Toronto’s 5-3 Halftime Lead Fades Away Over Final 30 Minutes
Oakville, ON – The Toronto Rock lost their second consecutive game of the preseason, 11-9 to the Saskatchewan Rush on Saturday night at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre in Oakville, ON. An 8-3 second half surge from the Rush powered a comeback win for the visitors.
Early on, the tempo was slow and both teams looked to be a step behind, dropping passes and not scooping up loose balls. Following a Latrell Harris goal in transition, the momentum changed instantly. The Rock got another one just 1:15 later from Marley Angus with the help of Challen Rogers who threaded the needle perfectly through a defender to Angus’ stick on the crease backdoor to get it past Rush starting goalie, Frank Scigliano. The teams would start to settle in, and it resulted in the Rush getting on the board while on the powerplay from Robert Church. With under five minutes to go in the opening quarter, Toronto found themselves killing a penalty, but that didn’t stop Brian Cameron from ripping one from distance to restore the two-goal Rock lead.
In the second, it took until almost the halfway mark of the quarter before a goal was scored. Josh Dawick was able to find the back of the net on the power play that electrified the crowd and increased the level of intensity in the building. The quarter would continue with hard hits, fast feet, and super shots with Scigliano and his counterpart in Rock cage Nick Rose both up to the task, making huge stops. However, the Rush would net two goals, just 49 seconds apart, one from Clark Walter and the other from Ryan Keenan to bring the Rush to within one. With eight seconds left and the Rock already on the power play, the Rock pulled their goalie coming out of a timeout for the extra attacker to go 6-on-4. When the whistle blew the play in, Rogers started with the ball deep in his own end, ran the floor to the far restraining line and fired a pass to Corey Small who buried a shot on a true bang-bang play, with less than a second remaining in the half to give Toronto a 5-3 lead through 30 minutes.
The Rock had the momentum on their side to begin the second half but that didn’t last long. The Rush quickly took the upper hand with two goals from Jake Boudreau and Church respectively, 45 seconds apart to tie the game up at five apiece. Both teams would then each trade goals to make it a 6-6 game heading into the fourth quarter.
The final frame saw the Rush continue to roll. Saskatchewan was able to take their final goal in the third quarter and use it to start a five-goal run in just over eight minutes time, and three of the five goals came in 1:40 to quiet the TRAC. Rock rookie Luke Robinson found his way onto the score sheet with a rip from the outside to stop the run and allow Toronto to get back into the game. Quickly after the Rock made it a three-goal affair, Dawick decided to make it a two-goal game and helped give the Rock bench some life to hopefully spark a comeback late. Unfortunately, it would be NLL veteran Robert Church that would score the dagger to restore the four-goal advantage and despite Rogers getting one late, it was not enough to beat this young Saskatchewan roster.
Rock defender Tyler Hendrycks emphasized the need to avoid slow starts and maintain a high compete level.
“We had some moments where we came out a little slow,” said Hendrycks. “I thought we played hard, but we have to clean it up and get a full 60 [minutes] in.”
Latrell Harris scored tonight and highlighted the importance of getting production from the back end and in transition.
“It changes everything. It gives those guys a chance to change and gives our defence a little energy because we are helping out the way we want to,” said Harris.
Scigliano went the distance in the Rush net making 30 saves. Rose played the first half for the Rock giving up just three goals and making 18 saves on the 21 shots he faced. Holowchuk played the second half and surrendered eight goals on 27 shots.
Of note, Rock faceoff stud TD Ierlan was injured in the second half when he stepped on the foot of Rush faceoff man Jake Naso and appeared to roll his ankle. Ierlan left the game and did not return.
The Rock will be back in action for their final preseason game next Saturday, November 23 against the Philadelphia Wings. Can’t make it? Catch the game on our YouTube channel @TorontoRockLax to watch the live stream at 7pm. Fans are encouraged to bring a donation of a new, unwrapped toy for the Oakville Professional Firefighters’ Annual Toy Drive if they’re able.
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.
