Josh Sanderson's 14 Points Leads Rock Win
January 10, 2015 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Toronto Rock News Release
Langley, BC - The Toronto Rock (2-0) defeated the Vancouver Stealth (1-1) on Saturday night by a score of 20-11 at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, BC.
In front of an energetic crowd on national television, the Stealth sprung out of the gate and built a 3-0 lead. Something the Rock endured just a week ago when Rochester did the exact same thing to Toronto. Rock goals came from Josh Sanderson and Brett Hickey in the opening 15, but much like the Rock's first game, they trailed by a pair after the first quarter, this time 4-2.
The second quarter was all Rock as they outscored Vancouver 8-2 and Rob Hellyer connected for half of those to the Rock a 10-6 lead at the half. Sanderson had amassed 9 points on 2 goals and 7 assists in the first 30 minutes of play.
Toronto struck for a pair of goals, ten seconds apart, before the half was 3 minutes old. Toronto's 13th goal chased starter Tyler Richards, replacing him was Eric Penney making his NLL debut. Toronto reeled off a 6th and 7th straight goal before Vancouver broke up the run with a pair of goals before the end of the third quarter with the Rock leading 15-8.
The Rock showed no signs of slowing down as the final quarter got underway, scoring the first 3 goals and stretching their lead to 18-8. The Rock cruised to the 20-11 win from there.
"They came out with a plan to really run and we just had to weather the storm and make some adjustments to what they were doing on the floor," said Head Coach John Lovell. "Our offence kicked in and started to be more efficient. We established some great defence and I was happy with our 5-on-5 defence. That momentum really carried into the 3rd quarter."
Sanderson enjoyed a career night, posting 14 points on 4 goals and 10 assists. His 14 points were one shy of the Rock record of 15 points in a single game set by Garrett Billings in 2012. Quietly, Rob Hellyer scored 6 goals and added 4 assists for 10 points.
"Robbie Hellyer was hot," said Sanderson. "I just had to get the ball to Robbie. Once we got our legs after the first five minutes, we got on a run and got (Tyler) Richards out. We didn't let them get into a groove and it was one of those nights where things were going right."
Brandon Miller was unflappable in goal and earned his second win of the season with 33 saves on 44 shots.
National Lacrosse League Stories from January 10, 2015
- Josh Sanderson's 14 Points Leads Rock Win - Toronto Rock
- Mammoth Win Home-Opener in Overtime over Roughnecks - Colorado Mammoth
- Roughnecks Drop First Road Game - Calgary Roughnecks
- Black Wolves Dominate Defending Champs 17-7 - New England Black Wolves
- Knighthawks Fall to Black Wolves - Rochester Knighthawks
- Minnesota Swarm Looking for a Momentum Shift against Edmonton - Minnesota Swarm
- Rush Prepared for Home Opener - Edmonton Rush
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
