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BUF at SD - Sat. 10pm ET on ESPNews Schedule

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WK
1
Fri, Dec 2
FINAL
Philadelphia
8
Halifax
18
Sat, Dec 3
FINAL
Vancouver
8
Toronto
19
Sat, Dec 3
FINAL
San Diego
15
New York
14
Sat, Dec 3
FINAL
Albany
11
Buffalo
10
Sat, Dec 3
FINAL
Rochester
16
Georgia
11
Sat, Dec 3
FINAL
Colorado
6
Saskatchewan
18
WK
2
Fri, Dec 9
FINAL
Las Vegas
11
Panther City
13
Fri, Dec 9
FINAL/OT
Saskatchewan
12
San Diego
13
Sat, Dec 10
FINAL
Toronto
7
Rochester
11
Sat, Dec 10
FINAL
Vancouver
9
Calgary
11
WK
3
Fri, Dec 16
FINAL
Calgary
14
Vancouver
5
Fri, Dec 16
FINAL
Panther City
9
Las Vegas
3
Sat, Dec 17
FINAL
Buffalo
11
Toronto
8
Sat, Dec 17
FINAL
Rochester
14
Albany
13
Sat, Dec 17
FINAL
Philadelphia
13
Georgia
12
Sat, Dec 17
FINAL
Halifax
20
New York
11
Sat, Dec 17
FINAL
Colorado
12
Panther City
9
WK
5
Fri, Dec 30
FINAL
Halifax
13
Buffalo
18
Fri, Dec 30
FINAL
San Diego
17
Calgary
14
Sat, Dec 31
FINAL
Panther City
9
Saskatchewan
11
WK
6
Fri, Jan 6
FINAL
Philadelphia
14
Las Vegas
9
Sat, Jan 7
FINAL
Panther City
9
Rochester
17
Sat, Jan 7
FINAL
Halifax
14
Albany
11
Sat, Jan 7
FINAL
Buffalo
18
Georgia
9
Sat, Jan 7
FINAL
Toronto
15
New York
7
Sat, Jan 7
FINAL
Calgary
8
Colorado
9
Sat, Jan 7
FINAL
Vancouver
11
San Diego
16
WK
7
Fri, Jan 13
FINAL/OT
Albany
11
Halifax
10
Fri, Jan 13
FINAL/OT
Saskatchewan
10
Colorado
11
Sat, Jan 14
FINAL
Halifax
8
Toronto
17
Sat, Jan 14
FINAL
Panther City
12
Philadelphia
10
Sat, Jan 14
FINAL
Georgia
9
Buffalo
11
Sat, Jan 14
FINAL
San Diego
10
Calgary
14
Sat, Jan 14
FINAL
Las Vegas
16
Vancouver
19
Sun, Jan 15
FINAL
Rochester
11
New York
8
WK
8
Fri, Jan 20
FINAL
Buffalo
12
Rochester
15
Fri, Jan 20
FINAL
Vancouver
14
Las Vegas
15
Sat, Jan 21
FINAL
Toronto
14
Philadelphia
5
Sat, Jan 21
FINAL
New York
16
Albany
10
WK
9
Fri, Jan 27
FINAL
Rochester
7
Halifax
17
Fri, Jan 27
FINAL
Buffalo
13
Philadelphia
9
Sat, Jan 28
FINAL
Buffalo
16
New York
10
Sat, Jan 28
FINAL
Las Vegas
10
Saskatchewan
15
Sat, Jan 28
FINAL/OT
Toronto
11
Calgary
10
Sat, Jan 28
FINAL
San Diego
13
Colorado
9
Sat, Jan 28
FINAL
Panther City
20
Vancouver
7
WK
10
Fri, Feb 3
FINAL
Georgia
10
Colorado
13
Sat, Feb 4
FINAL/OT
Calgary
12
Halifax
11
Sat, Feb 4
FINAL
New York
14
Toronto
22
Sat, Feb 4
FINAL
Albany
5
Philadelphia
13
Sat, Feb 4
FINAL
Rochester
10
Buffalo
13
Sat, Feb 4
FINAL
Panther City
10
San Diego
12
Sat, Feb 4
FINAL
Saskatchewan
14
Vancouver
8
Sat, Feb 4
FINAL
Colorado
8
Las Vegas
13
WK
11
Fri, Feb 10
FINAL
Toronto
11
Georgia
10
Fri, Feb 10
FINAL
Saskatchewan
6
Calgary
13
Sat, Feb 11
FINAL
Halifax
14
Rochester
16
Sat, Feb 11
FINAL
Albany
12
New York
14
Sat, Feb 11
FINAL
Vancouver
13
Panther City
14
Sat, Feb 11
FINAL
Colorado
9
Calgary
13
WK
12
Fri, Feb 17
FINAL
Calgary
14
Vancouver
9
Fri, Feb 17
FINAL
Saskatchewan
16
San Diego
11
Sat, Feb 18
FINAL
Georgia
7
Toronto
16
Sat, Feb 18
FINAL
Las Vegas
12
Albany
10
Sat, Feb 18
FINAL/OT
Philadelphia
12
Buffalo
13
Sat, Feb 18
FINAL
Colorado
7
Panther City
13
Sun, Feb 19
FINAL
New York
12
Halifax
13
WK
13
Fri, Feb 24
FINAL
Panther City
12
Colorado
14
Fri, Feb 24
FINAL
Calgary
9
Las Vegas
11
Sat, Feb 25
FINAL/OT
New York
10
Rochester
11
Sat, Feb 25
FINAL
Albany
4
Georgia
20
Sat, Feb 25
FINAL
Vancouver
16
Saskatchewan
12
WK
14
Fri, Mar 3
FINAL
Buffalo
10
Halifax
9
Sat, Mar 4
FINAL
New York
12
Philadelphia
19
Sat, Mar 4
FINAL
Las Vegas
12
San Diego
15
Sat, Mar 4
FINAL
Rochester
8
Toronto
9
Sat, Mar 4
FINAL/OT
Georgia
9
Albany
8
Sat, Mar 4
FINAL
Saskatchewan
10
Panther City
16
Mon, Mar 6
FINAL
Toronto
10
Philadelphia
11
WK
15
Fri, Mar 10
FINAL/OT
Halifax
9
Buffalo
10
Fri, Mar 10
FINAL
Calgary
16
Colorado
10
Sat, Mar 11
FINAL
Albany
6
Toronto
12
Sat, Mar 11
FINAL
Philadelphia
10
New York
13
Sat, Mar 11
FINAL
San Diego
12
Saskatchewan
11
Sat, Mar 11
FINAL
Vancouver
14
Las Vegas
5
Sun, Mar 12
FINAL
Rochester
19
Georgia
18
WK
16
Fri, Mar 17
FINAL
Saskatchewan
6
Calgary
11
Fri, Mar 17
FINAL
San Diego
16
Vancouver
9
Sat, Mar 18
FINAL
Georgia
13
Philadelphia
12
Sat, Mar 18
FINAL
Toronto
12
Halifax
14
Sat, Mar 18
FINAL
Albany
10
New York
13
Sat, Mar 18
FINAL
Colorado
13
Buffalo
8
Sat, Mar 18
FINAL
Las Vegas
8
Panther City
11
Sun, Mar 19
FINAL/OT
Philadelphia
9
Rochester
8
WK
17
Fri, Mar 24
20:30:00
San Diego
Panther City
Sat, Mar 25
19:00:00
Toronto
Albany
Sat, Mar 25
19:00:00
Halifax
Philadelphia
Sat, Mar 25
19:30:00
Georgia
New York
Sat, Mar 25
21:30:00
Calgary
Saskatchewan
Sat, Mar 25
22:00:00
Buffalo
San Diego
Sat, Mar 25
22:00:00
Colorado
Vancouver
Sat, Mar 25
22:30:00
Rochester
Las Vegas
WK
18
Fri, Mar 31
19:00:00
New York
Georgia
Fri, Mar 31
21:00:00
Las Vegas
Colorado
Fri, Mar 31
22:00:00
Calgary
San Diego
Sat, Apr 1
19:00:00
Buffalo
Toronto
Sat, Apr 1
20:00:00
Albany
Panther City
Sat, Apr 1
21:30:00
Vancouver
Saskatchewan
Sun, Apr 2
13:00:00
Georgia
Halifax
Sun, Apr 2
18:00:00
Rochester
Philadelphia
WK
19
Sat, Apr 8
19:00:00
Albany
Rochester
Sat, Apr 8
19:00:00
Saskatchewan
Georgia
Sat, Apr 8
21:00:00
Panther City
Calgary
Sat, Apr 8
21:00:00
Vancouver
Colorado
Sat, Apr 8
22:30:00
San Diego
Las Vegas
WK
20
Fri, Apr 14
21:00:00
Las Vegas
Calgary
Fri, Apr 14
21:00:00
San Diego
Colorado
Sat, Apr 15
19:00:00
Philadelphia
Toronto
Sat, Apr 15
19:00:00
Georgia
Albany
Sat, Apr 15
19:30:00
New York
Buffalo
Sat, Apr 15
21:30:00
Halifax
Saskatchewan
Sat, Apr 15
22:00:00
Panther City
Vancouver
WK
21
Fri, Apr 21
20:30:00
Calgary
Panther City
Sat, Apr 22
18:00:00
New York
Halifax
Sat, Apr 22
19:00:00
Georgia
Rochester
Sat, Apr 22
20:00:00
Toronto
Buffalo
Sat, Apr 22
21:30:00
Colorado
Saskatchewan
Sat, Apr 22
22:00:00
Las Vegas
San Diego
Sun, Apr 23
15:00:00
Philadelphia
Albany
WK
22
Sat, Apr 29
19:00:00
Philadelphia
Rochester
Sat, Apr 29
19:00:00
Buffalo
Albany
Sat, Apr 29
19:00:00
Halifax
Georgia
Sat, Apr 29
22:00:00
Colorado
San Diego
Sat, Apr 29
22:00:00
New York
Vancouver
Sat, Apr 29
22:30:00
Saskatchewan
Las Vegas
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Stories/Op-Ed

After Nearly Hitting Rock Bottom Toronto Turned Their Season Around

After seeing themselves at their worst, the Toronto Rock knew they needed to change.

In the hours and days following the Rock’s 12-6 road loss to the Buffalo Bandits back on January 8th, there was a powerful sense of disappointment and dejection within all areas of the organization.

Rock Head Coach Matt Sawyer noted that watching the game film back showed the players how they had woefully underperformed against one of their fiercest East Conference rivals. When the game is on film, there’s no place to hide from your mistakes.

“We said to the guys [in the video session], ‘you can’t argue that what we’ve shown you up to this point of the season is good enough,’” Sawyer said. “It was a challenge from us coaches to our players. None of us had been good enough, even ourselves as coaches.”

Not only had the Rock dropped to 2-2 for the year – the 6-goal loss was the largest since the 2019 season – their six goals scored was also the fewest since March 2019. The team had a chance to redeem themselves against the Halifax Thunderbirds the next week but were ultimately unsuccessful. Despite a much more admirable effort, the Rock fell 14-13 in overtime.

The team had now fallen to 2-3 in their first five games – it was their worst five-game start to an NLL season since 2016 – and were on pace to finish the year with a record of 7-11. Had the Rock finished this year with that record, it would have only been the 5th time in their storied 23-year history where they had seven or fewer wins (not including the 2020 shortened season).

Sawyer knew his guys were finally trending in the right direction – he considered that January loss to Halifax the team’s best performance of the season up to that point – and with a week off, there was a hope that the team would be ready to perform at their best after the bye week.

“After that loss, we had a bye week, and we were able to reset and refocus,” Sawyer said. “We realized that we were a good team, we felt like we were a team that would get to do something special this year, and it was time to get to work.”

With the impacts of COVID-19 and injuries having affected this team throughout the first couple of months of the season, the Rock searched far and wide for players to step up and fill the shoes of the men they were missing; this team used every man at their disposal.

Jordan McKenna was able to play a few games while his hockey season was on hold due to COVID, 22-year-old 3rd-string goaltender Troy Holowchuk grabbed some big minutes early in the year, and forward Mark Cockerton was able to suit up for the team on a Friday despite getting the call to join the Rock 24 hours before game time. These were just a few examples of how the Rock were able to dig deep in their attempts to win games.

Following that Thunderbirds loss, the Rock have looked like the team they knew they could be. They have now won 10 of their last 12 games heading into this final week of the NLL’s regular season – that’s more wins than 12 different Rock past seasons. . If they were to win against the Bandits in Week 22, the Rock would finish this year with a 13-5 record, which would be the team’s 2nd-most regular season wins in the team’s history.

Regardless of the roadblocks this team had to face and the unfortunate results that piled up in the first handful of weeks, forward Dan Craig echoed a message of belief that he and his teammates would soon turn things around.

“It has always been in us that want and need to win, we were just not performing to the level that we wanted at the early stages of the years, and we recognized that,” Craig said. “Sometimes it takes hearing that from your coaches and other outside sources to really kick things into gear.”

Outside of the Bandits, the Rock have arguably done more than any other team in the NLL this season to prove that they deserve to be in the postseason and be in the conversation as genuine title contenders. And although their upcoming game against the Bandits is relatively meaningless (in terms of playoff positioning), Craig and the Rock are approaching this final game just as they’ve approached many of their other matches during this second half of the season: a must win.

“Playing Buffalo heading into the playoffs is super important because we get to play one of the best teams in the league and make sure that we’re sharp,” Craig said. “We want to prove a point to ourselves and the rest of the league that we’re a very serious contender. I’m sure we will have to play Buffalo at some point in the playoffs if we want to advance, so we want to set a precedent now.”

It might be hard to imagine, but Sawyer and the Rock staff still believe that this team can reach an even more unstoppable level of play. This Bandits game this weekend will be a defining fight for NLL superiority heading into this postseason and could set the tone for this rivalry for seasons to come.

Had this Rock team not endured that painful loss against the Bandits four months ago, who knows what we would’ve seen from this team in 2022. Unfortunately for the rest of the league, that loss has been a motivating factor for this Rock team’s success ever since. Now every team is in the way of this East Conference wrecking ball with unstoppable momentum.

NLL