| 2008 Toronto Rock | |
|---|---|
| Division | 6th East |
| 2008 record | 7-9 |
| Home record | 4-5 |
| Road record | 3-4 |
| Goals for | 172 |
| Goals against | 174 |
| General Manager | Mike Kloepfer |
| Coach | Glenn Clark |
| Captain | Jim Veltman |
| Alternate captains | Blaine Manning Chris Driscoll |
| Arena | Air Canada Centre |
| Average attendance | 14,572 [1] |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Lewis Ratcliff (42) |
| Assists | Lewis Ratcliff (50) |
| Points | Lewis Ratcliff (92) |
| Penalties in minutes | Cam Woods (78) |
| Loose Balls | Jim Veltman (122) |
| Wins | Bob Watson (7) |
| Goals against average | Bob Watson (10.34) |
The Toronto Rock are a lacrosse team based in Toronto playing in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The 2008 season was the 12th in franchise history, and 11th as the Rock.
The 2008 season almost never happened. On October 16, 2007 the league released a statement officially cancelling the season, after no agreement could be reached on a new collective bargaining agreement.[2] However, negotiations continued, and on October 25, the league announced that a new CBA has been agreed on, and that the season would proceed.[3] The new revised schedule was released on November 2, 2007, but only included 12 of the expected 14 teams were included. The expansion Boston Blazers and 2007 Western division champion Arizona Sting had decided for "a number of business reasons"[4] to opt out of the 2008 season and return in 2009. Due to the short time frame between the agreement on a new CBA and the start of the season, the New York Titans were unable to secure 8 home dates for the revised schedule, and thus both the Toronto Rock and Buffalo Bandits hosted a Titans home game in their own arena.
The Rock had their second consecutive sub-.500 season, finishing 7-9, and out of the playoffs for the first time since they were the Ontario Raiders in 1998. Despite the losing season, veteran Bob Watson was named NLL Goaltender of the Year.
This was captain Jim Veltman's final season as a player; he retired after 16 seasons and joined the Rock coaching staff in 2009.
Contents |
| East Division | W | L | GB | PCT | Home | Road | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Buffalo Bandits | 10 | 6 | - | .625 | 7-2 | 3-4 | 203 | 174 |
| x-Minnesota Swarm | 10 | 6 | - | .625 | 6-2 | 4-4 | 199 | 196 |
| x-New York Titans | 10 | 6 | - | .625 | 5-1 | 5-5 | 197 | 186 |
| x-Philadelphia Wings | 10 | 6 | - | .625 | 7-1 | 3-5 | 225 | 220 |
| e-Rochester Knighthawks | 8 | 8 | 2 | .500 | 4-4 | 4-4 | 197 | 171 |
| e-Toronto Rock | 7 | 9 | 3 | .438 | 4-5 | 3-4 | 172 | 174 |
| e-Chicago Shamrox | 6 | 10 | 4 | .375 | 3-5 | 3-5 | 176 | 212 |
| West Division | ||||||||
| y-San Jose Stealth | 9 | 7 | - | .563 | 4-4 | 5-3 | 185 | 172 |
| x-Colorado Mammoth | 9 | 7 | - | .563 | 6-2 | 3-5 | 184 | 167 |
| x-Calgary Roughnecks | 7 | 9 | 2 | .438 | 5-3 | 2-6 | 183 | 178 |
| x-Portland LumberJax | 6 | 10 | 3 | .375 | 3-5 | 3-5 | 179 | 194 |
| e-Edmonton Rush | 4 | 11 | 5 | .250 | 3-5 | 1-7 | 141 | 197 |
x - clinched playoff spot, y - clinched division title, e - eliminated from playoff contention
Reference: [1]
| # | Date | Opponent | Location | Score | OT | Attendance | Record |
| 1 | January 5 | @ Chicago | Sears Centre | W 11 - 9 | 6,116 | 1-0 | |
| 2 | January 11 | Minnesota | Air Canada Centre | L 17 - 16 | OT | 13,317 | 1-1 |
| 3 | January 12 | @ Minnesota | Xcel Energy Center | L 11 - 4 | 10,104 | 1-2 | |
| 4 | January 19 | @ Edmonton | Rexall Place | W 14 - 9 | 12,107 | 2-2 | |
| 5 | January 26 | New York | Air Canada Centre | W 14 - 10 | 14,142 | 3-2 | |
| 6 | February 9 | @ Rochester | Blue Cross Arena | L 11 - 4 | 9,925 | 3-3 | |
| 7 | February 15 | Buffalo | Air Canada Centre | W 11 - 8 | 14,611 | 4-3 | |
| 8 | March 1 | Calgary | Air Canada Centre | W 9 - 7 | 14,542 | 5-3 | |
| 9 | March 14 | New York | Air Canada Centre | L 14 - 10 | 14,233 | 5-4 | |
| 10 | March 21 | Edmonton | Air Canada Centre | W 14 - 9 | 14,312 | 6-4 | |
| 11 | March 22 | @ Buffalo | HSBC Arena | W 13 - 9 | 15,230 | 7-4 | |
| 12 | April 5 | Rochester | Air Canada Centre | L 9 - 6 | 15,422 | 7-5 | |
| 13 | April 6 | @ Philadelphia | Wachovia Center | L 11 - 9 | 10,244 | 7-6 | |
| 14 | April 12 | Chicago | Air Canada Centre | L 13 - 12 | OT | 15,238 | 7-7 |
| 15 | April 19 | @ Calgary | Pengrowth Saddledome | L 12 - 11 | OT | 11,808 | 7-8 |
| 16 | April 27 | Philadelphia | Air Canada Centre | L 15 - 14 | 15,332 | 7-9 |
Reference: [2]
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; LB = Loose Balls; PIM = Penalty Minutes
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | LB | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis Ratcliff | 17 | 42 | 50 | 92 | 91 | 10 |
| Blaine Manning | 16 | 30 | 44 | 74 | 90 | 4 |
| Aaron Wilson | 16 | 28 | 22 | 50 | 90 | 4 |
| Josh Sanderson | 11 | 23 | 27 | 50 | 61 | 6 |
| Ryan Benesch | 14 | 19 | 31 | 50 | 71 | 38 |
| Kasey Beirnes | 16 | 15 | 14 | 29 | 57 | 8 |
| Rob Marshall | 16 | 7 | 17 | 24 | 109 | 8 |
| Jim Veltman | 14 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 122 | 8 |
| Cam Woods | 14 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 81 | 78 |
| Totals | 257 | 429 | 349 | 1114 | 36 |
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 | 15 | 812:38 | 7 | 6 | 140 | .786 | 10.34 |
| Mike Poulin | 16 | 153:04 | 0 | 3 | 32 | .740 | 12.54 |
| Mike Attwood | 1 | 0:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .00 |
| Totals | 7 | 9 | 174 | .776 | 10.88 |
| Player | Award |
| Bob Watson[5] | NLL Goaltender of the Year |
| Bob Watson | First Team All-Pro |
| Jim Veltman | All-Stars |
| Peter Lough | |
| Bob Watson |
| March 25, 2008[6] |
To Toronto Rock
Lewis Ratcliff conditional first or second round pick, 2009 entry draft |
To Calgary Roughnecks
Josh Sanderson first round pick, 2008 entry draft |
| March 11, 2008[7] |
To Toronto Rock
second round pick, 2009 entry draft |
To Minnesota Swarm
Ian Rubel |
Reference: [3]
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