2009 Toronto Rock season

The Toronto Rock are a lacrosse team based in Toronto playing in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The 2009 season was the 13th in franchise history, and 12th as the Rock.

2009 Toronto Rock
LeagueNLL
Division6th East
2009 record6-10
Home record3-5
Road record3-5
Goals for194
Goals against218
General ManagerMike Kloepfer
CoachJamie Batley
Glenn Clark
CaptainChris Driscoll
Alternate captainsBlaine Manning
Lewis Ratcliff
ArenaAir Canada Centre
Average attendance13,922
Team leaders
GoalsLewis Ratcliff (34)
AssistsBlaine Manning (42)
PointsLuke Wiles (69)
Penalties in minutesCraig Conn (52)
Loose BallsRob Marshall (116)
WinsBob Watson (6)
Goals against averageBob Watson (13.16)

On November 6, 2008, the Rock announced that veteran Chris Driscoll would be the new team captain, replacing the retired Jim Veltman.[1]

Only three games into the season, the Rock fired head coach Glenn Clark and assistant coach Terry Bullen and hired former Chicago Shamrox and Colorado Mammoth coach Jamie Batley as the new head coach. Assistant coach Jim Veltman was relieved of his coaching duties, but remained with the Rock as an advisor.[2]

After winning their first game of the season, the Rock won only once in their next eight games before a three-game winning streak gave fans some hope that the season was not lost. However, three straight losses forced the Rock out of the playoffs for the second straight year. Rock President Brad Watters said that the team "drastically under-delivered", and vowed to make whatever changes were necessary to fix the team.[3]

Regular season

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Conference standings

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Reference: [4]

East Division
PTeamGPWLPCTGBHomeRoadGFGADiffGF/GPGA/GP

1New York Titansxy16106.6250.05–35–3190180+1011.8811.25
2Buffalo Banditsx16106.6250.05–35–3223170+5313.9410.62
3Boston Blazersx16106.6250.04–46–2181168+1311.3110.50
4Rochester Knighthawksx1679.4383.06–21–7169197−2810.5612.31
5Philadelphia Wings1679.4383.04–43–5188193−511.7512.06
6Toronto Rock16610.3754.03–53–5194218−2412.1213.62
West Division
PTeamGPWLPCTGBHomeRoadGFGADiffGF/GPGA/GP

1Calgary Roughnecksxyz16124.7500.05–37–1206167+3912.8810.44
2Portland LumberJaxx1697.5623.04–45–3181177+411.3111.06
3San Jose Stealthx1679.4385.05–32–6200185+1512.5011.56
4Colorado Mammothx1679.4385.04–43–5172184−1210.7511.50
5Minnesota Swarm16610.3756.02–64–4174198−2410.8812.38
6Edmonton Rush16511.3127.04–41–7159200−419.9412.50

x: Clinched playoff berth; c: Clinched playoff berth by crossing over to another division; y: Clinched division; z: Clinched best regular season record; GP: Games Played
W: Wins; L: Losses; GBGames back; PCT: Win percentage; Home: Record at Home; Road: Record on the Road; GF: Goals scored; GA: Goals allowed
Differential: Difference between goals scored and allowed; GF/GP: Average number of goals scored per game; GA/GP: Average number of goals allowed per game

Game log

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Reference:[5]

Game Date Opponent Location Score OT Attendance Record
1 January 3, 2009 @ New York Titans BankAtlantic Center W 15–14 5,733 1–0
2 January 10, 2009 Buffalo Bandits Air Canada Centre L 6–8 15,923 1–1
3 January 17, 2009 Calgary Roughnecks Air Canada Centre L 9–16 12,865 1–2
4 January 31, 2009 @ Rochester Knighthawks Blue Cross Arena L 11–13 7,088 1–3
5 February 7, 2009 Edmonton Rush Air Canada Centre W 16–9 13,468 2–3
6 February 14, 2009 @ Buffalo Bandits HSBC Arena L 10–25 18,690 2–4
7 February 20, 2009 Buffalo Bandits Air Canada Centre L 16–17 OT 12,844 2–5
8 February 27, 2009 Minnesota Swarm Air Canada Centre L 10–13 13,324 2–6
9 February 28, 2009 Rochester Knighthawks Air Canada Centre L 10–18 6,739 2–7
10 March 14, 2009 @ Boston Blazers TD Banknorth Garden W 9–8 OT 6,485 3–7
11 March 21, 2009 Rochester Knighthawks Air Canada Centre W 16–10 14,812 4–7
12 March 27, 2009 @ Calgary Roughnecks Pengrowth Saddledome W 12–10 10,586 5–7
13 March 28, 2009 @ Edmonton Rush Rexall Place L 12–16 7,356 5–8
14 April 3, 2009 Boston Blazers Air Canada Centre L 13–14 12,884 5–9
15 April 11, 2009 @ Philadelphia Wings (1987–2014) Wachovia Center L 14–16 11,924 5–10
16 April 18, 2009 San Jose Stealth Air Canada Centre W 15–11 15,252 6–10

Player stats

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Reference:[6]

Runners (Top 10)

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Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; LB = Loose balls; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player GP G A Pts LB PIM
Luke Wiles 16 33 36 69 76 8
Lewis Ratcliff 16 34 34 68 68 8
Blaine Manning 16 20 42 62 68 22
Jason Crosbie 15 12 38 50 83 6
Kasey Beirnes 15 23 15 38 86 12
Craig Conn 11 14 18 32 68 52
Rob Marshall 16 8 15 23 116 8
Chris Driscoll 16 7 15 22 104 20
Bill McGlone 11 8 9 17 49 4
Totals 289 483 347 1126 31

Goaltenders

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Note: GP = Games played; MIN = Minutes; W = Wins; L = Losses; GA = Goals against; Sv% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Player GP MIN W L GA Sv% GAA
Bob Watson 16 820:46 6 8 180 .745 13.16
Steve Dietrich 4 48:39 0 1 11 .800 13.57
Mike Attwood 8 46:31 0 0 16 .600 20.64
Curtis Palidwor 1 45:26 0 1 10 .615 13.21
Totals 6 10 218 .736 13.63

Transactions

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New players

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Players not returning

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Trades

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March 17, 2009[7]
To Toronto Rock
Steve Dietrich
To Edmonton Rush
Second round pick, 2009 entry draft
March 7, 2009[8]
To Toronto Rock
Second round pick, 2010 entry draft
To Colorado Mammoth
Curtis Palidwor
February 26, 2009[9]
To Toronto Rock
Curtis Palidwor
To Colorado Mammoth
Second round pick, 2010 entry draft
January 14, 2009[10]
To Toronto Rock
First round pick, 2009 entry draft
Second round pick, 2010 entry draft
To Edmonton Rush
Ryan Benesch
Derek Suddons
September 7, 2008[11]
To Toronto Rock
Luke Wiles
Stephen Hoar
To Rochester Knighthawks
Aaron Wilson
first round pick, 2009 entry draft (from Toronto)
To San Jose Stealth
first round pick, 2008 entry draft (from Rochester)

Entry draft

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The 2008 NLL Entry Draft took place on September 7, 2008.[12] The Rock selected the following players:

Round Overall Player College/Club
2 17 Mike Fleming Robert Morris College
3 28 Nick Rose Orangeville, ON
5 53 Derrick Gordon Orillia, ON
6 66 Tommy Hurley Burlington, ON

Roster

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2009 Toronto Rock roster
Active (21-man) roster Inactive roster Coaches
Goaltenders
Defensemen
Forwards
Transition
  • 12   Chad Thompson
Practice Squad
  • 43   Mike Attwood
  •  0   Derrick Gordon
Injured Reserve
  • 17   Nick Carson
Head Coach

{{{Head Coach}}}


Legend
  • * Suspended list
  • (C) Captain
  • (A) Alternate captain


NLL Transactions

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Rock Announce Chris Driscoll as New Captain". Toronto Rock web site. November 6, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-06.
  2. ^ "Toronto Rock hire new coaching staff". TorontoRock.com. January 20, 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-01-23. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
  3. ^ Girard, Daniel (April 19, 2009). "Rock boss vows big changes as woeful season finally ends". The Toronto Star. Toronto, Ontario. Archived from the original on 20 April 2009. Retrieved 19 April 2009.
  4. ^ "National Lacrosse League - 2009 Regular Season - Standings". NLL.com. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
  5. ^ "Toronto Rock - 2009 Regular Season - Game Schedule". NLL.com. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
  6. ^ "Toronto Rock - National Lacrosse League - team stats | Pointstreak Sports Technologies".
  7. ^ "Recap of Trade Deadline Moves". NLL.com. March 17, 2009. Archived from the original on 23 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
  8. ^ "Curtis Palidwor Returns to Colorado Mammoth". TorontoRock.com. March 7, 2009. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  9. ^ "Rock Acquire Palidwor from Mammoth". NLL.com. February 26, 2009. Archived from the original on 3 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
  10. ^ "Rock Trade Benesch & Suddons to Rush". NLL.com. January 14, 2009. Archived from the original on 21 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-15.
  11. ^ "Draft Day Blockbuster; Wilson, Wiles traded". NLL.com. September 7, 2008. Archived from the original on 9 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
  12. ^ "Daryl Veltman Selected First By Boston". NLL.com. September 7, 2008. Archived from the original on 7 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-08.