Toronto – The Toronto Rock (8-4) will host the Buffalo Bandits (5-7) on Friday night at 7pm ET at Air Canada Centre and then travel to Rochester to face the Knighthawks (4-6) on Saturday night at 7:30pm ET. Friday’s game against Buffalo will be broadcast live on TSN2 and will also be available on TSN Mobile TV. Saturday’s game against Rochester can be viewed online at YouTube.com/TLN.
The Rock are coming off a one-sided 17-12 loss to the Edmonton Rush on Sunday. It’s a game the coaching staff feels was one of the worst efforts in recent memory.
“We were awful in every part of the game,” explained Rock Head Coach Troy Cordingley. “We can’t play any game like that in this league because you get results like that. It was a bit of an embarrassment and we have to learn from that.”
This weekend the Rock have a tremendous opportunity at hand, with the chance to clinch home floor advantage in at least the first round. A pair of Rock wins clinches a home playoff game, but if that is coupled with a pair of Philadelphia losses this weekend, Toronto will clinch the Eastern Division title and home floor for a potential Eastern Division Final.
Up first is a matchup with the Buffalo Bandits who defeated the Rock in Toronto on February 28th at Air Canada Centre. Toronto seemingly had the game in hand but were outscored 7-2 in the fourth quarter and lost 15-13. The Rock do have a win over the Bandits earlier this season in Buffalo. This is the third and final meeting of the regular season.
The next night, Toronto travels to Rochester to battle the Knighthawks. The Rock have had a tremendous amount of success recently in Rochester and will look to continue that on Saturday night and also win the season series in just their second of three meetings this season. Toronto defeated Rochester on January 26th by a score of 11-7 in their first clash of the campaign.
Also, at Friday night’s game in Toronto, Toronto Blue Jays legend and Baseball Hall of Fame member Roberto Alomar will perform the ceremonial faceoff prior to the game. Alomar was a member of both Blue Jays World Series Championship teams of 1992 and 1993. His brilliant career, which included 10 gold gloves, was recognized with his Baseball Hall of Fame induction in 2011.
The Rock will wrap up their 2013 regular season home schedule next Sunday, April 7th with Fan Appreciation Day against Rochester at 3pm. One lucky fan in attendance will win a trip for two to Las Vegas courtesy of Adventure House Travel. Also, fans will be able to purchase upper bowl tickets for just $7. For the best ticket in town, visit www.torontorock.com or call 416-596-3075.
