One of the biggest reasons why fans engage so passionately with their favourite sports teams is a deep-rooted rivalry. For the Toronto Rock, there is no other game on the schedule that stirs up that type of emotion than facing their cross-border foes, the Buffalo Bandits.
“There’s no love lost,” said Dan Dawson who played in many of these rivalry games as a member of the Rock and is now the team’s Director of Player Development. “They’ve set the standard in the league the past two seasons. That’s our mindset heading into it this week and it’s a great test for us.”
Since the Rock’s inaugural season in 1999, there has been a well-documented mutual hatred with the Bandits. In the regular season, the Rock hold an edge in the all-time head-to-head matchups, leading 36-31 and have outscored Buffalo in those games 809-790.
“Being smart and making the right decisions,” Captain Challen Rogers cited as keys to success against Buffalo. “When you absorb that punch and watch them go to the box and then capitalize on it, it’s a good feeling inside and that’s what we need to do against them.”
The first tilt in Banditland this season comes at a time when the Rock have been unable to secure a victory thus far and have unfortunately begun the season 0-4. Meanwhile, the Bandits have done the exact opposite and are the last remaining undefeated team in the National Lacrosse League with a 3-0 record. Toronto has made it tight in their last two games losing by a single goal in each of those contests but have not put together a complete 60-minute effort.
“I would call it a good 55 minutes, probably our best 55 minutes of the season so far,” Josh Jubenville said to the media after the Rock’s last home game in which they lost 12-11 to the Ottawa Black Bears. “We just have to find a way to put a full 60 together.”
Since the league returned from the pandemic, Buffalo has been Toronto’s kryptonite. The Rock have gotten the better of the Bandits in the regular season in some cases, but it’s Buffalo that have had Toronto’s number in the playoffs and have eliminated the Rock the last three seasons. Toronto is hoping to begin the flipping of the script and secure a regular season victory in Buffalo for the first time since the 2021-22 season.
“We have to be at our best. That’s cliché, but it’s the truth,” Head Coach Matt Sawyer said when looking ahead to this week’s matchup. “If you don’t give yourself a chance against Buffalo or any opponent, you don’t play up to your potential. We know we have to do that, and we have to do that consistently.”
Part of that consistency comes from both sides of the floor and 15-year NLL veteran defender Chris Corbeil knows how vital it is to start getting the whole locker room involved in the offence.
“We’ve shown stretches and flashes of good play, but we certainly haven’t put together a full 60 minutes,” Corbeil said candidly. “There’s no moral victories to be had at this point. We have to start getting wins and we have to start climbing up the standings.”
The Rock have been a team that’s been known for scoring in transition and if they’re able to get their transition game going early, they improve the likelihood of grabbing a win in Banditland.
“We have to push the ball in transition,” Dawson said. “This league is so fast, so athletic, that you have to generate chances in transition.”
The Bandits have a league-best 3-0 record with a plus-26 goal differential, and two reasons for that is their superstar offensive duo on offence and a world-class goaltender as their last line of defence.
“They have Vino [Matt Vinc] between the pipes, one of the best in the world, if not the best. And, you know, up front, the two-headed monster of Dhane [Smith] and [Josh] Byrne, plus a great surrounding cast,” Corbeil stated.
The Rock and Bandits will clash from Keybank Center tonight at 7:30pm, on TSN, TSN+ and ESPN+, before returning home on Saturday, January 18 for Kidz Night when they host the Saskatchewan Rush at Paramount Fine Foods Centre in Mississauga at 7pm.
For more information about Toronto Rock tickets, please contact a Toronto Rock account executive by phone at 416-596-3075, by email at tickets@torontorock.com or visit torontorock.com.
