Shawn Palmer, Toronto Rock Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©
Featured Image Photo Credit: Heather Berry
The Toronto Rock (4-3) traveled to Philadelphia on Saturday February 5, 2022 hoping to build on their win last week and move closer to the Wings (5-4) in the standings. Head Coach of the Rock, Matt Sawyer who last week became the longest serving Rock coach in the team’s history said that the team would need to have discipline since Philadelphia came into the game with the best power play in the league. The Rock have been the second most penalized team in the league so it was going to be a big task and in the end they were up to it. After the Wings jumped out to a quick start in the first, the Rock came back and tied it up at the half. Then the Rock defense stood up and did not allow another goal the remainder of the game, in fact they allowed only two goals in the final three frames. Toronto rode the great goal tending and stingy defense to a double digit win and didn’t take a penalty throughout the game. Final Score: Rock 14—Wings 7.
Less than two minutes into the game the Wings took advantage of Rock defender Billy Hostrawser (7 loose balls) who had fallen down which allowed Ben McIntosh (3G) a free shot beating Nick Rose (43 saves) through the five hole to open the scoring. Under three minutes later McIntosh scored his second in a row when he received a pass from Kevin Crowley (4A) and his side arm rip beat Rose over the shoulder and into the top corner to make it 2 – 0 Wings. Toronto broke onto the scoresheet 30 seconds later when Dan Craig (5G, 4A) received a pass from Rob Hellyer (1G, 4A) and his high to low overhand shot beat Zach Higgins (37 saves) to the bottom corner cutting the lead to one. Philadelphia answered back quickly when Matt Rambo (1G, 2A) cut to the net and lept over the crease, fired one in while in the air and beat Rose to the short side to restore the Wings two goal lead. The Wings kept their foot on the pedal when Blaze Riordan (2G, 2A) made a flip pass to Corey Small (1G, 1A) whose sidearm beat Rose short side 4 – 1. Toronto stopped the run when Brandon Slade (1G) on transition, came down the floor, used the defender as a screen and his bounce shot beat Higgins short side 4 – 2 Philadelphia. With just over one minute left in the quarter Craig on a give-and-go with Hellyer cut across the floor and shot across his body beating Higgins far side top corner cutting the lead to one for the Wings. Philadelphia had the ball for the last possession in the first and McIntosh got the pass from Crowley behind the net and dove forward beating Rose to the open side with less than a second left in the frame to restore the two goal lead for Philadelphia. The shots at the end of the first quarter favored the Wings 18—Rock 14. Score at the end of one: Wings 5—Rock 3.
Toronto opened the scoring in the second quarter as Challen Rogers (1G, 1A) in transition picked up a loose ball and when no defender came to him he went right down the middle and unloaded an overhand shot to beat Higgins over the shoulder cutting the lead 5 – 4. The Rock would tie it up less than a minute later when Tom Schreiber (4G, 2A) came from the boards and his overhand bounce shot beat Higgins through the legs 5-5. Toronto continued to pour it on 30 seconds later when Zach Manns (2G, 2A) was on the outside and received a pass from Reid Reinholdt (3A) and his low shot beat Higgins short side giving the Rock their first lead of the game 6 – 5. Schreiber kept the run going for Toronto when his high to low over hand shot hit bottom corner and now had some momentum and a two goal lead. At this point, Philadelphia bench boss Paul Day decided to remove Higgins and replace him with Eric Penney (10 saves) for a couple of minutes to settle the team down. It seemed to help as Riordan received a pass on a pick and roll with Rambo and after throwing two fakes beat Rose to the short side to get the Wings back within one at 7 – 6. Philadelphia closed out the scoring in the last two minutes with Riordan notching his second in a row by beating his defender down low and reaching around Rose to beat him to the far side to tie it up at the end of two. The shots after the first half were all even Toronto 32—Philadelphia 32. Score at the end of two: Rock 7—Wings 7.
Both defenses stood tall in the third as the teams traded chances for the first nine minutes but neither could find the back of the net. On the first power play of the game Toronto had great ball movement and Schreiber with a BTB (behind the back) pass to Hellyer would beat Higgins low to the glove side to give the Rock a one goal lead 8 – 7. Less than a minute later, Craig passed to Schreiber on the crease and as he broke towards the net his BTB beat Higgins to the short side for a highlight reel goal and his hat-trick (one of two that might show up on Sports Center) giving the Rock a two goal lead going into the fourth quarter. Nick Rose and the Toronto defense kept the Wings off of the board for the entire frame. The shots after three now favored Toronto 47—Philadelphia 41. Score at the end of three: Rock 9—Wings 7.
The Rock came out firing in the final frame with Craig on transition grabbing a pass from Brad Kri (1A) and as he was falling he put the ball in the top corner over Higgins shoulder 20 seconds in to increase the Rock lead to 10 – 7. Fifty seconds later Schreiber received a pass in front and with his back to the net, threw a backhand shot into the top corner for his fourth on the night and another candidate for Sports Center. Craig continued the Rock run with a shot from the top to the stick side with a side arm shot to make it 12 – 7 less than two minutes in. This time Higgins was pulled for good and Penney came in for the remainder of the game. Manns scored his second of the game when he got a pass from Dan Dawson (2A), ripped a shot over Penney’s shoulder increasing the Rock lead 13-7. Philadelphia pulled their goalie for an extra attacker to try and get some offense going but Rogers on transition passed to Craig who put it into the empty net for his fifth on the night to finish the scoring and give Toronto the win. Final Score: Rock 14—Wings 7.
The Toronto defense was stifling in the second half not allowing a goal with many passes picked off and Nick Rose standing tall on any shots that made it through allowing only seven goals against which is the lowest amount for him this season. This was also the first road win for the Toronto Rock this season.
The Three Stars of the game were:
Dan Craig—Toronto Rock (5G, 4A)
Tom Schreiber—Toronto Rock (4G, 2A)
Nick Rose—Toronto Rock (43 saves, 7 GA)
NEXT UP:
The next game for the Toronto Rock (4-3) will be at home on Saturday February 12th at 5:00 p.m. EST against the Buffalo Bandits (6-0) for what everyone hopes will be the last game without fans in Toronto. Fans in the USA can catch the game on ESPN+. This is the Game of the Week in Canada & fans can catch the game on TSN.
The Philadelphia Wings (5-4) will travel to Hamilton, Ontario the temporary home to the team to play the Halifax Thunderbirds (4-1) on Sunday February 13th at 1:00 p.m. EST. Fans in the USA can catch the game on ESPN+. Fans in Canada can catch the action on TSN.ca or the TSN app.
Shawn Palmer, Toronto Rock Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©