The Oakville Rock (0-1) will look for their first win of the Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) season when they host the defending Mann Cup champion Six Nations Chiefs (1-1) Monday, June 9.
Oakville fell to the Peterborough Lakers in their season opener, dropping a back-and-forth affair 9-7.
Stephan Leblanc and Rob Hellyer highlight a strong core of Toronto Rock members suiting up for Oakville this summer. Hellyer, who had a breakout season with Toronto racking up 79 points (29 G, 50 A), led all Rock scorers versus the Lakers with four assists. Leblanc, who finished second in goals during the 2014 NLL season with 45, notched a hat-trick in the loss.
Nick Rose has taken over starting goaltending duties for the Rock after spending four seasons in the Western Lacrosse Association with the Coquitlam Adanacs and Langley Thunder. The netminder was solid in his Oakville debut, making 40 saves in the loss to Peterborough.
Six Nations, who opened the season with an 11-7 loss to the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks, will look to carry momentum from a 10-7 weekend win over the Brampton Excelsiors.
A pair of former Six Nations Arrows Jr. A snipers have continued their high scoring tendencieswith the Chiefs, as Randy Staats (4 G, 2 A) and Vaughan Harris (5 G, 1 A) lead the team offensively with six points each.
The Chiefs roster features several members of the Rochester Knighthawks, many of whom have yet to suit up for Six Nations following the Knighthawks recent third-consecutive Champion’s Cup victory. This includes Cody Jamieson, Johnny Powless, Craig Point, and Sid Smith. Rochester shooter Stephen Keogh made an appearance versus Brampton, notching three points (2 G, 1 A) in the win.
After backstopping Six Nations to a Mann Cup championship in his first season with the team, goalie Evan Kirk returns as a starter this season.
Faceoff for the game is set for 8 pm ET.
