Toronto – The Toronto Rock (10-6) and the Rochester Knighthawks (10-6) are just four days away from their NLL East Division Semi-Final on Sunday afternoon at Air Canada Centre at 3:30pm.
The Rock are 10-2 all-time at home in the playoffs. Their only two losses were in the 2001 Champion’s Cup Final against Philadelphia and the other loss was against the Buffalo Bandits in the opening round of the 2004 playoffs.
In three post-season meetings between the Rock and the Knighthawks in Toronto, the Rock won each of the matchups. Two of them saw Toronto hoist the Champion’s Cup when the final buzzer sounded.
“In this league, in a one-game winner take all format, the fans can play a huge role in how the game turns out,” said Rock Captain Colin Doyle. “We just have to give them lots to cheer about early and get them into the game early.”
Good starts have been key for the Rock this season. Toronto is 9-1 this year when scoring the first goal of the game and 5-0 when they hold a lead after the first quarter.
Rock Head Coach Troy Cordingley also recognizes that home floor advantage can give you that emotional lift that can get you over the hump in the playoffs.
“If the game is tight, and you’re not playing as well, and you hear the fans cheering you on, you’ve got no reason but to play well for them and for ourselves,” expressed Cordingley. “It’s nice to have that 7th man on our side and hopefully they’re nice and loud.”
Number one seeded Buffalo will face Boston in the other East Division semi-final on Saturday night in Buffalo at 7:30pm.
Sunday’s playoff game will be broadcast live on TSN2 at 3:30pm. For more information or tickets you can call the Rock office at 416-596-3075 or log on to www.torontorock.com.
