Rock Finish Regular Season With 12-11 Win Over Saskatchewan

Toronto Still Awaits First Round Opponent

Saskatoon, SK – The Toronto Rock (15-3) finished the regular season with 12-11 victory over the Saskatchewan Rush (8-10) on Saturday night at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, SK.  The win set a regular season record for the Rock and it also meant the playoff hopes for the Rush had been dashed.

It was a homecoming for Mark Matthews who won three championships with the Rush and was the face of their franchise.  Known as ‘The Mailman’, Matthews delivered the game winning goal with 5:28 remaining in the fourth quarter.  The goal was one of three and part of a seven-point night for the future NLL Hall of Famer.

“To come in here and end their season and move ourselves closer to the playoffs here is a big step for us,” said Matthews.  “It just goes to show our resiliency. We win that tight game like that and then Rosey comes up with a few big saves.”

Rock Head Coach was happy with his team’s effort.  Despite the game have no meaning for Toronto in the final standings, the Rock played their full lineup with the exception of Chris Boushy who was scratched with a lower body injury.

“Our offence was good all around,” said Sawyer.  “(The Rush) are a real tough team to play against. They’re aggressive, very athletic, they keep you on the run and it certainly wasn’t easy, but we’re committed and (our offence) had drive all night.”

With the Rush fighting to stay alive, this was a very closely contested game.  Neither team led by more than two goals at any time, and it only happened twice; the home side were up 6-4 in the second quarter and the visitors were up 11-9 in the third quarter.

Matthews wasn’t the only one that netted a hat trick in the win, Tom Schreiber also struck for three goals.  Josh Dawick scored twice, and singles went to Dan Lintner, Dan Craig, Corey Small, and Justin Martin.  Matthews did finish with four assists, and seven points to go along with his three-goal game.  He finished the regular season with 98 points, tops on the Rock.

Nick Rose’s 39 saves were one more than Saskatchewan’s Frank Scigliano who made 38.  Rose finishes the year as the NLL leader in wins, goals-against average, and save percentage making him the goalie triple crown winner.

The Rock were 1-for-2 on the power play while the Rush went 2-for-4 with the man advantage.  The shots were even at 50 apiece.

The Rock will host either the Rochester Knighthawks or the New York Riptide to open the NLL playoffs on Saturday, April 27 at 4:30pm at FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton.  It will all come down to the final game of the regular season on Sunday afternoon when Rochester faces Philadelphia.  A Rochester win and they will be the Rock’s opponent.  A Rochester loss and the Rock will face New York.

For more information on 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.

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