After winning the Champion’s Cup in 2011, the Toronto Rock followed that up with a season they would like to forget, simply because it didn’t end with a victory and a 7th NLL championship trophy. That honour went to the Rochester Knighthawks, the team that ousted Toronto in the 2012 Eastern Division final.
The journey towards that league record 7th championship that would set the Rock apart from every NLL franchise as the winningest in league history begins on Saturday, December 1st when Toronto opens training camp at the brand new Toronto Rock Athletic Centre (TRAC) in Oakville, ON.
“It’s time to get down to business,” said Rock Head Coach Troy Cordingley. “The guys have been in the gym and preparing on their own, but in just a couple weeks, we all come together and it starts for real.”
The Rock will play three exhibition contests in preparation for the 2013 NLL season including a pair of exhibition scrimmages at the TRAC. The first of which will be on Saturday, December 8th at 7pm against the Edmonton Rush. The second scrimmage will be on Saturday, December 22nd with the Philadelphia Wings being the opponent, also at 7pm at the TRAC. Both exhibition scrimmages will be open to the public with no charge for admission. Seating for these games is extremely limited with less than 800 spectators being admitted.
An announcement regarding local television coverage of the two exhibition scrimmages at the TRAC will be coming soon.
Wedged in between the two exhibition scrimmages in Oakville, the Rock will travel to Montreal, PQ to play the Rochester Knighthawks at the Bell Centre on Saturday, December 15th at 7:30pm. Tickets can be purchased online at www.evenko.ca.
“The exhibition game in Montreal is big for the league,” said Cordingley. “However, we can’t lose sight of the fact we’re there at a pivotal time in our season preparation and that game will be deciding jobs.”
Below is a list of players currently under contract that will attend Toronto’s official training camp:
Forwards (12)
Kyle Belton, Kasey Beirnes, Garrett Billings, Dustin Caravello, Dan Carey, Colin Doyle, Rob Hellyer, Brandon Ivey, Stephan Leblanc, Blaine Manning, Josh Sanderson, Brenden Thenhaus
Defencemen (20)
Kyle Andrews, Sandy Chapman, Damon Edwards, Jesse Gamble, Bill Greer, Mike Hobbins, Stephen Hoar, Nick Inch, Scott Johnston, Robert Koger, Bradley Kri, Mike Lum-Walker, Rob Marshall, Patrick Merrill, Kyle Pereira, Drew Petkoff, Pete Rennie, Phil Sanderson, Chris White, Cam Woods
Goaltenders (3)
Zak Boychuk, Tyler Glebe, Nick Rose
