Tip of the Tower
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Toronto Rock look to start another winning streak against Georgia Swarm

By Austin Owens

391776 02: (FILE PHOTO) The CN Tower and the Skydome highlight the Toronto skyline in his undated file photo. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) meets in Moscow July 13, 2001 to decide between front runners Beijing, Paris and Toronto for the site of the 2008 summer Olympics. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Getty Images)
391776 02: (FILE PHOTO) The CN Tower and the Skydome highlight the Toronto skyline in his undated file photo. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) meets in Moscow July 13, 2001 to decide between front runners Beijing, Paris and Toronto for the site of the 2008 summer Olympics. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Getty Images) /
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Following a big 12-9 victory over Rochester, the Toronto Rock will be looking to make it two straight wins when they take on the Georgia Swarm

It’s been a tale of two teams up to now for Toronto Rock Head Coach Matt Sawyer and his squad. They either score around 20 goals in a game or are limited to under 10.

Luckily for the Rock, it looked like they found a middle ground in their 12-9 road victory over the Rochester Knighthawks a week ago.

With the good, comes the bad though. The Rock lost Tom Schreiber, who left the game and didn’t return.

Schreiber was diagnosed with a partially torn PCL, which will keep him out of action for six-to-eight weeks. It couldn’t come at a worse time for the Toronto Rock, who will play four crucial divisional games in a row, including the next two come against the defending NLL Champion Georgia Swarm.

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It hasn’t been the season that anyone anticipated from one of the most skilled rosters in the league.

Sitting at 3-5, the Swarm have had a hard time getting the offence going. With arguably the best attack in the league, it’s hard to believe the Swarm will be held down for the entire year. That makes you wonder if this will be the game that you see a large output from Lyle Thompson and company.

For Brodie Merrill and the Rock defence, they’re hoping that’s not the case. The unit has done well as of late, holding opponents to under 10 goals in four of the last five contests.

This will also serve as a revenge game of sorts for the Rock. They were bounced from the 2017 Playoffs by the Swarm in the East Division Finals.

This will be the first matchup between the two teams, who could very well meet up in the playoffs again this season, depending on how the standings shake out.

Key Players

Toronto Rock

Adam Jones (F) – Jones last saw Georgia as a member of Saskatchewan, in the Champions Cup Final.

He now sits four points back for the league lead in points. With Schreiber out, Jones will have to facilitate as both a shooter and a passer.

Rob Hellyer (F) – The absence of Schreiber will affect Hellyer the most. He will certainly be the focus of the Georgia defence on his side of the floor. Luckily for the Rock, Hellyer was the centre of attention before Schreiber and Jones arrived. So he shouldn’t be affected by the extra love at all.

He had only two goals against Rochester. He’ll be looking to get back to the regular output he’s displayed throughout the year.

Brett Hickey (F) – Hickey hasn’t been able to assert himself as much as I’m sure he’d like to. But with the talent surrounding him, it’s not as easy to get constant touches as it used to be.

With 23 points, Hickey should see his best offensive game of the season against the Swarm. He had 12 points in four total games against them in 2017.

Dan Lintner (F) – Another forward who will receive a chance with Schreiber out. Lintner has been a scratch in all but two games this season.

He’s managed five points in those two contests, and will provide another good finisher on the crease; something the Rock will need to beat Swarm goaltender Mike Poulin.

Georgia Swarm

Lyle Thompson (F) – Thompson isn’t the leading scorer on the Swarm. He is, however, one of the most dynamic offensive players the NLL has ever seen.

You cannot take a possession off with him. If you do, you’ll regret it. He’s got so many weapons that compliment him as well. If you find a way to stop him from scoring, he’ll beat you with his IQ or his passing ability.

This will be the key matchup for the Rock.

Shayne Jackson (F) – The leading scorer for the Swarm has been a killer of the Rock over his career. He’s a few games removed from back-to-back nine-point performances.

He is a go-to for offence as a sneaky target that can get into the quiet areas and beat defences with cuts and great hands around the crease.

Kiel Matisz (F) – The Swarm’s left side features a couple of big, skilled forwards. Matisz is one of them. Standing at 6 foot 5, he causes some trouble as a secondary option for the Swarm.

With Thompson, he can run a good pick and roll game and be a good target man to dump the ball off to for goals.

Randy Staats (F) – Staats has 31 points this season, which puts him in fourth in scoring on Georgia. he managed 76 points in only 13 games last year. So he can break out and provide offence in bunches for the Swarm at any time.

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The Rock will have to keep close tabs on Staats, who has all the skills you want in a forward in today’s NLL.

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