The Toronto Rock ended their preseason on a high Saturday night defeating the Buffalo Bandits 15-13 for their third consecutive win. They finished the preseason 3-0 and will now prepare for their season opener in Rochester on December 29.
Toronto built a 9-3 lead in the second quarter but their rivals from Buffalo wouldn’t be denied and kept coming. Mark Steenhuis, Ryan Benesch, and Connor Brown each had a pair of goals for the Bandits, who had a lot of youth in the lineup as they try to define their roster. 2016 draft picks Bryce Brochu and Blaze Riordan scored in the game.
There were no goalie fights to rival Friday’s western game, but there were plenty of penalties as the teams appeared to be in mid-season hate form. Toronto’s Billy Hostrawser didn’t even make it through half the game as he was ejected after his second fight; first he took on Craig England, second, Steve Priolo.
Roc offensive leaders Brett Hickey and Stefan Leblanc were on fire; Hickey had four goals and Leblanc two goals and six assists. Sophomore Turner Evans had a breakout game with a goal and three assists. Dan Lintner was quiet offensively but showed some physicality in a shoving match with Justin Martin.
The onus was on Evans and Lintner to have impressive games after the Rock cut Luc Magnan this week. Magnan was a rookie defender for the Rock in 2016 and his deletion from the roster was a surprise given the team’s goal of getting younger and faster. Instead, they re-signed 37 year old Patrick Merrill, who only saw a bit of action Saturday as he recovers from knee surgery.
The Americans continued to impress and head coach Matt Sawyer will have a hard time cutting any of them. Kieran McArdle and Tom Schreiber each had two goals in the game. It’s not just that they’re scoring; they’re making smart plays as well and showing how quickly they’ve picked up the box game. Connor Buczek is a solid addition on defense and will replace what the Rock lost in Magnan.
Mikey MacDonald is another new face that continues to impress as he added a pair of goals in the game. Damon Edwards showed his talent on transition with a great goal near the end of the third quarter. Kasey Biernes also scored.
The lineup we saw against Buffalo on Saturday will look a lot like the one we see on opening day. The Rock have to get down to 20 active players and four practice players. There aren’t very many guys left to cut. Look for Jordan Magnuson, Reid Reinholdt, Brodie Tutton and Latrell Harris to compete for the last available spots.
