NLL Toronto Rock

Rock hope to turn season around

by Todd Devlin
February 1, 2006 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Toronto Rock


With the host Toronto Rock leading by six goals as the final seconds ticked away on Friday night, you could sense a collective sigh of relief at the Air Canada Centre, from players and fans alike.

And with that, the streak is finally over. After dropping a franchise record four straight contests, the Toronto Rock managed their first win of the season on Friday, a 14-8 triumph over the expansion Edmonton Rush.

That the win came against another winless squad meant very little to the Rock. The reality is that, due to the nature of a short 16-game NLL schedule, Friday's game was arguably a must-win for Toronto.

"It's a relief to get a win," said GM-coach Terry Sanderson in an interview with the Canadian Press. "We couldn't do anything until we got that monkey off our back."

Sanderson noted, however, that the five-time NLL champion Rock have only taken a small step towards a possible return to the Champion's Cup in May.

"We're happy to get the win but we're not kidding ourselves," said Sanderson, moments after his club secured their first win of the 2006 campaign. "We know we've still got a lot of work to do, a lot of stuff to improve on."

One such area that the Rock needs to address is their defense. After five games, the club has averaged 12.4 goals against per contest, a mark that finds them in last place in the league in that category. Bob Watson's 12.94 GAA is also the highest among all NLL goaltenders.

However, the veteran netminder staged his best performance of the season on Friday night against the Rush, allowing just eight goals on 56 shots. Watson was superb down the stretch, holding the visitors scoreless over the final 12:31 of the contest.

A 6-year NLL veteran, Watson was quick to credit his teammates for the victory.

"The guys showed they wanted to turn this thing around and I think we took a big step forward in doing that," Watson told the Canadian Press.

Is it foolish to suggest that the Rock, winners of five of the past seven NLL championships, will be able to contend this year after such a dismal start? Perhaps. But if any team has the ability to turn a season right around, it just may very well be the Toronto Rock.

Plus, despite their 1-4 record, there were several positives to be found during Friday night's win. Aside from allowing a season-low eight goals, the Rock managed to score a season-high 14, including five from Aaron Wilson. The 5-foot-9, 175-pound forward enjoyed his best game of the season and helped relieve some of the offensive pressure from the "big three" of Colin Doyle, Josh Sanderson and Blaine Manning. GM-coach Terry Sanderson was quick to note the importance of Wilson's breakout game.

"I was very pleased with Aaron Wilson's performance (tonight)," said Sanderson. "He was going to the net and getting some dirty goals ... and that's what we need from him."

Doyle (3G, 7A), (Josh) Sanderson (3G, 8A), and Manning (1G, 9A) did not disappoint either, as each Rock forward recorded season-high point totals on the night. And now, the "Rock stars" find themselves in familiar territory among the leagues scoring leaders, at number one, number two (tied) and number five, respectively.

The team's power play was also much-improved on Friday, as the Rock managed to capitalize four times on eight chances to catapult themselves into third (42.86%) overall in the NLL in that category.

There is no doubt that the Rock began to feel a great deal of pressure after an 0-4 start. Perhaps that pressure will drive these defending champions to respond in a big way.

The Rock hope that Friday night's win marks the start of another streak; this time in the win column.

However, there is a long way to go for this club, and it starts with a big game against Calgary next Sunday, February 5th at the Pengrowth Saddledome. One thing is for certain: the Rock players know the importance of this game.

"I think that's going to be the turning point in our season," Rock defenseman Ian Rubel told the Canadian Press.

Check out the Toronto Rock Statistics



National Lacrosse League Stories from February 1, 2006


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