Rock beat Wings, extend home streak
Posted March 5, 2011 12:45 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — Rob Hellyer, the National Lacrosse League’s newest and youngest player, gave the Toronto Rock a spark when they really needed one.
The Philadelphia Wings had just tied the score 9-9 late in the third quarter and, with Athan Iannucci attacking the crease like a man possessed, looked ready to seize their first lead Friday.
Then Hellyer, 18, appearing in his first pro game, scooped up a ball in front of the crease, swivelled and tossed a highlight reel shot over his back and into the Wings net to turn the tide back Toronto’s way.
The 10,120 spectators gave Hellyer a thunderous ovation and Toronto went on to win 15-10.
“It was a lot of fun to hear the fans cheer like that for my first goal,” said Hellyer. “They realized I’m a young guy coming in here and they helped me out a lot.”
Hellyer is from the Georgian Bay village of Lion’s Head just north of Owen Sound. He’s living in Kitchener-Waterloo while attending Conestoga College and he’ll move to Orangeville to play for the Jr. A Northmen this summer. The five-foot-eight, 165-pound forward was the 30th player selected in the 2010 NLL entry draft.
“I had a lot of family members, my girlfriend, and anybody else I could get down here from Lion’s Head,” he said of the contingent that showed up to see him make his NLL debut. “There were about 20 who made the 3 1-2 hour drive. It was a lot of fun.”
Head coach Troy Cordingley said he told Hellyer when the season began that he’d get a chance to get into a game if he was the hardest-working player each Tuesday night when the Rock practice. Hellyer earned his shot, said Cordingley.
“I knew my time would come,” said Hellyer. “I worked hard in practice and it paid off.”
Stephan Leblanc and Blaine Manning scored three goals each and Garrett Billings, Kasey Beirnes and Pat Maddalena, with his first two goals as a member of the Rock, got two each. Sandy Chapman, Stephen Hoar and Hellyer chipped in with one each and Bob Watson earned another goaltending win as the Rock improved to 9-2 atop overall NLL standings.
“It’s a proud feeling,” Maddalena, an 11-year veteran who missed the first third of the season with a leg injury, said of getting on the scoreboard for the first time in Toronto colours. “I’m proud to contribute with this great team. I came here to win and to win and contribute is a great feeling.”
Toronto has won all six home games in 2011. Tack on two at the end of last season and it’s an eight-game streak. The last home loss was March 10, 2010. Toronto doesn’t play at home again until April 1, so the home streak will have gone on for more than a year by then.
“You want to host games during the playoffs, you have to take care of business at home,” said captain Colin Doyle. “One of our goals going into the season was to win at home with no exceptions. So far, so good.”
It was a night to celebrate the arrival of a fresh new face with a bright future in pro lacrosse.
“He carries himself with a lot of confidence,” said Doyle. “If he was wide-eyed, he certainly didn’t show it. He did a good job stepping in and adding to our depth, no doubt about it.”
Cordingley wasn’t overly pleased with his team’s sags. Toronto scored the first three goals, led 3-1 after one quarter and was up 7-5 at halftime.
“We played one solid Toronto Rock quarter, which was the fourth quarter,” he said. “Obviously, Robbie’s goal was a spark for us. It was good to see and we’re happy about that. We’ll take the win.”
For Philadelphia, 4-6, Athan Iannucci scored four goals, Alex Turner and Matt Alrich got two each and David Brock and Paul Dawson added one each.
“Toronto is very good,” said Wings coach John Tucker. “We played well at times and we had some five-minute lapses they capitalized on.
“We played well for the most part but it just seemed we broke down at inopportune times. With the score tied, they got a great behind-the-back goal — the kid’s first goal — and we lost momentum there. They did a good job of closing it out.”
Lack of goals from Drew Westervelt and Brandon Mundorf left too much of the burden on Iannucci.
“Athan did his best to carry us and we didn’t give him a lot of support from the other side,” said Tucker.
Losing goalie Brandon Miller said his defencemen had a tough time with Toronto’s pick-and-roll plays.
“It seemed like every time we got close they’d get one to go ahead again,” he said. “I didn’t have my best game. We just haven’t played well enough the last two games.”
Notes: Doyle and Leblanc each had four assists … The Wings had a 50-46 edge in shots on goal … Toronto is No. 1 in the NLL on the penalty kill. The Rock were 2-for-2 and Philadelphia was 0-for-3 on power plays on this night … Rock scratches: Mat MacLeod, Aaron Pascas and Kyle Ross … The last home loss was an 11-10 OT squeaker against Buffalo … Toronto doesn’t play again until March 25 in Calgary. Next home game is April 1 when Washington visits. It’ll be the first meeting since the Stealth beat the Rock 15-11 in the 2010 championship game.<
