National Lacrosse League Jan 31

[truebluefan]

Calgary Roughnecks at Toronto Rock 7:00 p.m.
Buffalo Bandits at Rochester Knighthawks 7:30 p.m.
Colorado Mammoth at Vancouver Stealth 10:00 p.m.

 

[truebluefan]

The Toronto Rock (4-1) held on for a 12-11 win over the Calgary Roughnecks (0-4) on Saturday night at Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

"There were times that we played great," said Rock Head Coach John Lovell. "I thought we had the game in control at different times, once in the first half and again late in the second half. We kind of let it slip away because we didn't look after the ball. In the end, we got a goal at a key time."

The Rock played catch-up for the first half of the first quarter, surrendering 2 powerplay goals to fall behind 2-1. A Toronto powerplay goal tied the game and then a pair of goals in the final minute of the quarter put the Rock ahead 4-2 after one.

Toronto built a 5-goal lead just past the midway point of the second quarter, leading 8-3. Brett Hickey scored the Rock's 8th goal, his third of the first half. The Roughnecks rallied for a pair of goals in the final 65 seconds to narrow the gap to 8-5 at the half.

Two minor penalties against, turned into two goals for the Rock in the third quarter as both Damon Edwards and Brock Sorensen scored shorthanded. Calgary scored a pair of even strength goals as the Rock maintained their 3-goal lead, 10-7 at the end of three quarters.

Kasey Beirnes scored to give the Rock a 4-goal lead early in the 4th quarter but the Roughnecks were far from done. Curtis Dickson scored twice as did Shawn Evans and suddenly the game was tied 11-11 with just under 4 minutes remaining.

With less than two minutes to go, Rob Hellyer fired a laser of a pass from the corner, across the crease to Josh Sanderson who quick-sticked the pass into the Calgary goal to seal the win for the Rock.

Rock goal scorers were Brett Hickey (3), Kasey Beirnes (3), Rob Hellyer (2), Brock Sorensen (1), Stephan Leblanc (1), Josh Sanderson (1), Damon Edwards (1).

Brandon Miller earned his 50th career win and was named the first star after making 46 saves. Frankie Scigliano got the loss in the Calgary goal allowing 12 goals on 52 shots.

Toronto's next home game will be Saturday, February 14th against the Minnesota Swarm. For more information, please visit torontorock.com or call 416-596-3075 to speak with a ticket representative and get your hands on the BEST ticket in town.

Press release from the Toronto Rock

 

[truebluefan]

The Rochester Knighthawks scored the game's last seven goals to earn a thrilling 17-11 victory over the divisional rival Buffalo Bandits tonight at Connors & Ferris Field at The Blue Cross Arena.

"That was a big win," said Joe Walters. "We got back to 500 and that was our goal. I thought they tested us and we got out to big lead but they came back. I think it showed our character that we fought back and came out with that big win. I was just proud of the way our guys stepped up and fought back."

Rochester saw goals from six different players in the victory over its thruway rivals. Walters had a career-high seven points (5+2). Just one week after playing in his 200th straight regular season game, Dan Dawson put up a career-high 11 assists. Cody Jamieson recorded seven points (4+3) while Jordan Hall (3+2) and Craig Point (2+3) each had five-point nights. Joel Matthews had one goal and two assists in his second game playing with the team. Cory Vitarelli registered two goals against the Bandits.

"A lot of the credit goes to our offensive guys," said Knighthawks Head Coach Mike Hasen. "They were moving the ball well and creating space. We needed the wins and to get one over Buffalo it was a big one."

"This is the outburst that the offense needed and we're starting to have fun out there," Walters said. "We kept the ball hot. The ball was moving back-and-forth and that's what we need."

Angus Goodleaf also got his chance to shine in goal for the Knighthawks, playing the final 18:42 of the game. Starter Matt Vinc made 23 saves and Goodleaf made 11 saves on the 12 shots he faced in the fourth quarter.

"That's the one good thing about having 'Gussy' there," Hasen said. "He stepped up and had a lot of big saves and held it together there while we were getting on the board so it was good."

"It's a good feeling just getting the 'W'," Goodleaf said. "We had a rough third period there, but I knew we were going to come back strong and we battled back. The offense put up seven goals in the first quarter and that made my job a lot easier."

The Knighthawks stormed ahead, outscoring the Bandits 6-1 in the first quarter. Hall opened the scoring for the team, getting Rochester on the board 3:34 into the frame. Point struck next with a bullet that flew past Buffalo goaltender Anthony Cosmo. Jamieson got his first of the night on the power play at 10:49 to give the Knighthawks a 3-0 lead. Buffalo got its first of the night shortly after but Jamieson answered right back to reclaim the three-goal lead. Walters closed out the quarter with a pair of goals.

Two Bandit goals to start off the second quarter were halted by four-straight Knighthawks goals. Matthews put up his goal for the night at 7:03 followed by Hall's second of the game. Jamieson and Walters each recorded their hat trick goals before the end of the first half. The Bandits then registered one more goal but Rochester kept a commanding 10-4 lead going into halftime.

Buffalo tied the game at 10 in the third and then opened scoring in the final frame to take its first and only lead of the game. But the Knighthawks took control with seven straight goals, getting tallies from Jamieson, Hall, Walters, Vitarelli and Point to finish off their East Division rivals.

"Sometimes when you're faced with adversity, your character really comes out," Dawson said. "There were two ways we could go. We had the same mentality on our bench when we were up at halftime as we did when we were tied. It just goes to show that we're a veteran team. When you believe in the process and the game plan, it works for you."

"We've got the tools and it's a work in progress," Walters said. "We always pride ourselves on every time we're together, whether it's in practice, a game, pregame, shoot-around. We're just trying to get better. It's a process. It's been four games and we battled back to 500. We're happy about that and now we've got a big game next weekend. (We'll continue) to try to get better in practice and keep improving."

With the victory, Rochester improved to 2-2, moving into a four-way tie for second in the East Division. The win marked the second straight for the Knighthawks and the fourth straight over Buffalo (3-3).

Press release from the Rochester Knighthawks

 

[truebluefan]

Five straight goals from 5 different goal scorers in the second quarter was the difference as the Vancouver Stealth (2-3) held on to defeat the Colorado Mammoth (3-1) 16-13, Saturday night at the Langley Events Centre.

Johnny Powless scored 4 times and Corey Small had a game high 8 points (2g, 6a) as Vancouver took down the last undefeated team in the league.

"Last week was tough for me especially," said Small. "Johnny's (Powless) an easy guy to play with and he seems to find a way to get into open space. I'm excited to see how the year goes with him and see how our chemistry builds."

"I thought we played pretty well," said Powless. "It started from the back and the offense really clicked tonight. We passed the ball a lot more, that's one thing we watched on film."

After being held off the score sheet last week in Colorado, Powless opened the scoring, sniping one past Dillon Ward 28 seconds into the game. The Mammoth would score the next three goals and led 3-1 after the first quarter.

Vancouver saw goals from eight different players including another solid effort from Rhys Duch, who chipped in with 7 points (2g, 5a), as did Tyler Digby (1g, 6a) while Joel McCready had a hat-trick and to go along with an assist.

Brandon Clelland's breakaway goal, his first of his NLL career proved to be the game-winner. After making only 24 saves last week, Tyler Richards stopped 45 shots, robbing Adam Jones and John Grant Jr in key moments of the game. He also assisted on a Justin Salt goal.

"We knew the importance of this game," said Richards. "I prepared myself to see those guys especially after seeing them one week ago. You get to learn some of their tendencies and see what they're about. I give all the credit to the defense. They kept the ball to the outside and made it easy for me."

"This is what we've been waiting to see from the guys since week 1," said Head Coach Dan Perreault. "We played a full game, our defense made some key stops and the offense was on point."

The defense seemed re-energized and more physical with part of that being the return of veteran Chris O'Dougherty. The defenseman missed the last three weeks with a lower body injury and showed how much he brings to the team with 2 assists, 6 loose balls and some gritty defense, holding Grant Jr without a goal.

"We gave him a little too much respect last week," said Small. "We were helping when we didn't need to. Tonight it was more trusting each other and not over committing."

"We worked really hard in practice the past two days and identified things we were doing fundamentally wrong," said Richards. "That was evident tonight."

With the victory, Vancouver stays in third place in the West Division, half a game back of Edmonton for second spot. The win means the teams have split their two meetings and will play each other two more times this season.

The Stealth head into next week with a bye and will be back in action on Saturday, February 14 when they host the Calgary Roughnecks at 7:00PM at the Langley Events Centre on Hart Breaker Night. Special guest and wrestling legend Bret 'The Hitman' Hart will be in attendance taking pictures, visiting suite holders and signing autographs. Tickets for that game are available at www.ticketmaster.ca.

Press release from the Vancouver Stealth