You’re excused if you looked at the standings and thought the Toronto Rock would beat the Albany Firewolves by more than the eventual 11-9. With the win, the Rock move to 11-4 and officially clinch an Eastern Conference playoff spot. With the loss, the Albany Firewolves drop to 2-11 and out of postseason contention.
Dan Craig, who led the Rock with three goals and five points, said, “Whenever we punch our ticket to the playoffs, it’s the start of a new season.” A deep run is a perennial goal for Toronto according to Zack Manns who added, “That’s just the first step in our journey this year.”
It was important for the Rock to clinch, especially after missing the opportunity last week against Rochester, but with a first-place matchup with Buffalo looming in Week 18, Head coach Matt Sawyer admitted, “We had an opportunity last week that we didn’t take advantage of and we didn’t want to waste another one.”
It looked early like Toronto was in tough, trailing twice in the first quarter. Ethan Walker scored a hat trick in back-to-back games, his first giving Albany a 2-1 lead. Tanner Thomson answered Tom Schreiber’s equalizer with a sidearm shot running over the top, a shot he scored on many times in junior. The score was tied 3-3 after the first quarter, with all three goals coming from outside shots. Sawyer said, “They played well and gave us everything we could handle.”
Craig’s power play marker tied the game, and he’d score again two minutes into the second. The goal gave Toronto a 4-3 lead (they’d never relinquish) and sparked a three-goal run in 1:44. Manns’ only goal of the game came while breaking off the bench, shortly after Nick Rose stopped Thomson on a similar break.
Manns credited his netminder saying, “Rosey’s the backbone of this organization.” After allowing three goals on 10 shots in the first quarter, Rose only allowed six goals from 23 shots the rest of the way, including shutting out Albany for 30:34 until Walker scored his second late in the third. Craig called Rose “special” while also crediting the defense saying, “They’re the best part of our team, there’s no surprise.”
The Firewolves made it close winning the fourth quarter 5-3. Walker completed his hat trick with a jump shot on the Rock crease, and John Piatelli scored twice, capping his hat trick with a pretty fake pass, no look shot where he changed shooting direction on release. Sawyer said, “It was one of those games where you had to grind it out.”
Doug Jamieson took a hard-fought loss allowing just 10 goals on 57 shots. During the Albany drought, neither team scored for over 20 minutes with Jamieson and the Firewolves’ defense holding Toronto scoreless for nearly 24 minutes through the second and third.
With Craig’s hat trick, his second is as many games against Albany, Toronto scored five of their goals from the left side, and three in transition. Without Dan Dawson, Sawyer said they need production from the lefties, “That’s two in a row where our left side’s been real good.” He said, though, balanced scoring is key in the playoffs. “The reality is we’re going to have to have a good balance between our left and right side.”
Without Dawson, it was another solid game for Josh Dawick who scored twice. Challen Rogers returned from injury himself, scoring once in transition.
Toronto now prepare for a home date on Saturday against the Buffalo Bandits which will be for first place in the East. It’s a battle Craig is looking forward to. “Obviously there’s a major rivalry between us and Buffalo that goes back many many years.”
