The 2015 National Lacrosse League season kicked off on Friday night, with the New England Black Wolves defeating the Buffalo Bandits 12-8. Tonight we see the defending NLL Champion Rochester Knighthawks kick of their quest to become the first ever back to back to back… to back NLL Champs as they take on the much improved Toronto Rock.
The Rock had an offseason of highs and lows, with several new bodies being acquired through free agency, the draft and trades. The glaring holes in the Toronto Rock’s lineup were filled with trades to acquire Brock Sorensen and Brodie Merrill, while the signing of Jeff Gilbert and Brett Hickey also will help immensely.
Last season the Knighthawks and Rock finished 1-2 in the East Division standings, although the Knighthawks had a significantly better record going 14-4, while the Rock went just 9-9. Rochester defeated the Rock in all three matchups last season by scores of 12-8, 17-9 and 17-12. The Rock have been notoriously bad in Rochester throughout the years, and with the Knighthawks returning much of the roster that won the NLL title last season, the Rock will find themselves in tough on opening night.
Look for Matt Vinc and Brandon Miller to get the start in goal for their respective teams. Vinc and Miller most recently did battle in the MSL Championship where Miller’s Six Nations Chiefs ousted Vinc’s Peterborough Lakers in seven games.
Miller went on to backstop the Chiefs to their second consecutive Mann Cup Championship, winning MVP honours along the way. Miller has carried his strong play throughout the summer into training camp and through the preseason for the Rock, and will need to be his absolute best if the Rock want to upset the Knighthawks on opening night.
Meanwhile Vinc is as steady as they come, one of the only goalies in pro lacrosse that you never see lose his composure or have a weak game. Vinc has had his fair share of success against the Rock in previous seasons, and will look to add to that success in the K-hawks home opener.
Offensively the Knighthawks hold the upper hand. With the likes of reigning MVP Cody Jamieson, Dan Dawson, Stephen Keogh, Cory Vitarelli and Craig Point, the Knighthawks are a tough bunch to deal with. They can beat you any number of ways, possess one of the most lethal power play units in the league, and have arguably the most lethal offensive threat in the game today in Cody Jamieson.
Meanwhile the Rock offense comes into the 2015 NLL season with a noticeably different look. Captain Colin Doyle will be gone for the season, while Garrett Billings isn’t expected back until the midway point of the season. The Rock instead will be lead by the veteran presence of Josh Sanderson and Kasey Beirnes, as well as youngsters Stephan LeBlanc, Rob Hellyer and Brett Hickey. If the Rock can find secondary scoring from the likes of Kevin Ross as well as get some offense off of transition they stand a very good chance on opening night.
Defensively, the two teams couldn’t be more different. The Knighthawks love their big, physical defenders, while the Rock have added size, but still seem to prefer to go with speed and transition ability over the hulking physical defenders. While one could argue the K-Hawks way is the better route to chose, as they have won three consecutive championships, the Rock defense seems to have the exact balance between size, skill, speed, youth and veteran leadership. With the additions of Brodie Merrill, Jeff Gilbert, Glen Bryan and Brock Sorensen, the Rock will match up much better against the K-Hawks this season, and I highly doubt you see 17 goals up on the board at any point this season for a team taking on the Rock.
While it’s only Game 1 of the season for both teams the Rock-Knighthawks rivalry is a fierce one, and with the added intensity that home openers bring, I expect this one to be a must watch for any NLL fan. Expect a tight checking, physical affair between the two teams. An while the Torontonian in me wants to predict a Rock win, I expect the Knighthawks to narrowly slip by the Rock by a score of 11-9.
