March 16, 2019
ROCK WIN FIFTH IN A ROW AT HOME
Rock Hold Off Knighthawks For 15-13 Win
Toronto, ON – On Saturday night the Toronto Rock (8-3) held on to defeat to the Rochester Knighthawks (2-10) by a score of 15-13 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON in front of 12,873 fans. With the win, their fifth in a row at home, the Rock inched closer to clinching a playoff spot.
“This is a tough league to get wins in, so you just go in (to the game) hoping to have a strong effort and be confident that if you do that, you’re going to come out on the right side of it,” said Rock Head Coach Matt Sawyer. “At times we were good and at times we weren’t, that certainly wasn’t a masterpiece (tonight).”
The Rock found themselves down early midway through the first quarter but battled back in the second half of the opening 15 minutes to lead 5-4. Rock Captain Challen Rogers struck for a pair of goals in the first quarter and he wasn’t the only defender to get in on the act as Brock Sorensen also scored.
Toronto stretched the lead to three goals at 9-6 at the 8:05 mark of the second quarter. Rochester just wouldn’t go away though, trimming the Rock lead to a goal with just over a minute to go in the half. Rob Hellyer scored with just 16 seconds left in the half to put the Rock up 10-8 after 30 minutes.
The third quarter was a saw off, with both teams scoring three goals apiece and the Rock carrying a 13-11 lead into the fourth quarter.
In the final quarter, Rochester struck first to make it a one-goal game at 13-12. Kieran McArdle’s second of the game just 43 seconds later gave the Rock their two-goal lead back, that almost stood for the remainder of the game.
With just over a minute left, Rochester’s Brandon Robinson beat Nick Rose in the Rock net, but it was immediately called no-goal by the officials on the floor because of a crease violation. The Knighthawks challenged the call and after the officials went to a video review, the call on the floor was overturned and Rochester had closed the gap to 14-13 with 1:06 to play.
The Knighthawks got the ball off the ensuing faceoff and called timeout. When the play was whistled in, Rochester had pulled their goalie for an extra-attacker to try and tie the game. After an unsuccessful attempt, the Rock recovered the ball and Damon Edwards ran the length of the floor and buried the insurance marker into an empty net.
The scoring was spread around for the Rock. Johnny Powless, McArdle, Hellyer and Rogers each scored twice. Singles came from the sticks of Scott Dominey, Tom Schreiber, Dan Lintner, Bill Hostrawser, Brandon Slade, Edwards and Sorensen. The Rock were 1-for-3 on the power play.
Nick Rose made 33 saves to earn the win between the pipes.
The Rock will be on the road for a huge double header next weekend. On Friday night, the Rock are in Georgia to face the Swarm and then travel to Buffalo on Saturday night to take on the Bandits; two huge East Division matchups with serious playoff seeding implications.
2018-19 Toronto Rock Single Game Tickets along with the 6 Ticket Flex Pack are on sale now. To purchase or for more information, please visit torontorock.com or call 416-596-3075.
