Rock Defend Turf Against Black Wolves With 18-10 Exhibition Win

Toronto finishes 2-1 in preseason by cruising past New England at TRAC

The Toronto Rock wrapped up the team’s National Lacrosse League preseason with a 2-1 record after defeating the New England Black Wolves by a score of 18-10 on Saturday night at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre (TRAC) in Oakville, Ontario.

“We’re happy with the way we played in the preseason,” said Rock Head Coach John Lovell. “However, we understand there is still a lot of work to be done before we start the regular season on January 3rd.”

The Rock built a 5-2 lead after one quarter and held a 10-5 edge at the half. The first half was a very chippy affair and according to Lovell, there was some good to come from it.

“There were a couple of incidents where our guys stuck up for each other.  That is good team building and it’s important that down the road, guys know their teammates will be there for them,” explained Lovell.

The second half was more of the same as the Rock outscored the Black Wolves 8-5 in the final 30 minutes. New England did pull within four goals twice at 11-7 and 12-8 but trailed 15-8 at the end of the third en route to the Toronto win.

The Rock were led offensively by Brett Hickey who scored five goals and added three assists for an 8-point night. Josh Sanderson also had an 8-point game scoring twice and piling on 6 helpers.

Earlier in the day, the Rock signed veteran defender Glen Bryan to a tryout agreement. Bryan was originally drafted by the Rock in 2010 and was a member of the 2011 Toronto Rock championship team. Bryan most recently played for the Buffalo Bandits but was released last week. 

The Black Wolves host the Buffalo Bandits for the NLL Face Off Weekend 2015 presented by New Era opener at Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday, Jan. 2. The Rock will open the regular season at Rochester against the defending champion Knighthawks on Saturday, Jan. 3.