Rock Finish Pre-Season with Win over Colorado
December 8, 2018 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Toronto Rock News Release
Oakville, ON - The Toronto Rock wrapped up a very brief pre-season with a 13-11 win over the visiting Colorado Mammoth on Saturday night at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre in Oakville, ON. Tom Schreiber and Dan Lintner, who both recorded hat tricks in the victory, paced the Rock offence.
"We have to remind ourselves that it's pre-season," said Rock Head Coach Matt Sawyer when asked about the chemistry his offence is developing. "We are progressing well and as a coaching staff we are seeing some encouraging signs. As boring as it may sound, we need to just focus on getting better each week."
After trailing 2-0 early, the Rock went on a three-goal run to take their first lead of the night. The two teams battled their way to a 4-4 tie after the first quarter. With the score 6-6, Tom Schreiber scored his second of the game on a lightning fast catch-and-release finish that just beat the shot clock, giving the Rock a 7-6 lead heading into halftime.
Colorado struck first in the second half to tie the game, but Toronto answered that early tally with three of their own, including two on the power play to take their first three-goal lead of the night, 10-7. The Mammoth closed the gap to 10-9 before the third quarter was done.
In the final frame, Toronto opened with three goals to build their biggest lead of the game up 13-9. The visitors added a pair of goals to close the gap to 13-11, but could no closer over the final two minutes.
Rock goal scorers were led by Lintner and Schreiber with three each, followed by Phil Caputo with a pair and singles from Johnny Powless, Adam Jones, Challen Rogers, Dan Craig and Rob Hellyer. The power play was very good again this week, scoring four times however they did surrender one shorthanded goal late in the game.
Nick Rose went the distance in the Rock goal while Dillon Ward and Steve Fryer both saw action in the Mammoth cage.
The Rock will also practice Sunday morning and that will mark the end of training camp with NLL final rosters due on Mon., Dec. 10. Toronto opens the 2018-19 season on Fri., Dec. 21 in Buffalo against the Bandits at KeyBank Center.
2018-19 Toronto Rock Single Game Tickets, Season Tickets and Season Passes along with the new 4 Game Pack and 6 Ticket Flex Pack are on sale now. To purchase or for more information, please visit torontorock.com or call 416-596-3075.
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