ROCK SWAMP THE SWARM IN PRE-SEASON OPENER

The Rock officially opened the 2008 pre-season schedule at the General Motors Centre in Oshawa tonight and defeated the Swarm by a final score of 17-12. Despite the cold weather outside, the Rock put on a hot show in front of a boisterous crowd.

The team took to the turf sporting a new look, along with it came a new roster with 12 new additions. The action started fast and furious right off the opening draw with Ryan Benesch, NLL Rookie of the year for 2007, taking it to the Swarm and scoring the first of his six goals. The quarter ended with the Rock in the lead 3-2.

The goal scoring continued in the second quarter, but with solid goaltending by veteran goalie Bob Watson, the Rock remained in the lead 10-6 when the buzzer sounded for halftime.

The third quarter was highlighted by the Rock powerplays netting five goals and increasing their lead 16-9. The tensions were high finishing out the third.

The Rock kept running strong in the fourth quarter along with some aggressive penalties. Both teams would not let up making it an exciting quarter for the fans that battled the snow storm and an impressive 17-12 win for the Toronto Rock.

Ryan Benesch led the Rock with six goals, followed by Mark Scherman and Kasey Beirnes who each had two. Andy Secore led the Swarm in scoring with four goals.

The Rock wrap up their pre-season schedule when they take on the Rochester Knighthawks on Friday December 28th at the Barrie Molson Centre. Game time scheduled for 7:30 p.m.