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,” said head coach Matt Sawyer. The seven-year bench boss mentioned seven Rock members in his postgame comments covering the offence, defence, transition, coaching staff and goaltender Nick Rose.
The MVP-candidate net minder was stellar once again stopping 51 Rochester shots. Sawyer called Rose “outstanding” and said “He was likely the difference.” But, he admitted, “We’re used to that.”
As time was expiring, shortly after Ryan Smith completed a hat trick to bring the Knighthawks within three, key defenders Brad Kri and Mitch de Snoo were both given penalties. On what was a four-on-three, Rose made three saves just before the horn, including stopping an around-the-world shot from Turner Evans on the crease.
Kri echoed his coach’s sentiments, calling Rose the “backbone” of the team. The veteran defender said the defence feeds off Rose, and said the key to playing defence in front of him is “Clearly giving him the shots he wants to see,” but also adding, “He also made some saves that probably had no business making as well.”
Adding to Sawyer’s list of contributors, Kri mentioned four offensive players, including Tom Schreiber. With Toronto leading 5-1 after the first quarter, amid fresh memories of the Rock’s 13-6 dominant victory from two weeks ago, Smith and Curtis Knight scored to draw the Knighthawks within two with two minutes to play in the half. In the final minute, while shorthanded, Schreiber broke to the net, switched hands and fired a sidearm shot past Rylan Hartley to stretch the lead to 6-3 – a lead the Rock would not relinquish.
All Sawyer could do was laugh.
“Tell me another player that switches hands and rips a shot like that top corner,” he chuckled. “It doesn’t happen; he’s one of a kind.” Schreiber (2 goals, 1 assist) was one of three Rock players with two goals along with Chris Boushy (2+1) and Challen Rogers (2+3).
Both of the Rock captain’s goals were scored in the opening two minutes (11 seconds apart) prompting Sawyer to compare Rogers to a baseball starter. Since returning from injury, “He’s got us going three out of the four games early up front,” the coach reminisced.
Rogers himself told TSN’s Ashley Docking at halftime, “We wanted to start on time.” Boushy followed Rogers’ back-to-back goals 23 seconds later. Corey Small (1+2) increased the lead to 4-0 before the first officials’ time out. Said Rogers, “It’s the playoffs, so we have to elevate our game.”
The outburst caused Rochester head coach Mike Hasen to briefly replace Hartley with former Rock backup Riley Hutchcraft. Despite the loss, Hartley was tremendous allowing just nine goals on 49 shots in 59:26. Even Sawyer praised the 25 year old who was making his second career playoff start. “It could’ve been a big night for us,” said Sawyer. “We easily could’ve had 15 plus.”
With step one down, the immediate postgame plans for Rose and the Rock were simple: “Go sit on the couch, watch the game [Georgia at Buffalo, the Rock’s semifinal opponent May 3], and start preparing.”
Does it matter who they play? His response was just as simple: “Hell no!”
Writer’s Note: For the fourth straight postseason, it will be the Buffalo Bandits who narrowly defeated the Georgia Swarm 10-9 in overtime.
