After an outstanding regular season in which they finished first overall the Toronto Rock were knocked out in the first round of the NLL playoffs by the eight seeded Minnesota Swarm. The Rock were the only team in the National Lacrosse League to win 10 regular season games (10-6) and they didn’t lose two in a row all season; until their final two games of the year when it mattered most.
Garrett Billings carried the Rock this season and was named the NLL’s Most Sportsmanlike Player earlier in this week. He was 14 points shy of his career high point total (set last year) but still had what was probably his best season of lacrosse. Billings was incredible in every game but his play really stood out when he lit up the best in the West, the Calgary Roughnecks, for 11 points (6g 5a). Billings will return to his hometown of Langley British Columbia this summer to play in the WLA for the Thunder.
Before the season started the Rock acquired free agent forward Scott Evans from the Edmonton Rush. Evans averaged two points per game (11g 11a) plus he added 3 points (2g 1a) in their post season loss in which he was one the best players on the floor. Evans is a hard nosed, skilled player who will do anything to help his team win. He was a great addition to this roster and if the Rock are smart they’ll re-sign him for another year. Evans will return to his hometown of Peterborough Ontario this summer to play in the MSL for the defending Mann Cup champion Lakers; the team that defeated Billings’ Thunder in last year’s Canadian championship finals.
Another impressive player this season was transition man Jesse Gamble. He worked his tail off this year and had a win at all cost attitude; something you can’t teach. He got in the face of opponents all season long and was always there to help his teammates when they needed it. Gamble had 15 points in 16 games and was a huge reason for Toronto’s successful regular season.
The Rock were heavy favorites to win it all this year and many were shocked when the Swarm took it to them in game one of the playoffs. What was more surprisingly was the 20-11 score and how easy Minnesota made it look.
Although Nick Rose showed greatness at times this season he let his team down when they needed him most and their first round pounding was largely to do with his poor performance. Rose let every third shot in and Toronto could not gain any momentum. The blame doesn’t solely fall on his shoulders but he was certainly a big factor in their defeat and the Rock brass will have to be questioning their goaltending situation in the off season.
Toronto has a lot of players who are getting up there in age so it is unclear at this point who will be returning to the squad; one thing is for sure though, they’ll have a lot of time now to reflect on the season that could have been.
Notes: On April 30th Troy Cordingley was named the National Lacrosse League’s Coach of the Year.
