Rock Loving The Home Cooking!

Another Home Win Defeating Philadelphia 12-9

Hamilton, ON – The Toronto Rock (2-1) are getting very comfortable in their new home at FirstOntario Centre as they dug themselves out of an early hole to defeat the Philadelphia Wings (2-1) 12-9 on Saturday night in Hamilton, ON.

“Overall, I thought our execution and commitment to doing what we needed to do to be successful was good tonight,” said Rock Head Coach Matt Sawyer.  “I’m really happy with the win and the result.  Hopefully this win gives us some confidence and we start feeling good about ourselves.”

The Rock’s Rob Hellyer opened the scoring, but the Wings scored the next three goals to lead 3-1 at the end of the first quarter.

With the score 4-1 Philadelphia, the Rock City faithful were looking for the first goal of the second quarter to trigger the Teddy Bear Toss and it was the veteran, Dan Dawson who delivered and the fans let the plush toys fly.

After the Wings went back up by three, the Rock began a run that would lead them to victory on this night.  Hellyer’s second of the game was followed by a goal from captain Challen Rogers to draw the Rock to within a goal, trailing 5-4 at the half.

On this night, the boys in Steel City black and gold kept the offence rolling, scoring four more times before the second half was five minutes old.  In total, it was a six-goal run that put the Rock up 8-5 and it was a deficit the Wings could never overcome.

It was 8-6 Toronto heading into the final quarter where the Rock scored first and then traded goals back and forth with the Wings.  The home side outscored the visitors 4-3 in the final frame, rolling to a 12-9 win.

Hellyer scored three times on the night and added three assists for a six-point night that sparked the offence after a tough game a week earlier.

“We were playing a lot more relaxed and doing what we do best and playing to our strengths,” said Hellyer.  “Offensively, we moved the ball well and played as a unit.  Defensively, they are the backbone of our team, Rosey and the D played great.”

Nick Rose got the win in goal and passed Dallas Eliuk for 7^th all-time on the goalie career wins list with 70.  At the other end of the spectrum, Rock forward Justin Scott scored his first NLL goal.

Faceoff specialist TD Ierlan made his NLL debut and won 11 of 24 faceoffs, almost earning a split with Philadelphia’s faceoff specialist Trevor Baptiste.  The Rock had only won 9 total faceoffs in their first two games of the season.

The Rock will now have two consecutive bye weeks over the holidays and will return to action on the road in Buffalo on Saturday, January 8.

For more information on Toronto Rock group and single game tickets, please contact a Toronto Rock account executive at 416-596-3075 or visit torontorock.com.