Last night the Toronto Rock and New England Black Wolves closed out their preseasons with Toronto blowing past the ‘Wolves by a score of 18-10. Leading the way for Toronto was first year Rock player Brett Hickey with five goals and eight points overall. Josh Sanderson added eight points of his own.
New England tied the game early at one thanks to a diving goal from rookie Quinn Powless, but after that, the Rock took off and barely looked back.
Glen Bryan, the recently signed defenseman who was cut from Buffalo, had a strong showing playing thanks to injuries to Damon Edwards and Patrick Merrill.
“A couple of the young guys played fairly well. Quinn Powless always busts his hump to get guys open,” New England head coach Blane Harrison said. “I liked the way Tye Belanger came off the bench and stopped the next ball. That was good for him I think and certainly good for us.”
Interestingly, after the game Harrison expressed regret for moving rookie forward Matt Crough to the practice roster after he had a strong showing in this final preseason game. So it might be something to watch if they make a roster change.
Both New England and Toronto were willing to get physical when needed. In the third quarter, Craig England and Stephan LeBlanc even got into a scrap.
“There were a couple of incidents where our guys stuck up for each other. That is good team building and it’s important that down the road, guys know their teammates will be there for them,” said Rock head coach John Lovell.
New England’s defense struggled letting Toronto forwards near the crease, which led to some struggles for Evan Kirk as well. If the Black Wolves want to contend this season, they will need to improve defensively.
