Gary Groob
All Lacrosse All The Time – A Division of Edge of Philly Sports Network
The Toronto Rock (2-2) took on the New York Riptide (0-3) at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY.
The Rock had outshot their opponents in every game they had played, but it hasn’t translated to success in the offensive end, scoring just 15 goals in their last two games combined. The Rock’s strength has come from their back end. Goaltender Nick Rose has stopped 81% of the shots he has faced this season with a 9.67 goals against average. Brad Kri and Mitch de Snoo have also been very strong for the Rock defense, causing 6 and 5 turnovers plus scooping 36 and 21 loose balls, respectively. TD Ierlan has been dominant at the faceoff dot so far, winning 81% of his draws and leading the team with 43 loose balls.
The Riptide were seeking their first win of the season, coming off a 20-11 loss at home to the Halifax Thunderbirds on December 17. Jeff Teat and Reilly O’Connor led the Riptide offense in that game, recording 7 and 6 points, respectively. New York has struggled defensively this season, having conceded 35 goals in their opening two games, with goalies Gowah Abrams and Steven Orleman, both seeing action this season. Together, they have combined to stop just 69% of the 113 shots they’ve faced.
The goaltending match-up in this game had Nick Rose in net for Toronto against Steve Orelman in net for New York.
The Rock got off to a slow start, getting down 3-0 in the first. They clawed back to a 7-5 lead at the half. The third quarter saw Toronto explode for seven unanswered goals to break the game wide open en route to a 15-7 victory. A balanced attack saw nine different scorers for the Rock. Stephen Keogh (3g,1a), Tom Schreiber (2g,5a), and Corey Small (2g,3a) led the way.
To The Game:
The New York Riptide got off to a strong start, scoring three goals to get rolling. Callum Crawford opened the scoring jumping across the crease off a Larson Sundown pass at 5:19, followed by Kevin Brownell off a Matt Marinier feed in transition at 7:01. Scott Dominey added another transition goal from a Ron John pass at 10:42, and it was 3-0 Riptide.
The Rock finally got on the board with Corey Small converting a Challen Rogers pass at 11:18 to end the first quarter.
After one quarter, Riptide 3 Rock 1.
Second Quarter:
The Rock opened the second quarter with a four goal attack. Zach Manns converted a Dan Dawson pass at 3:51, followed by Mitch de Snoo scoring in transition off a Latrell Harris pass at 4:27. Brad Kri finished off a Tom Schreiber feed at 7:45, followed by Schreiber himself converting a Corey Small pass at 8:45.
Larson Sundown stopped the five goal run for Toronto converting a beautiful pass from Jeff Teat at 9:56, but Zach Manns answered back with his second of the night off a Brad Kri feed at 10:38. Scott Dominey was sent in all alone, making no mistake off a long lead pass from goalie Steve Orelman at 12:54, but not to be outdone, Mitch de Snoo was sent in off a Nick Rose lead pass at 13:58 to increase the Rock lead to two.
At the half, Toronto 7 New York 5.
Third Quarter:
Whatever was said in the Rock dressing room worked! The Rock returned possessed, scoring seven unanswered goals in the quarter.
Stephen Keogh would open the scoring with two goals in a row. Both goals were fed by Tom Schreiber in identical fashion. The first goal was at 2:36, followed by his second just 1:27 later.
Corey Small and Challen Rogers scored just 0:26 seconds apart to increase the lead to 11-5.
Dan Craig continued the storm scoring off a Dan Dawson pass at 7:24, followed by TD Ierlan going coast to coast off a faceoff 0:05 seconds later. Stephen Keogh completed his hat-trick converting Tom Schreiber’s feed with just 0:43 seconds left in the quarter.
After three quarters, Toronto 14 New York 5.
Fourth Quarter:
Tom Schreiber opened the fourth quarter scoring off a Dan Dawson pass at 2:05. Larson Sundown converted a Jeff Teat pass at 7:12 on the power play, followed by Callum Crawford scoring unassisted at 13:28 for the Riptide.
Final score, Toronto 15 New York 7.
Game Stats:
- Shots on goal favored Toronto 74-42.
- The faceoff battle was dominated by TD Ierlan of the Rock, going 20 of 27.
- The loose ball battle favored Toronto 99-67.
- Toronto went 0 for 2 on the power play, while the Riptide went 1-2.
Top Scorers:
Toronto Rock:
- Tom Schreiber 2g, 5a
- Corey Small 2g, 3a
- Stephen Keogh 3g, 1a
New York Riptide:
- Larson Sundown 2g, 1a
- Scott Dominey 2g, 0a
- Callum Crawford 2g, 0a
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Gary Groob has been involved with Lacrosse for the majority of his life, whether playing, coaching, or covering the sport for the media.
An avid fan, with a real drive about helping to “grow the game”, Gary became part of podcasts about the game in 2010. Through the podcasts, Mr. Groob was given an opportunity to write about lacrosse, and the rest as they say, is history.
Through many miles (flying and driving) Gary has made inroads with the National Lacrosse League, Major Series Lacrosse League, the Ontario Lacrosse Association, as well as the Arena Lacrosse League, covering the leagues, their teams, and players, working for, and in concert with all of them.
In the year 2020, Mr. Groob was made the media person for the Arena Lacrosse League, voted onto the board of directors of the Brampton Excelsiors Lacrosse Club, as well as being made administrator of the Lacrosse page “Global Lacrosse” with a membership of 9000 members in over 90 Countries. Gary was also made an administrator of Lacrosse History Past Present and Future in 2022.
Mr. Groob co-hosts a weekly Lacrosse show on Spanglish Sports World, and ZingoTV channel 250, as well as writes a weekly lacrosse column for La Portada Canada News (both in print, and online).
Gary also hosts a Lacrosse talk show and podcast for The Edge of Philly Sports Network, seen live Sunday nights at 9pm (ET), and archived on the Edge of Philly YouTube page, as well as Spotify.
Mr. Groob’s other sports interests include Hockey, Football, Boxing, Wrestling, and Baseball, competing competitively in Boxing and Wrestling for many years.
