November 20, 2021 – National Lacrosse League (NLL) – Toronto Rock News Release
Oakville, ON – The Toronto Rock rode a strong goaltending performance from Nick Rose to a 14-9 win over the Colorado Mammoth on Saturday night at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre on Saturday night in Oakville, ON. The Rock win was their first of the preseason, through two games.
Rose was dialed in early. The Rock found themselves shorthanded just 20 seconds into the game when they were called for an illegal substitution. Rose stopped several high danger opportunities on the ensuing power play that certainly set the tone for what we would see from the veteran goaltender throughout the evening.
“It felt really good, it’s been a long time since playing an NLL game,” said Rose. “Our defence was unreal tonight. Some of their big guys, we had pressure on Zed (Williams) and Eli (McLaughlin) from the get-go and didn’t allow them to do a whole lot. Pressure, pressure, pressure, that’s how I like it. We played aggressive, mean, a lot of pressure. It’s the way we want to play on December fourth.”
In Rose’s 45 minutes of work, he allowed just four goals and stopped 30 of the 34 shots he faced before giving way to Riley Hutchcraft who played the final 15 minutes.
The Rock’s offence was also clicking. After falling behind 2-1, the home side went on an 8-0 run that spanned 24 minutes and included a perfect 5-0 second quarter.
With Toronto up 10-4 heading into the fourth quarter, a penalty filled final 15 minutes saw both teams get in a lot of special teams work. The Mammoth outscored the Rock 5-4 in the frame, with each squad doing some damage on the power play. Colorado scored three times with the extra man, while Toronto matched that total with three power play goals of their own.
Rock Goal Scorers: Rob Hellyer (3), Craig (2), Forster (2), Dawson (2), Manns (1), Rogers (1), Weier (1), Scott (1), Schreiber (1).
Toronto’s training camp will resume on Tuesday night at the TRAC.
To wrap up the preseason, the Rock will host the Philadelphia Wings on Saturday, November 27. Game time is 7pm ET at the TRAC.
The Toronto Rock Home Opener is scheduled for Saturday, December 4 at Hamilton’s FirstOntario Centre. Tickets for the game are on sale now through ticketmaster.ca and torontorock.com.
For more information on Toronto Rock Season Memberships, please contact a Toronto Rock account executive at 416-596-3075 or visit torontorock.com.
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