NLL Toronto Rock

Knighthawks down Rock, 14-9

by Todd Devlin
January 14, 2006 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Toronto Rock


The Rochester Knighthawks scored on each of their first three shots on Saturday night and didn't look back, en route to a convincing 14-9 victory over the Toronto Rock in front of 10,156 at the Blue Cross Arena.

With the loss, the Rock have now dropped their first three games of the season for the first time in franchise history, following back-to-back losses at home against Arizona and Buffalo, respectively.

In a game in which Rochester led from start to finish, Knighthawks forward Shawn Williams led all scorers with four goals and three assists on the evening, while teammates Mike Accursi (3G, 3A) and John Grant (2G, 3A) both had strong offensive performances as well.

Shawn Evans also managed three goals despite only playing the first half. Evans, along with Toronto's Rusty Kruger, were both ejected from the contest after engaging in a fight just prior to the opening face-off to start the third quarter.

Josh Sanderson (2G, 3A), Colin Doyle (2G, 2A) and Matt Shearer (2G, 1A) led the Rock offense.

Leading 5-2 following the first quarter, the Knighthawks' offence exploded for seven second quarter goals -- three by Williams - to take a 12-4 lead into halftime. The 12 goals established another Rock franchise record - this time for most goals against in a single half.

Pat O'Toole was solid in net for Rochester, stopping 45 of 54 shots on the night.

Bob Watson, meanwhile, was not so fortunate, as the veteran Rock netminder allowed five goals on his first nine shots, and 10 goals on 21 shots overall before he was removed for backup goaltender Phil Wetherup with 6:01 left to play in the second quarter.

Wetherup faired much better, allowing four goals on 19 shots over the remainder of the game.

The Rock staged a rally in the third quarter, scoring four of the five goals in the frame to make it a 13-8 game. However, the deficit proved too large to overcome for the defending champs.

The Rock (0-3) return to action on Saturday, January 21st, as the club will travel to Buffalo for a 7:30 PM ET match-up against the Bandits at HSBC Arena.

The Knighthawks (1-1), meanwhile, will travel to Minnesota to face the Swarm at Xcel Energy Center on Saturday. The opening face-off is scheduled for 8:00 PM ET.

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National Lacrosse League Stories from January 14, 2006


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