Justin Ivey, Co-Editor
Lacrosse is Awesome©
On Saturday night the Toronto Rock (5-3) hosted the Oshawa Firewolves (2-8) at TD Coliseum in a battle of Canadian teams. When the two teams met in Week 1 of the season, Oshawa won the matchup by a lone goal in a low scoring affair. This matchup wasn’t much different. Toronto Captain Challen Rogers (3G, 2A) led the Rock with timely goals in crunch time, as starting goaltender Troy Holowchuk (10GA, 41SV) mustered enough saves to hold off a late Oshawa rally. The Firewolves, led by Dawson Theede (5G, 1A), fell behind by as many as six goals, but mounted a furious fourth quarter run to have a chance at the end. Despite another stellar performance from Doug Jamieson (11GA, 39SV), Oshawa just couldn’t find a way to tie the game late. Final Score: Oshawa Firewolves – 10, Toronto Rock – 12.
The tone was set early in Toronto. 3:04 into play, with the scoreboard still blank, Oshawa’s Emerson Clark (1G) and Toronto’s Elijah Gash squared up for an old-fashioned fight after a Firewolves possession. Both headed for the box after the tilt and play continued. Goals didn’t come easy though as neither team could find offensive momentum in the opening quarter. Finally, with 2:52 left in the opening quarter, Dan Craig (2G) scored the game’s opening goal, cutting through the middle of the floor and finishing after catching the assist from Josh Dawick (2G, 4A). The Rock doubled up just over a minute later when Chris Boushy (2G, 4A) took the ball for a spin and dunked after cutting behind the net. At the end of the first quarter, Toronto led Oshawa 2-0.
The Rock did not wait as long to score in the second quarter. Owen Hiltz (2G, 2A) fired a quick shot as the offense got setup and surprised Jamieson for the goal just 13 seconds in. After a short break in action, Oshawa finally got on the board. Tye Kurtz (2G, 2A) scored with 9:25 left in the half, and Theede scored his first of the game just 26 seconds later. The Oshawa momentum stopped there though. Craig scored his second goal of the half, sniping a corner with a ball that hit two posts before hitting the net with 4:48 left to cushion the lead back to two. Just over a minute later, Chris Weier (2A) intercepted a pass in the Toronto defensive end and found an open Dawick in transition for another Rock goal. Immediately after the ensuing TV timeout, Rogers barreled his way to the middle of the zone and buried a shot over Jamieson’s shoulder making it a three goal Toronto run. Alex Simmons (1G, 4A) finally put an end to the onslaught with a sidearm laser that hugged the stick side post. Without missing a beat though, Dawick fired a shot from way outside that bounced into the Firewolves net. The Firewolves almost cut the lead to three going into half, but Nick Chaykowsky hit the crossbar of the empty net as time wound down. At the half, Toronto led Oshawa 7-3.
CJ Kirst (1G, 1A) scored the first goal of the second half with a sidearm shot through traffic 5:12 in. Clark answered immediately on the next possession for Oshawa. Ethan Walker (2A) found him wide open on the crease after a broken play, and he dove for the goal after a quick fake. Rogers answered for Toronto this time. Left alone up top after a defensive slide, he stepped into a shot that found the top corner. Boushy followed it up two minutes later, one timing a cross-crease pass from Rogers while diving into the net. Oshawa challenged the goal, but the red flag flew too late. Theede powered for another score with 2:12 left to keep Oshawa within striking distance. At the end of the third quarter, Toronto led Oshawa 10-5.
Hiltz scored first in the fourth, under a minute in to extend the Rock lead to six. After winning the ensuing faceoff, the Firewolves set up on offense before Dyson Williams (1G, 1A) launched a shot from outside that skimmed the body of Holowchuk before trickling in. The goal fired up the visiting Firewolves. On Oshawa’s first power play of the night, they got a much-needed goal. Theede sat on the crease in transition and Jackson Nishimura (2A) cleared the ball the whole turf before finding him for the easy finish. Latrell Harris, guilty of the first penalty, immediately returned to the box after knocking off Kurtz’s helmet and Theede scored again on the man up, this time with a twister that hit the top corner. On fire, Theede made it three in a row, running downhill off the bench before spinning around and finding the net. Finally, Kurtz, with 4:17 left in the game dunked from behind the net after a pinpoint pass from Simmons. The Firewolves were now down just one. With 3:31 remaining, a frustrated Brad Kri hit Simmons from behind and the Firewolves were back on the powerplay. Holowchuk made three big saves but somehow Oshawa kept possession. On the fourth, Toronto was finally able to clear it up the floor. Almost in sync with the shot clock, Rogers dove past Jameison and scored to put the Rock up two. The goal went under automatic review, being scored with 1:53 left and eventually did not count. After a defensive stand and the penalty expiring, Rogers got that goal, stuffing a pass from Boushy into the empty net. Final Score: Oshawa Firewolves – 10, Toronto Rock – 12.
Up Next:
The Oshawa Firewolves (2-8) host the San Diego Seals on Saturday, February 14 at 7:00 Pm EST.
The Toronto Rock (5-3) travel to play the Colorado Mammoth on Saturday, February 14 at 9:30 PM EST.