Toronto Rock keep rolling with win over Rochester Knighthawks

The Toronto Rock came home and took care of business against the Rochester Knighthawks, winning 17-9 for their third straight win

The excitement in the locker room was evident when Brett Hickey spoke to the media following the Toronto Rock’s victory over the Rochester Knighthawks.

“A 17-9 win is great and the boys are feeling real good right now coming off of three pretty convincing wins. Our offence has found its groove and I think we’re a tough team to beat.”

The Rock came into their fifth game of the season firing on all cylinders. They had 20 goals in each of their last two games, with the second game being a blowout win over Vancouver.

The teams traded goals early before the Rock began to take control, going on a four-goal run to close out the first quarter.

Toronto got out in transition early and capitalized on pushing the play from the defensive end. Rock Head Coach Matt Sawyer praised his team following the game for their effort over the past three games.

"Full credit to the guys. We challenged them a few weeks ago after our bad start and they certainly responded and have been good the last three weeks.I thought we had eight transition goals, and last game we had two so the encouraging thing is they’re showing different ways to win and contributing in all areas."

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Nick Rose turned in another great shift, making 38 saves on 47 shots. His counterpart, Matt Vinc, was chased from the game in the first quarter. Angus Goodleaf replaced the Knighthawks starter and made 38 saves of his own while allowing 11 goals against.

The Rock debuted new goal songs for some of their offensive players. The one that may have caught the ears of fans the most – due in part to the fact it was played more than any other – was Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the U.S.A” for Tom Schreiber. The American star scored four times for the Rock.

When asked about his thoughts on the choice of track post-game, Schreiber didn’t know which

"No! I didn’t even notice. I know they’ve gotta run with the whole American thing so I’ll take it."

It was a big game for Schreiber, who added four assists for an eight-point night. Adam Jones added to his lead atop the NLL scoring race with an eight-point performance of his own. During the game, Jones also took the league lead in goals with his 14th of the year.

"The thing that Adam and Tom do is the lacrosse IQ. They add a different element to our offence out there. We give them some freedom, and they’re nice to have around. They’re only going to get better, that’s the good thing."

Sawyer said of his stars after the game.

With the win, the Rock now sits in a tie with the New England Black Wolves atop the East Division standings.

Lucky for the Rock, they will have a chance their first chance at the Black Wolves when they come to town in two weeks time.

For Schreiber and his teammates, they’d love to have another high scoring game, however, they’ll be happy with the wins however they come.

"We’re just maintaining the attitude that we’re happy tonight but it’s a new game in two weeks. Obviously, we’d like to mimic it every time but if we win 6-5 and we do our jobs, then we’ll take that too."

Next: Rock lay a 24-7 beating on Vancouver Stealth