Teat outduels Lyle, Black Bears beat Swarm in snow-stricken South

January 14, 2025

Friday night’s tilt between the Ottawa Black Bears and the Georgia Swarm was very reminiscent of when the sports world was impacted by Covid. The difference is there weren’t very many people at the game because of the weather. A snowstorm hit the Georgia area, along with surrounding areas, and negatively affected the fans’ ability to travel to and from. Admittedly, it is pretty cool to hear the players communicate…

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Bandits continue dominance over Rock, stay unbeaten

January 14, 2025

There is no gentle way to say this. The Buffalo Bandits have dominated the Toronto Rock over the past few seasons, no matter if it’s the regular season or the playoffs. The Bandits have won seven straight times and 10 of their last 11 meetings. The last time Toronto beat Buffalo was April 1st 2023, which was over 600 days ago. Their rivalry is arguably the fiercest in the NLL…

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NLL: Origlieri outduels Higgins, Seals hold off Black Bears in low-scoring affair

January 6, 2025

If you’re a fan of goaltending, then Saturday night’s tilt between the San Diego Seals and Ottawa Black Bears was for you. The stage was set at Pechanga Arena, and the two brightest stars were the men with the most pads. Christopher Origlieri and Zach Higgins combined for 77 saves on 88 shots. Basic math tells us that there were only 11 goals scored in the game, tying the least…

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NLL: Bandits’ offense explodes for 18, tames Black Bears

December 16, 2024

The opener of the week three slate was set to be something special. The hometown Ottawa Black Bears welcomed in the champs, the Buffalo Bandits. Ottawa and Buffalo were coming off of wins in their season openers, and they’d be clashing for the first time ever. (Considering Ottawa is in its first year of existence.) Buffalo used multiple four-plus goal runs throughout to absolutely cruise to an 18-7 victory. Talk…

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NLL: Career Night from Zach Higgins Helps Ottawa Black Bears Maul Toronto Rock in Debut

December 2, 2024

A new National Lacrosse League season kicked off with a return to Ottawa on Friday night. The Blackbears were fuelled by career performances from trade acquisitions Zach Higgins, Jacob Dunbar and 7,000 fans at Canadian Tire Centre as they defeated the injury-depleted Toronto Rock 11-5. When free agency opened in early September, Rich Lisk began reconstructing the New York Riptide roster that would relocate to Ottawa. Within two days he…

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NLL: Buffalo bounces Toronto once again, reaches third straight Finals  

May 7, 2024

Food for thought: Is it really that uncharacteristic if a team loses to the same opponent eight straight times and suffers three straight eliminations from the playoffs? Regardless of that, game two of the semifinal round was set from KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. Buffalo won game one Friday night in Hamilton, so they set their sights on punching their ticket to their third straight Finals appearance. Banditland was…

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NLL: Uncharacteristic loss sees Rock down 1-0 in Semifinal series vs Bandits

May 4, 2024

Uncharacteristic. It’s perhaps the only word to describe the Toronto Rock’s 12-4 loss to the Buffalo Bandits on Friday night. Prior to game one of the semifinal series, Toronto (who sported the best goal differential in the regular season) had never been shutout in a half in the playoffs (it was 5-0 at halftime). The Rock matched a franchise low in goals scored (4: Jan 12 in Minnesota, and Feb…

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Semifinal Preview: Toronto Rock vs Buffalo Bandits

May 3, 2024

On Friday night in Hamilton, the Toronto Rock and Buffalo Bandits will write the latest chapter in one of the most storied rivalries in the history of the NLL. In 77 previous meetings, Toronto holds a slight edge 39-38. However, the playoffs have been a different story. Buffalo leads the all time playoff matchup 7-3. Recently, the Bandits have been even more dominant winning eight of the last nine meetings,…

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NLL: Rock one step closer to NLL championship berth after quarterfinal win over Knighthawks

April 29, 2024

It’s been 13 seasons since the last Toronto Rock championship (2011), and the 2024 roster intends to end the drought. Step one was accomplished with a 9-6 quarterfinal victory over the Rochester Knighthawks at FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton on Saturday night. The blueprint was the same as it’s been all season – a full team effort, led by defence and goaltending. “Defence and goaltending win championships, and that’s our plan,”…

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NLL: Rock secure home floor through playoffs after win over Rochester

April 18, 2024

With early playoff exits to the Buffalo Bandits in back-to-back seasons, the goal for the Toronto Rock in 2024 is simple: home floor in the post-season. On Saturday night, thanks to a 13-6 win over the Rochester Knighthawks, that goal is now accomplished. Sparked by a 10-1 first half, the Rock now match their franchise-best wins total with 14, doing so in front of a Hamilton record crowd of 11,256….

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