Rock Face Stealth Saturday Night

Oakville, ON – The Toronto Rock (1-0) travel to Langley, BC on Saturday evening to face the Vancouver Stealth (1-0) at 10:30pm ET at the Langley Events Centre.  The game will be broadcast live across Canada on TSN2 and will also be available on TSN GO.

It’s a short but very similar road these two teams have traveled already this season.  The Rock defeated the 3-time defending NLL champion Rochester Knighthawks in their season opener, while the Stealth defeated the Western Division champion Calgary Roughnecks to get their season started.

“We’re very happy with the win,” said Rock Head Coach John Lovell.  “It was a great way to start, beating Rochester in their own building, but we have a lot of work to do.”

After missing the playoffs in 2014, the Stealth made significant moves in the offseason to change the look of their club with the additions of forward Johnny Powless from Rochester and defender Rory Smith from Buffalo.  In goal, they still boast one of the best stoppers in the league in Tyler Richards.

“We still have a lot of work to do going into Vancouver,” said Rock defender Brock Sorensen.  “We have to deal with Tyler Richards who I think had 60 some odd saves, so that’s going to be a nice challenge for us heading out west.”

Last season, the Rock won both meetings against the Stealth outscoring Vancouver 34-19.  These two franchises also have a rich recent history as they faced each other in both the 2010 and 2011 NLL championship games.  The Stealth won on home floor in 2010 and then a year later in Toronto, the Rock captured their league record 6^th Champion’s Cup.

The Rock defence could also be boosted by the return of veteran defender Patrick Merrill.  The 12-year NLL veteran was moved from the Physically Unable to Perform List earlier this week and may make his 2015 debut on Saturday night.

Other roster moves this week included transition player Mark White being shifted from the active roster to the team’s practice roster.  Defender Hayden Smith was released from the practice roster.

Following Saturday’s road game in Vancouver, the Rock will have a bye week before returning to Toronto for their 2015 home opener and GO Guaranteed Win Night.  Fans looking for more information on GO Guaranteed Win Night can visit www.torontorock.com/GOGTDWIN and are also encouraged to use the hashtag #GOGTDWIN on social media leading up to the game on January 23^rd at Air Canada Centre.

2015 Toronto Rock Season Tickets, Flex Packs, the Upper Bowl Season Pass and single game tickets are also all on sale now.  For more information, please visit torontorock.com or call 416-596-3075 to speak with a ticket representative and get your hands on the BEST ticket in town.