|
TORONTO -- Defence has been a Toronto Rock trademark but it was the offence that carried them to a 16-11 victory over the Calgary Roughnecks in the National Lacrosse League season opener for both teams Friday night. Wholesale Jerseys . "It was the way we wanted to start the season," said forward Stephan Leblanc, who led the way with five goals. "We were fired up and the goals were dropping for us." Toronto finished first overall last season so general manager Terry Sanderson saw no need for drastic change. The offence clicked for five goals on its first nine shots and the defence and goalie Nick Rose limited 2013 scoring champion Shawn Evans to one goal. Rob Hellyer, at 21 the youngest player in a veteran-laden attack, looked good on the right side as he assumed the bulk of the playing time that had previously been committed to the now-retired Blaine Manning. Hellyer popped three goals in his enhanced role. "With only six offensive guys out of 16 runners youre going to be out there all the time," said Hellyer, alluding to the leagues reduction to 16 from 18 runners. "Ive had a good three years with this team and Ive learned a lot. I think now itd be nice to step up and make a bigger contribution." Colin Doyle and Josh Sanderson have been amazing for a long time. They each scored twice. "We stuck to a game plan and it certainly worked," said Doyle. "I dont think we saw their best. Thats for certain. But, as far as starts go, that was a pretty good start for this team." Jesse Gamble, Kasey Beirnes, Garrett Billings and Ethan OConnor added one each for the Rock, who held quarter leads of 7-3, 9-4 and 12-6. "It was special," said new head coach John Lovell. "Our guys worked really hard for this." Billings had nine assists in front of an Air Canada Centre crowd of 11,120. "Its a credit to the chemistry we have up front," Billings said of his 10-point night. "It was a great game for Blaine Manning, who as offensive coach was behind the bench for the first time. "Its great to put up numbers like that. Ive been with this core group for four years now so Ive got good chemistry playing with Steph going back to our junior days and ever since Josh Sanderson put on a Rock jersey for the second time weve had great chemistry, too. It helps knowing where all the guys are going to be on the floor. "Its fun. Id have liked to have scored a couple more goals. But what can you do?" Jeff Shattler scored four goals, Dane Dobbie had two and Evans, Daryl Veltman, Geoff Snider, Curtis Dickson and Matthew Dinsdale one each for the Roughnecks, who were outshot 61-51. Toronto led by six entering the fourth quarter but Calgary scored four of the next five goals to close within 13-10. Biernes broke the run with his goal at 11:41 and rookie OConnor scored his first pro goal into an empty net to seal the victory. Gamble supplied repeated transition thrusts all night. "It was a great way to start the season, to know that were competitive and that we have the right guys," he said. "We can compete in this league. That wasnt a bad (Calgary) team. Theyve got a lot of skill and they are going to compete for the Champions Cup so this win gives us a lot of confidence." The Rocks seven-goal first quarter proved to be the difference in the end. "We got a big lead but they didnt go away," said Rose. "We knew that about them. Theyre going to be tough to beat all year. But we earned the win tonight. Any time your O puts up seven for you in one quarter, its a nice feeling. That takes the stress off making the next save. The O was awesome." Calgary coach Curt Malawsky gave Shattler and Poulin an A for effort. But his teams goals-against numbers were poor last year and they were again Friday night. The first quarter put his players in too deep a hole. "Yeah, no question," he said of a deficit his club couldnt overcome. "Youre down 7-3 to a team like that in their building. Its tough to battle back. They went on three three-goal runs and a five-goal run and we only answered back with a four-goal run. We didnt do a very good job of controlling momentum." NOTES: On power plays, Toronto was 4 for 8 and Calgary 3 for 3 . . . Veteran Rock defencemen Pat Merrill and Chris White sat out with what the team described as lower-body injuries . . . Unavailable to Calgary due to injuries were T Scott Ranger, T Travis Cornwall and D Pete McFetridge . . . Making their NLL debuts were D Craig England and T Ethan OConnor of the Rock and T Tor Reinholdt, T Karsen Leung and D Garrett McIntosh of the Roughnecks . . . Both teams play their second games of 2014 next Friday, with Toronto at Buffalo and Colorado at Calgary.Cheap Jerseys . PAUL, Minn. Wholesale nfl Jerseys . Then Ryan Raburn came to the plate and did what he usually does against the Chicago White Sox. Raburn hit a tiebreaking single and David Murphy drove in four runs, leading the Indians to a 12-6 victory over the White Sox.ORLANDO, Fla. -- When Magic coach Jacque Vaughn was asked about his teams noticeable win discrepancy this season in games at home versus on the road, he likened their home floor to feeling like a "fluffed pillow" for his young team. It found that warm embrace again, this time at the expense of a team fighting for its playoff positioning. Tobias Harris had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Orlando beat the Portland Trail Blazers 95-85 on Tuesday night to stop a nine-game losing streak. Nik Vucevic added 22 points and 10 boards for the Magic, who led by just eight at the half but used scoring spurts in the third and fourth quarters to put the game away. Victor Oladipo had 13 points and six assists. Orlando improved to 16-18 at home, compared to 4-34 on the road. "When you play on the road its a lot different," Harris said. "Their crowd gives them energy just like our crowd does. We know we have to get better on the road, but were playing good at home and tonight was a good win for us." The Magic earned their fifth victory against a Western Conference team, but just their third over one that entered the night in position to make the playoffs. Orlando previously posted wins against the Clippers and Thunder in the Amway Center. The Magic also matched their win total for all of last season with nine games remaining. "I was really pleased with the mental focus that we had from the beginning of the game, to come out and not use being on the West Coast as an excuse," Vaughn said. "It was impressive to hold that team to 85 points." Robin Lopez led Portland with 20 points and 13 rebounds. The Blazers, who entered the night in fifth place in the West, have lost three straight. They were without forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who missed his seventh consecutive game with a lower back contusion. After getting blown out at Charlotte on Saturday, the Blazers rebounded and showed lots of fight in nearly upending defending champion Miami on Monday night. They didnt seem to have anything left at times against Orlando, which went right at Portlands front line. The Magic outscored the Blazzers 46-44 in the paint. Cheap Jerseys from china. Portland coach Terry Stotts said before the game that the tight playoff race in the West dictated a need to "accumulate wins where we can get them." He acknowledged afterward that they missed one of those opportunities against the Magic. "This is a very, extremely disappointing loss and in fact it was a game we needed to have," Stotts said. "Weve got 10 games left. Theres got to be a sense of urgency every game. Playoff race is tight. Wed like to look forward, but weve got four teams that are right on our heels, and every game has a new sense of urgency." The Magic closed the third quarter on an 11-2 run and increased their lead to 19 in the opening minutes of the fourth. Harris was the most active player for Orlando in the final quarter, scoring eight points. The Blazers were finally able to string together some baskets and cut the lead down to 11 points on a 3-pointer by Wesley Matthews with 2:31 to play. But the Magic were able to close out the game from the foul line. Orlando took an eight-point lead into halftime after shooting 50 per cent from the field in the first half. Vucevic led the scoring effort with 14 points. The Magic also had 10 assists on their 21 baskets, including four from Oladipo. Lopez scored 10 first-half points for Portland, which shot just 40 per cent from the field. The Blazers also struggled from the foul line, connecting on only 2 of their 12 attempts. The victory aside, Vaughn said there wont be any heavy focus on wins or losses for his team the rest of the way. "Have not mentioned one time what our record is to the team," he said. "What I do mention to those guys, and (will) when we practice on Thursday, is lets come to work and get better. Thats how well continue to judge each other and continue to push each other." NOTES: Orlando improved to 5-24 against the Western Conference. ... The Magic honoured Grant Hill between the first and second quarter as part of their "Legends Nights" season-long series to honour former players as part of the teams 25th anniversary season celebration. cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
