Teddy bears weren’t the only things flying at FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton on on Saturday. With a 12-7 victory over the Colorado Mammoth, the Toronto Rock punted their franchise record for best start to a season in the air, remaining atop the NLL standings at 11-2.
Tied 7-7 after three periods, Zack Kearney picked up a rebound off Corey Small’s shot to break the deadlock 1:37 into the final frame. Off the ensuing face-off, reigning defender-of-the-year Mitch De Snoo grabbed the loose ball and ran in on Dillon Ward alone. After a couple fakes, he deposited the ball over Dillon Ward’s left shoulder to put the Rock up by two.
From there, Nick Rose did the rest. ‘Rosey’ stopped all 10 shots faced in the fourth quarter (part of 38 on the night), including going to his left to deny a cross-crease scoring chance from Zed Williams. Following the game, De Snoo said, “He made some saves tonight … that were just unbelievable,” adding, “He’s killing it.”
The Rock netminder was quick to deflect the praise back to De Snoo. “He’s kind of a beast out there,” said Rose. Even Dan Lintner – who scored his first hat trick of the season – agreed saying, “We’ve been relying on our defence all year … They’ve been our backbone.”
Two of Lintner’s goals came back-to-back in the first period, part of a 4-0 early Rock lead. However, goals from Eli McLaughlin, Tyler Garrison, Jordan Gilles and Joey Cupido tied the game in the second quarter. Lintner said there’s no concern on the bench because, “we’re of the mindset we’re going to win every game, no matter what happens.” Even if, “You get up big, they tie it up, there’s no wavering on our bench.”
It’s part of why he didn’t even know the 11-2 start is the best in franchise history. “We think we’re the best team in the league every night,” he said. “We’re just trying to win every single game here.”
Maybe so, but it’ll be a tough rematch for the Rock on March 16 when they travel to Banditland. Buffalo won the first meeting 16-14 in January.
