber passed to Craig at the top and his high to low shot went far bottom corner and it was 13 – 4. Calgary Bench Boss Josh Sanderson had seen enough, Macleod was out, and Bowman was back in net for Calgary. At the end of the third quarter the shots on goal were Toronto 42 and Calgary 32.
The Roughnecks would dominate the fourth, but it was too little too late. Less than five minutes in, Tyler Pace (1G, 2A) came out of the penalty box, received a pass from Reece Callies (1A), he went in all alone on Rose, his shot hit the post, went off Rose’s back and into the net to make it 13 – 5 for the Rock. It took almost five minutes, but they’d notch another. While on the power play, Dickson at the top fired a low-to-low shot that went short side cutting into the Rock lead and it was 13 – 6. Calgary would put up another for their first multi-goal run in the game. Halfway through the fourth, King took a low-to-low shot that Rose got a piece of, but it snuck under his arm chipping away at the lead some more, but it was still a wide margin, 13 – 7 for Toronto. Toronto would get their only tally in the fourth on a delayed penalty. With Rose on the bench for the extra attacker, Cameron fired an overhand shot that beat Bowman to the far side to once again double up Calgary 14-7. With 3:03 left in the contest, Gautier got the pass from Dickson right in the middle and his shot over the defender went bottom stick side corner to make it 14 – 8 for his hat trick goal. Dane Dobbie (1G) who had been held without a point on the night would notch their last tally while on the power play, He faked a pass, then faked Rose low and beat him over the shoulder with 1:53 on the ticker, but that was it as neither team found net. The shots on goal at the end of the game were Toronto 50 and Calgary 45. Final Score: Toronto 14—Calgary 9.
The three stars of the game were:
Tom Schreiber – Toronto Rock: 3G, 3A
Jesse King – Calgary Roughnecks: 3G, 3A
Corey Small – Toronto Rock: 1G, 5A
GAME STATS:
Toronto Rock—SOG 50; Saves 37; Sv% .804; FO 14-28; PP 0-1; PIM 12
Calgary Roughnecks—SOG 46; Saves 36; Sv% .720; FO 14-28; PP 3-4; PIM 6
NEXT UP:
The Toronto Rock (2-5) will travel to Ball Arena in Denver to face the Colorado Mammoth (4-3) on Saturday February 1, 2025, game time 9:30 p.m. EST. Fans in the USA can see the game on ESPN+ while fans in Canada get to catch the action on TSN+.
Meanwhile the Calgary Roughnecks (3-3) will head east to go up against the Ottawa Black Bears (4-3) at Canadian Tire Centre on Friday January 31, 2025, game time 7:00 p.m. EST. Fans in the USA can see the game on ESPN+ while fans in Canada get to catch the action on TSN+.
Shawn Palmer, Toronto Rock Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome