Coverage of lacrosse in Ontario, including the OLA, MSL and Toronto Rock.
The Toronto Rock made a statement Thursday night at Blue Cross Arena in the opening game of the 2017 NLL season, defeating division rival Rochester Knighthawks 12-5. The Rock were eager to shed any memory of their 2016 season and their strong preseason and first regular season win has done so. Granted, the competition the rest of the way may not be as easy but it’s a good start. With…
The first game of the regular season is in Rochester as the Knighthawks will look to find a way back to the post season and the Toronto Rock debut their new roster. Both teams have plenty of changes, and this will be the first look at both of them in regular season action head-to-head. For the Knighthawks, they’ll spend most of the season without former MVP Cody Jamieson. In his…
The Toronto Rock ended their preseason on a high Saturday night defeating the Buffalo Bandits 15-13 for their third consecutive win. They finished the preseason 3-0 and will now prepare for their season opener in Rochester on December 29. Toronto built a 9-3 lead in the second quarter but their rivals from Buffalo wouldn’t be denied and kept coming. Mark Steenhuis, Ryan Benesch, and Connor Brown each had a…
The Toronto Rock moved to 2-0 in NLL pre-season play with a 15-9 win over the Colorado Mammoth Saturday night at the TRAC in Oakville. Hundreds of fans packed the TRAC for the Rock’s second of three home pre-season games. Last week the Rock defeated the Georgia Swarm 10-8 and next week they will host their division rival Buffalo Bandits. The Rock rolled out to a 5-2 lead after the…
It looked like Paul Rabil might have been making his return to the National Lacrosse League in 2017, but it was not to be. Today it was announced the Toronto Rock had placed the transition player on the protected player list. Rabil, who last played with Philadelphia, will play just Major League Lacrosse this upcoming season with the New York Lizards. “Unfortunately at this time, it’s still not going to…
The Toronto Rock will look a little different in 2017. After a disappointing 2016 season, the team has vowed to get younger and faster, and their first steps toward doing so came at the draft in September on their home turf at the TRAC. Toronto got faster with the addition of Challen Rogers, a 22 year old transition player from Coquitlam. “There were obviously a lot of good players at…
The Toronto Rock announced two signings on Monday that may be a surprise to NLL followers. The Rock signed Major League Lacrosse stars Kieran McArdle and Tom Schreiber to NLL deals, their first with the league. Schreiber is coming off of an MVP season with the Ohio Machine where he led Ohio to a playoff berth. He is a former first overall pick out of Princeton to the Machine. “I…
It’s been quite a year for Josh Sanderson, and it’s only half over. The 39 year old Orangeville native, one of the best to ever play, earlier this year announced his playing retirement from the NLL. Since then, he has accepted a position as assistant general manager with the Toronto Rock, and this month was named to the NLL’s Hall of Fame. Sanderson was drafted 16th overall in 1997 by…
In 2008 and 2009 the Trent Excalibur finished first in the East and looked like they were on the rise to becoming a powerhouse in the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association. But the next three seasons were a struggle for the Excalibur, as the team failed to reach .500 in each of those seasons. Last year Trent finished with a 6-6 record, won a playoff game and lost by one…
Toronto Rock owner, president and general manager Jamie Dawick today announced the re-signing of defender Jeff Gilbert to a one-year agreement and defender Brock Sorensen to a two-year pact. The Rock have also agreed to terms on a one-year contract with unrestricted free agent forward Reid Reinholdt. The 33-year old Gilbert has spent five of his eight NLL seasons in a Rock uniform and was a member of the Rock’s…