Pro Lax Training Tips – Movement Skills

A very important part of a well rounded training program for lacrosse is movement skills training. Movement skills can be broken down into two main categories: multi-directional or linear (straight ahead) movement skills. Speed is a skill that can be taught and improved just like strength or endurance yet very few people include any movement training into their program, even though everyone would like to have a quicker ‘first step.’

Multi-directional movement skills are more important for lacrosse than linear skills. While acceleration gets mentioned far more, rarely do you ever get to run in a straight line for any extended period of time. The key to multi-directional movement is your ability to decelerate. In fact, deceleration is usually what separates you from your defender. Every cut or dodge always begins by going in one direction and then quickly planting your foot and decelerating, then accelerating in the opposite direction. You have to decelerate and stop going in one direction before you can even begin to think of accelerating in a new direction. Slowing yourself down is the secret to being fast!! Deceleration is a skill that can be improved. Simply running as fast as you can and then trying to stop as fast as possible in an athletic position will help. However, jumps and single leg hops with the focus being on landing perfectly and stable will also help to greatly improve your ability to decelerate.

Linear speed can be broken down into acceleration and maximum velocity running technique. They are two very different methods of running. Due to the nature of lacrosse, acceleration (roughly the first 10 yards) should be the focus of linear speed training. There are two aspects to your running stride that determine your speed: stride frequency and stride length. The goal should be on improving stride frequency; decreasing the time it takes you to perform a single stride. If you can take more strides of the same length you take now in a shorter period of time you will be faster. The first is to think of running like you are crushing a pop can. You don’t rest your foot on top of the can and then push down hard. You drive your knee up as hard as you can and push right through the top of the can. We want to do the same thing to the ground when we are running. The second is to have your ankle dorsiflexed while you run. Dorsiflexing your ankle means pulling your toes up to your knee. This will help to improve and promote better knee punch. Practice these skills while doing 10 yard sprints as fast as you can.

Sean Holmes, CSCS
BA (Honours) Kinesiology and Health Sciences

February 8, 2010
Categories: Inside The Game . . Author: marksy . Comments: Leave a Comment

Canadian’s In The NCAA – 2010

submitted by Jason Donville

Believe it or not its lacrosse season again! For fans of NCAA lacrosse and/or those who enjoy keeping up with the performance of Canadian’s playing south of the border, the season is off to a terrific start with three games already in the bag and some notable performances from guys with maple leaf tattoos on their calves.  However, before we get into the specifics of this weekend’s games, let’s briefly look at this year’s contingent of Canadians (which includes two Iroquois players) and players of interest as we head into the season.

Canadian contingent up 40% in 2010!

For those who followed this blog last year, you will recall that there were 153 Canadian’s playing in the NCAA in 2009 at the Division I, II and III levels. This number included 75 Canadians playing on Division I teams. Looking into 2010, with rosters yet to be finalized it is difficult to say exactly how large the Canadian contingent will be but at Division I the numbers appear to be up sharply. According to the most recent look at team websites the number of Canadians playing Division I in 2010 will jump to 105 versus 75 in 2009. That’s a 40% jump in one year! The 2010 class includes 43 freshmen and suggests that it won’t be long before the number of Canadians playing in the NCAA Division I will soon top 150. We will report on the evolution of Division II and Division III in subsequent weeks.

Players to watch in 2010 – its starts with Cody Jamieson

Each season brings a new crop of players who emerge as the dominant players of their year and here I get to speculate about a few players who I expect will turn some heads in 2010. So let’s starts with Cody Jamieson (Six Nations). While “Cody” is not particularly well known in the NCAA given that he has only played 6 games in the NCAA Division I, in Canada he is already recognized as a prodigy.  To put some meat behind this statement, one should note that Jamieson was a rookie in Canada’s senior league this past summer, a league that features most of the top Canadian box players from the NLL. As a rookie, Cody not only won the rookie of the year award but also won the scoring championship and the MVP award. The last Canadian rookie to do something like that was a kid named Gretzky (in hockey) who interestingly grew up about 20 miles from where Cody grew up – there must be something in the water in that part of Canada. The bottom-line is that if Cody is healthy, he is going to be phenomenal for Syracuse and lead an offensive unit that was already strong without him – all time single season scoring records should fall.  

Other players of interest – McBride, Crowley, Campbell, Belton, Card, Keogh, and Neufeld

The recent Team Canada tryouts highlighted that a contingent of Canadian’s playing on Long Island “have game” and will make life miserable for anyone who takes the Stony Brook Seawolves lightly this year. This group is led by Jordan McBride (New Westminster) and also includes Kevin Crowley (New Westminster), Robbie Campbell (Delta) and Kyle Belton (Langley). And while on the topic of Long Island, let’s not forget about Hofstra’s Jay Card (Caledon) – this kid has “touch” around the net and the mindset of a fighter pilot which suggests that the 35 goals he scored last year will be exceeded in 2010. Another player worth watching is Syracuse’s Stephen Keogh (Toronto Beaches). Teammate Cody Jamieson will prove to be a huge distraction that will require him to be doubled and this should give Keogh a lot of room to maneuver – expect another big year from Keogh.  Bryan Neufeld (Virgil) is another player who could have an intriguing story-line in 2010. Recall that Neufeld scored 38 goals for Siena as a rookie but will not sneak up on anyone this year. Other sophomores worth watching include Hartford’s Aidan Genik (Toronto Beaches)  and Carter Bender (Caledon) , Denver’s Mark Matthews (Oshawa), and  Kyle Bergman (Toronto)  out of Drexel.

Rookie Watch – Palmer, Cockerton, Ward, Church, Brownell, Flint and Digby

The rookie watch is always intriguing because it is difficult at times to tell whose box game will translate well to the US field game and for those players joining stronger teams, whether or not they will crack the starting line-up. Thus, rookies playing fort start-up programs like Jacksonville and Detroit-Mercy are likely to see more playing time than a freshman trying to crack the roster of a Syracuse or John’s Hopkins. That said, here’s a few interesting names to watch out for. At the top of the list are Virginia freshman Matt Cockerton (Oshawa) and Johns Hopkins freshman Zach Palmer (Oshawa). Both of these players were top A list players in Canada and everyone back home will be watching to see how these two kids make out in their freshman year. At the other end of the field is an intriguing player out of Orangeville by the name of Dillon Ward. US schools don’t typically come to Canada looking for goalies but Ward should be seen a “poster child” for the evolution of the Canadian game. Ward is a product of the Orangeville minor lacrosse system and Brodie Merrill’s Hill Academy and some consider Ward to be the best field lacrosse goalie Canada has produced in a decade. Four other rookies that we expect will have immediate impact on their respective teams are Drexel’s Robert Church (Coquitlam), Robert Morris’ Kevin Brownell (Burlington), Denver’s Cam Flint (Georgetown) and Tyler Digby (New Westminster) who also plays for Robert Morris. All four of these players are high impact scorers in Canadian box leagues and should have no problem finding the net in the NCAA. 

Three games this past weekend – Dickson and Matthews off to a great start!

While most NCAA Division I teams will not start play for another a week or two, three games were played this past weekend worth noting. This past Friday saw Delaware beat St Joe’s 15 to 5 with Curtis Dickson (Port Coquitlam) leading the way for the Blue Hens with five goals and an assist.  Saturday saw Detroit Mercy open at home against Bellarmine with Joel Matthews (St Catherines) starting the season with 4 goals in a losing effort for Detroit. On the other side of center, Chase Williams (Vancouver) had two goals and an assist for Bellarmine and Derek Hopcroft (Toronto) added a pair. Finally, Jacksonville played their first game ever on Saturday losing to UNC. Ryan Serville (Toronto) led the Jacksonville scoring effort with two goals and an assist.

Games upcoming – Not much happening close to the border for a while

Most northern teams in the NCAA wisely schedule their games down south this time of year. For Canadians hungry to see an NCAA Division I game in person, key upcoming match ups include Villanova at Ohio State (this weekend), Cornell at Hobart (27 Feb) Dartmouth at Colgate (27 Feb) and Army at Syracuse (28 Feb). Simon Fraser’s next home game is not until March 20th but it should be a good one as the opponent is BYU.

Canadian Lacrosse and the Toronto Rock

While this blog focuses primarily on Canadian’s playing field lacrosse in the NCAA, I am going to take the liberty of speaking about the Toronto Rock (NLL) team.  As many lacrosse fans may know, the Toronto Rock were sold this past summer to an investor (James Dawick) who has a passion and intelligence for the game of lacrosse that has been missing in Toronto since the passing of Les Bartley. Over the past six months, Dawick in concert with coaches Troy Cordingley and Terry Sanderson have gone about reconstructing the Toronto Rock with results that have been nothing short of spectacular. The Rock are now 4-1 and playing a style of lacrosse that is exciting to the casual fan and considered extremely astute to “serious” lacrosse types who think they know something about how the game is suppose to be played. Recent NCAA graduates Garrett Billings and Stephan LeBlanc are putting up huge offensive numbers while Rock stalwarts Colin Doyle, Bob Watson, Blaine Manning and Phil Sanderson are playing their best lacrosse in recent memory.  Dawick and Company have clearly delivered and now it’s time for the lacrosse community in the greater Toronto area to get out and support this team.  The Toronto Rock’s next home game is this Friday at 7:30PM against Brodie Merrill’s Edmonton Rush. Hope to see you there!

Final Comments

Its lacrosse season and I am therefore a happy camper. To the young men who are currently studying in the US and playing lacrosse in the NCAA, I offer you my best wishes both in the classroom and on the playing field. Let the games begin! 

JP Donville/Toronto

Figure 1 – NCAA Div I – Canadian and Iroquois Players – 2010    
           
Rank School Player Hometown Year Position
1 Canisius Adam Jones Owen Sound Junior Midfield
2 Hofstra Adrian Sorichetti Whitby Freshman LSM
3 Hartford Aidan Genik Toronto Sophomore Attack
4 Vermont AJ Masson Newmarket Freshman Attack
5 Loyola Alex Peaty Victoria Post-Grad Goalie
6 Providence Andrew Bromley Surrey Sophomore Attack
7 Bryant Austin Thomas Mississauga Junior Midfield
8 Canisius Brandon Bortignon Coquitlam Sophomore Attack
9 Ohio State Brandon McLean Victoria Sophomore Midfield
10 Canisius Brandon Niesink Thorold Freshman Defence
11 Bellarmine Brick Wipf Saskatoon Sophomore Attack
12 Towson Brock Armour Victoria Senior Midfield
13 Ohio State Brock Sorenson Peterborough Sophomore Defence
14 Siena Bryan Neufeld Virgil/Niagra Sophomore Attack
15 Denver Cam Flint Georgetown Freshman Midfield
16 Jacksonville Cameron Mann Hamilton Freshman Midfield
17 Hartford Carter Bender Caledon Sophomore Attack
18 Bellarmine Chad Mitchell Calgary Freshman Attack
19 Bellarmine Chase Williams Vancouver Senior Midfield
20 Jacksonville Clark De Geer Caledon Sophomore Midfield
21 Syracuse Cody Jamieson Six Nations Senior Attack
22 Bellarmine Colton Clark Nanaimo Sophomore Midfield
23 Robert Morris Corbyn Tao-Brambleby Coquitlam Junior Attack
24 Delaware Curtis Dickson Port Coquitlam Senior Attack
25 Canisius Dan Coates St Catherines Senior Midfield
26 Albany Dave Brock Burlington Senior Attack
27 Robert Morris Dave Morton Orangeville Sophomore Attack
28 Bellarmine Derek Hopcroft Toronto Senior Midfield
29 Yale Deron Dempster Orangeville Freshman Attack
30 Bellarmine Dillon Ward Orangeville Freshman Goalie
31 Canisius DJ Giacobbo Athabasca Freshman Midfield
32 Sacred Heart Eric Crepinsek Oakville Freshman Midfield
33 Hobart Ethan O’Connor Milton Freshman Defence
34 Hobart Evan Kirk Orangeville Junior Goalie
35 Virginia Garett Ince Oakville Junior Midfield
36 Quinnipiac Garett Kerr Caledon Senior Midfield
37 Drexel Garett McIntosh Coquitlam Freshman Midfield
38 Fairfield Graham Bergsma St Catherines Senior Midfield
39 Stony Brook Greg Miceli King City Sophomore Defence
40 Canisius Hugh Weir Saskatoon Freshman Midfield
41 Hofstra Jaime Lincoln St. Catharines Junior Attack
42 Robert Morris Jake Hayes Calgary Freshman Attack
43 Cornell Jake Thompson Orangeville Freshman Attack
44 Bellarmine Jarrett Davis Port Moody Senior Midfield
45 Cornell Jason Noble Orangeville Freshman Defence
46 Hofstra Jay Card Caledon Junior Attack
47 Harvard Jesse Fehr Calgary Senior Attack
48 Cornell Jesse Gamble Rockwood Junior Attack
49 Stony Brook JJ Laforet Georgetown Freshman Midfield
50 Detroit Joel Matthews St Catharines Freshman Midfield
51 Cornell Jonathan Thomson Orangeville Junior Midfield
52 Detroit Jordan Houtby St Catharines Freshman LSM
53 Stony Brook Jordan McBride New Westminster Junior Attack
54 Robert Morris Jordan Sealock Airdrie Senior Midfield
55 Bellarmine Jordan Wong Victoria Sophomore Attack
56 Dartmouth Josh Gillam Peterborough Senior Attack
57 Bellarmine Karsen Leung Victoria Sophomore Midfield
58 Robert Morris Kevin Brownell Burlington Freshman Midfield

February 8, 2010
Categories: Inside The Game, Men's Field . . Author: marksy . Comments: Leave a Comment

Rock Defeat Bandits 14-10

BUFFALO, NY – The Toronto Rock defeated the Buffalo Bandits 14-10 at HSBC Arena, pushing them further into first place in the east division with a 5-1 record.  

On Toronto’s second goal of the night Captain Colin Doyle recorded an assist as his 1000th regular season career point. He now joins John Tavares and Gary Gait as the third ever NLL player to accumulate over 1000 points.

Steve Dietrich recorded the win in Toronto’s net and stopped 31 of 41 shots. Blaine Manning had five goals for the Rock and rookie Garrett Billings recorded nine points from one goal and eight assists.

Ken Montour played between the pipes for Buffalo and Kyle Clancy led the Bandits with seven points (2, 5).

Stephan Leblanc scored first for the Rock, but the Bandits would take the early lead in the first off a three goal run from Mark Steenhuis, Frank Resetarits, and Billy Dee Smith.

Josh Wasson got past Ken Montour in Buffalo’s net off an assist from Colin Doyle, his 1000th regular season career point. The celebration was short lived as Mike Accursi scored next for the Bandits. Pat McCready closed the gap for Toronto and Wasson tied the game at four.

The back and forth continued with Kyle Clancy scoring for Buffalo and Garrett Billings netting one for the Rock. Blaine Manning gave Toronto their first lead of the game, but Clancy tied it up again. Doyle regained the lead and Manning continued it sending the Rock into the second half up 8-6. 

Manning opened the second half like they ended the first, but another Buffalo streak from Brett Bucktooth, Roger Vyse, Steenhuis and Accursi got past Rock netminder Steve Dietrich to give Buffalo the 10-9 lead. 

Back-to-back goals from Manning to start the fourth quarter regained the Rock’s lead and Kim Squire pushed the Toronto tally to 12. Defence would take over the game until Leblanc scored with 1:50 left in the game followed by an empty-netter by rookie defender Brendon Doran. The Rock would hold onto the four point lead to end the game 14-10.

The Toronto Rock return home on Friday, February 12 to crush the Edmonton Rush. Game time is 7:30 p.m. at the Air Canada Centre. Single game tickets are available on Ticket Master at www.ticketmaster.ca.  

For more information, please contact:

Laura Bridgman
Communications | Toronto Rock Lacrosse Club
100-416 North Service Road East | Oakville, ON | L6H 5R2
p: 416-596-3075 ext. 242 | c: 416-799-5644 | f: 905-339-3473
e: lbridgman@torontorock.com  | w: www.torontorock.com

February 7, 2010
Categories: Inside The Game, NLL . . Author: marksy . Comments: Leave a Comment

Knighthawks Scorched By Blazers 14-8

(Boston, February 6)… The Rochester Knighthawks’ comeback bid was denied by a late four-goal outburst, as the Boston Blazers earned a 14-8 win tonight at TD Garden. The loss drops the teams into a third-place tie with identical 3-3 records.

The same two teams will be back in action on Saturday, February 13th for a 2:05 p.m. contest at The Blue Cross Arena. The Blazers go to Rochester red hot, riding a three-game winning streak. The Knighthawks have now lost three of their last four games.

Dan Dawson led the way for the Blazers with four goals and four assists. Daryl Veltman chipped in two goals and four assists. Anthony Cosmo earned the win in goal in a 34-save effort. Rochester got six points from John Grant (4+2), and four from Gary Gait (3+1) and Shawn Williams (0+4). Aaron Bold started the game and made 30 saves on 39 shots. Pat O’Toole turned away two shots in a relief appearance.

Rochester opened the scoring at 2:15 on a goal by Point. Boston wasted little time tying the game up as Matt Abbott netted his first pro goal just seven seconds later. The Blazers took a 2-1 lead at 11:12 of the first on a power-play goal by Veltman. Rochester nearly tied the game in dramatic fashion as Shawn Evans swatted in a rebound before time expired. However, he was ruled in the crease and the goal was waved off.

In the second, Boston pulled ahead 4-1 on goals by Paul and Dan Dawson. Dan Dawson added his second of the quarter at 6:06 and completed the natural hat trick at 10:47 for a 6-1 lead. Rochester cut the lead to three with two goals in 18 seconds late in the second as Gait and Grant notched goals. Chris Driscoll assisted on the Grant goal in his 2010 Rochester debut.  The goals broke a 25:02 shutout streak by Cosmo.

Nick Cotter opened the third quarter with a goal just 56 seconds in to give the Blazers a 7-3 advantage, Gait responded with his second of the night at 4:02 to knock the lead down to three. The Blazers’ Dan Dawson got a little help as he netted his fourth of the game at 5:53 for an 8-4 Boston edge. The Blazers used their second power-play marker to equal their largest lead of the game at five. The goal by Veltman was his second of the night and put Boston in front 9-4.

Rochester rallied in the fourth, scoring four of the first five goals. Grant scored three times and Gait completed the hat trick to cut the lead to 10-8. Boston fought off the Knighthawks and responded with four straight goals, two by recently traded Jamie Rooney, to win 14-8.

The Knighthawks are back on their home turf on Saturday against Boston. For tickets call (585) 454-5335 or go online toknighthawks.net or ticketmaster.com. After the contest, the Knighthawks will hold an autograph session on the floor. Fans can also meet the players at the official postgame party at Legends Sports Bar & Grille in the Radisson Hotel on Main Street.

– 
Craig Rybczynski (454-5335 ext. 3008), Vice President of Communications
Warren Kosel (454-5335 ext. 3025), Communications Coordinator

Rochester Knighthawks Lacrosse Club
Blue Cross Arena at Rochester War Memorial
One War Memorial Square
Rochester, NY 14614
Phone: (585) 454-5335
Fax: (585) 454-3954
www.knighthawks.net
Est. 1995

February 7, 2010
Categories: Inside The Game, NLL . . Author: marksy . Comments: Leave a Comment

Calgary Ends Three Game Slide

2nd Quarter Shut-Out Crushes Rush

story by Tom Frank
photos by Marcelo Saguez

Calgary, AB – The Calgary Roughnecks have lost their last three games and find themselves tied for 4th place in the West with the Minnesota Swarm at 1-3. The Edmonton Rush have won 3 straight games for the first time in franchise history, placing them 2nd in the West with a 3-1 record. Their most recent victory was a 14-11 decision over the Roughnecks last Saturday night in the first of this home-at-home series.

From the opening face-off, the Riggers controlled the quarter and jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Edmonton’s Ryan Powell, got the Rush back into the game with 2 goals; an individual effort on the crease for his 1st, his 2nd by recovering a blocked shot on the power-play.

Calgary dominated the second quarter with a 5 goal outburst, including 1 on the power-play and 2 shorthanded goals approximately a minute apart.

The Roughnecks first goal of the quarter came from Scott Ranger. Ranger made his way around the back of the net, took a low back hand shot as he returned to the front, collected the rebound and continued to pump fakes at goalie Matt Disher until he fell to the ground leaving an empty net for Ranger.

With Edmonton’s Brett Mydske off for a 5 minute major checking from behind penalty, Tracey Kelusky connected with Josh Sanderson on the crease for the power-play goal.

Calgary was later penalized twice, making it a 4 on 3 advantage for the Rush. Kelusky scored just as Edmonton’s major ended. Matt King denies the charge by Edmonton off the face-off and Jeff Shattler comes back with another shorthanded effort within a minute.

Edmonton looked to scramble late in the half. They tried everything, shooting from the outside, from behind the net, but King was sharp and had help from his defenders as they blocked shots and delivered punishing hits.

Craig Conn at 13:52 to give the Roughnecks a 8-2 lead going into halftime.

Down 9-2, Edmonton finally scores at 6:01 in the third quarter. King looked to have brought his “A” game, stopping shots point blank and coming out high past his crease to cut all angles.

The teams scored 4 apiece in the fourth quarter. Edmonton’s goals included a power-play and shorthanded marker, while Calgary would score one more on the power-play.

The fourth quarter also featured 3 fights, reminding us this is the “Battle of Alberta.” With the Roughnecks up 11-5, Jeff Moleski and Derek Suddons for Edmonton got into it. Round 2’s card had Calgary’s Mike Kilby vs Brodie Merrill. Kilby got the worst of it with a cut above his left eye. Scott Carnegie and Jim Quinlan got into it with just over a minute remaining in the game.

Next up for Calgary, a Valentine’s Day match-up against the Toronto Rock. This marks the return of coaches Troy Cordingley and Terry Sanderson to Calgary.

February 6, 2010
Categories: Inside The Game, NLL . . Author: marksy . Comments: Leave a Comment

Knighthawks Deal For Veteran Chris Driscoll

Driscoll to make his 2010 Rochester debut tonight against Boston

(Rochester, NY)… Rochester Knighthawks Owner and General Manager Curt Styres announced today that the team has acquired veteran transition man Chris Driscoll from the Buffalo Bandits. In return, Rochester sends Buffalo its second-round pick (22nd overall) in the 2010 National Lacrosse League Entry Draft and a second-round pick in the 2012 draft. The Knighthawks have also released practice squad player Brandon Turner.

“We lost our best loose ball guy and one of our fastest transition players in Bobby McBride,” said Styres. “We are lucky enough that Driscoll can fill that role. He is in excellent shape, athletic and is a smart player. When he gets a scoring chance he is going to look to bury it.”

Driscoll, 38, had two goals, three assists and 10 loose balls in four games with the Bandits this season. The Fergus, Ontario, native arrived in Buffalo on July 31, 2009, from Toronto in a deal that sent defenseman Phil Sanderson to the Rock.

Driscoll is in his 18th season in the National Lacrosse League and makes his second stop in Rochester. In his professional career, he has notched 235 goals, 365 assists and 959 loose balls in 207 games. He has won three championships along the way: 1997, 2003 and 2005.

He began his career with the Detroit Turbos in 1993 before heading to Rochester, where he played in 42 games in four seasons. He collected 72 goals and 108 assists as a Knighthawk and helped the franchise win its first title in 1997.

During the 1999 season, he was traded to the Buffalo Bandits. Driscoll played the rest of that season plus two more in Buffalo, before being traded to the New York Saints in a seven-player deal. Driscoll played parts of two seasons with the Saints before being traded to the Toronto Rock for defenseman Scott Stapleford and three draft picks. He spent parts of seven seasons with the Rock, which was his longest stint with any team. In November 2008, he was named captain of the Rock, replacing the retired Jim Veltman. Driscoll became only the second team captain in Rock history.

He was given the NLL Sportsmanship Award in 2003, and won an NLL championship with the Rock in 2005. In the Major Series, he has won two Mann Cups: 1998 and 2002 with the Brampton Excelsiors.

Rochester hits the road for a 7:30 p.m. contest tonight against the Boston Blazers. The game will be broadcast live on The Zone 94.1 FM and thezone941.com.

– 
Craig Rybczynski (454-5335 ext. 3008), Vice President of Communications
Warren Kosel (454-5335 ext. 3025), Communications Coordinator

Rochester Knighthawks Lacrosse Club
Blue Cross Arena at Rochester War Memorial
One War Memorial Square
Rochester, NY 14614
Phone: (585) 454-5335
Fax: (585) 454-3954
www.knighthawks.net
Est. 1995 

February 6, 2010
Categories: Inside The Game, NLL . . Author: marksy . Comments: Leave a Comment

Rock Stay Undefeated At Home With 19-11 Win

Beirnes named MVP, Philadelphia Wings drop to 1-4

TORONTO – The Toronto Rock stayed undefeated at home with a 19-11 win over the Philadelphia Wings at the Air Canada Centre tonight. 

Bob Watson recorded his fourth win this season stopping 32 of 43 shots on net. Both Blaine Manning and Stephan Leblanc had nine point games, but Kasey Beirnes was named game MVP for his six point (4, 2) game.
Brandon Miller and Rob Blasdell split time between Philadelphia’s pipes making a combined 39 saves. Dan Teat led Wings scoring with two goals and three assists.

Philadelphia got out to the early start, scoring two goals within the first minute of play. Rookie Stephan Leblanc put Toronto onto the board followed by defender Scott Campbell to tie the game. Geoff Snider struck next for the Wings, but Blaine Manning continued the back-and-forth to bring it to 3-3. Colin Doyle sunk one past Philadelphia goaltender Brandon Miller, and Manning followed suit to bring the Rock to five. Drew Westervelt made it four for Philadelphia, but National Lacrosse League Rookie of the Month Garrett Billings got on the board to end the first quarter 6-4.

Mat Giles opened up the second quarter narrowing Toronto’s lead, but Doyle netted the seventh off an assist from Kim Squire. Leblanc and Kasey Beirnes posted eight and nine and back-to-back goals from Squire made it 11. This was Squire’s first professional game since 2006 when he played in Buffalo.

Heading into the second half, the Rock were up 11-5. Beirnes scored his second of the night, but the Wings answered as Giles and Kyle Wailes got past Toronto’s Bob Watson. Billings put in his second of the night, followed by Beirnes for the hat trick. Doyle brought the Toronto tally to 15 before Kevin Huntley scored number eight for Philadelphia.

Manning sunk his third to kick off the fourth quarter of play, shortly followed by Beirnes’ fourth. Jason Crosbie tried to get the Wings back into scoring but Billings netted the 18th for the Rock, surpassing Toronto’s 2010 season high of 17 goals in a game.   Dan Teat brought Philadelphia into double digits, accompanied by a goalie change, putting Rob Blasdell in between the pipes. The scoring went back and forth with Bill McGlone netting one for the Wings, and Leblanc scoring for Toronto. Time would drain off the clock to end in favour of Toronto 19-11.

The Toronto Rock have no time to rest as they take their 4-1 record to Buffalo tomorrow to play the Bandits (1-4) at HSBC Arena.  Rock captain Colin Doyle recorded seven points tonight to give him a total of 998 regular season career points. He will be able to break the 1000 point milestone this weekend if he accumulates two in tomorrow’s game. It will make him the third ever player in the NLL to surpass 1000 points, joining the ranks of John Tavares and Gary Gait.   Game time is 7:30 p.m. and fans can watch all the goals on the NLL Network at www.nll.com.

For more information, please contact:

Laura Bridgman
Communications | Toronto Rock Lacrosse Club
100-416 North Service Road East | Oakville, ON | L6H 5R2
p: 416-596-3075 ext. 242 | c: 416-799-5644 | f: 905-339-3473
e: lbridgman@torontorock.com  | w: www.torontorock.com

Post Game Wrapup

February 5, 2010
Categories: Inside The Game, NLL . . Author: marksy . Comments: Leave a Comment

This Week In Lacrosse 2010 Episode 5

A recap of the week 4 action in part 1.

Part 2 – Our fearless picks

February 5, 2010
Categories: Inside The Game, This Week In Lacrosse . . Author: marksy . Comments: 4 Comments

TLC Registration Tonight

Many of you did it in 2009, can you do it again?

Last year a fabulous group of over 100 lacrosse players, goalies, referees and volunteers came together and played for 30 straight hours. The benefactor was the Children’s Wish foundation in the amount of over $30,000.

In 2010, we are doing it all over again. This time the group will be raising money for the brand new Abilities Centre (http://www.abilitiescentre.org/) being built right in Whitby at Iroquois Park Sports Complex.

It is our hope to raise or beat what we were able to do last year. For more information and to download forms, please chekc out hte official site for the game at http://tlclax.wordpress.com/

Please note, the first registration for this Charity game will be held on:

Thursday February 4
7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Sports Garden Cafe (at Iroquois Park Sports Complex)

So go here http://tlclax.wordpress.com/forms-download/ and download your forms, get your $20 out, and come out to support a great cause!

If you are interested in volunteering at the event, please check out hte Contacts page and send us a mesage.

February 4, 2010
Categories: Inside The Game . . Author: marksy . Comments: Leave a Comment

2010 Major Series Lacrosse Draft Results

Held on Sunday January 31st at Iroquois Park Sports Complex in Whitby, below are the draft results. The first draft was the dispersal draft of players from St. Regis, who will not be flooring a team in 2010. The second list is the Junior draft results.

The column explanations are as follows; Pick is the pick order / number, Team is the team that made the selection, Original Pick is the team that originally had the pick (and there were many traded picks), Player is who was selected, and Affiliation is who the player last played for. 

 

  St. Regis Dispersal Draft    
         
Pick Team Original Pick Player  
         
1 Peterborough Barrie Mark Steenhuis  
2 Peterborough Ajax John Tavares  
3 Brooklin   Angus Goodleaf  
4 Peterborough Kitchener Steve Toll  
5 Peterborough   Pat Mc Cready  
6 Six Nations   Mike Accursi  
7 Brampton   Kyle Schmelze  
8 Barrie   Brett Bucktooth  
9 Ajax   Mike Thompson  
10 Brooklin   Cody Jacobs  
11 Kitchener   Jeremy Thompson  
12 Peterborough   Jarett Park  
13 Six Nations   Brandon Francis  
14 Brampton   David Campbell  
         
         
  Junior Draft      
         
Pick Team Original Pick Player Affiliation
         
  Round One      
         
1.1 Barrie   Andrew Potter St. Catharines
1.2 Brooklin Ajax Kevin Brownell Burlington
1.3 Brooklin   Nick Rose Orangeville
1.4 Kitchener St. Regis Matt McLeod Orangeville
1.5 Kitchener   Dan McCrey Burlington
1.6 Kitchener Peterborough Ryan Learned Burlington
1.7 Brooklin Six Nations Damian Edwards Beaches
1.8 Brooklin Brampton Shawn Gillis Orangeville
         
  Round Two      
         
2.1 Barrie   Joel McCready St. Catharines
2.2 Ajax   John Quarry Orangeville
2.3 Brooklin   Matt Hicks Burlington
2.4 Kitchener St. Regis Jesse Gamble Orangeville
2.5 Kitchener   John Harnett Orangeville
2.6 Ajax Peterborough Ryan McLelland Burlington
2.7 Brooklin Six Nations Dustin Dunn Peterborough
2.8 Barrie Brampton Patrick Lee Newmarket (Jr B)
         
  Round Three      
         
3.1 Barrie   Barna Robinson Barrie
3.2 Ajax   Spencer Taugher Burlington
3.3 Brooklin   Chris Moulson Burlington
3.4 St. Regis      
3.5 Brampton Kitchener Kevin Flores Welland (Jr B)
3.6 Peterborough   Gary Muzzin Burlington
3.7 Six Nations   Jesse Booker Elora (Jr B)
3.8 Kitchener Brampton Tyler Burton St. Catharines
         
  Round Four      
         
4.1 Barrie   Jacob Donato Whitby
4.2 Ajax   Tyler Carlson Brampton
4.3 Ajax Brooklin Justin Gibson Elora (Jr B)
4.4 St. Regis      
4.5 Kitchener   Justin Wilson-Kirby Burlington
4.6 Six Nations Peterborough John Haggle Burlington
4.7 Ajax Six Nations Brandon Turner Coquitlam
4.8 Brampton   Andrew Marcoux Brampton
         
  Round Five      
         
5.1 Ajax Barrie Shane Davidson Whitby
5.2 Ajax   Brendan Collins Beaches
5.3 Brooklin   Justin Delormier Akwesasne
5.4 St. Regis      
5.5 Kitchener   Pass  
5.6 Peterborough   Trevor Moore Coquitlam
5.7 Peterborough Six Nations Kevin Crowley New Westminster
5.8 Brampton   Dane Stevens Brampton

February 1, 2010
Categories: Inside The Game, Major Series . . Author: marksy . Comments: Leave a Comment

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