The Toronto Rock will head into the final stretch of the pre-season on a high note after a 14-10 win over Rochester this past saturday. The win improved the Rock’s preseason record to 1-1 heading into their final exhibition match-up.
A point of interest heading into Saturday’s game included questions surrounding Toronto’s acquisition of Scott Evans. However, after leading the Rock with 4 goals in his team debut, any lingering doubts surrounding the Peterborough native fitting in with the Rock can be put to rest for the moment.
While Evans has consistently produced offensively, other issues such as conditioning have also plagued him throughout his NLL career. With an already potent offensive unit, if Evans can make similar performances a regular occurrence the Rock’s 2013 offense will be lethal.
Hopeful Rock prospects to impress versus the Knighthawks include Brandon Ivey, who registered one goal in Saturday’s contest. Ivey was a member of the Calgary Roughnecks in 2011 before spending last season with the Peel Avengers of the CLax league. He also played Junior lacrosse for Rock Assistant Coach Matt Sawyer as a member of the Orangeville Northmen.
Mark Kirby also registered a goal on the night. Kirby was one of two local players chosen from a a Quebec Lacrosse Showcase to participate in the contest.
Familiar faces standing out for the Rock were Garret Billings, who had a hat-trick on the evening, while Stephan Leblanc netted two goals for Toronto.
After trimming down their roster from 36 to 31 camp participants following their opening contest versus the Edmonton Rush, Troy Cordingley and the Rock coaching staff will look to finalize their 23 roster spots heading into the team’s final exhibition contest versus the Philadelphia Wings. The game will take place Saturday, December 22 at 7pm and will be held at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre (TRAC).
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