The Toronto Rock once again finished on top of the Eastern Division and will be looking to begin their run to the NLL Championship. The Rock came up just short of the championship last year as they lost in the division final against the eventual champions the Rochester Knighthawks.
The Rock finished this year with a 10-6 record. The Rock had a 5-4 record against the rest of the Eastern Division. The Rock will need to be on their game as they have lost to the Philadelphia Wings twice this season along with losing to the Knighthawks in one of three games this season. The Rock will rely on the offensive trio of Garrett Billings, Colin Doyle, and Josh Sanderson. Billings had 30 goals and 70 assists this year for 100 points as he finished second in league scoring. Doyle had 26 goals and 58 assists for 84 points while Sanderson had 29 goals and 33 assists for 62 points. The Rock will need these three to lead the offense this post season but have enough secondary scoring in the form of Stephan Leblanc, Kasey Beirnes, and Blaine Manning. The Rock’s key to winning the championship will rely on the shoulders of Nick Rose. Rose posted a10-5 record this season. Rose’s 10 wins allowed him to finish first in the league for wins. Rose also finished third in goals against average in the league with a 10.61 average. Rose finished second in saves in the league with 607. If Rose can continue his strong play the Rock will have a good chance of advancing to the NLL Championship.
The Rock face the Minnesota Swarm in the first round of the playoffs. The Rock and the Swarm split their season series with each team winning a game. The Rock won the first meeting against the Swarm 13-12 at home while the Swarm would win the second game 13-12 against the visiting Rock. This will be an interesting matchup between two very good teams. The two teams matchup very well against another so the Rock need to make sure not to overlook the Swarm and be ready for a battle.
