Gary Groob
Lax Philly – A Division of Edge of Philly Sports
The Toronto Rock (6-3) and Albany FireWolves (4-6) met for the second and final time this season in Albany. The Rock took the first meeting of the season on their home floor by a score of 10-9 on December 4 in Hamilton, ON. The Rock entered tonight’s game as winners of three straight games, while the FireWolves were coming off a 13-8 loss to the Bandits last night in Buffalo.
Toronto, riding high after handing the Buffalo Bandits their first loss of the year last week, know if they let their guard down for even a second, the FireWolves would take full advantage. Albany was riding high winning four of five games recently, but have been losers of their last two games. Hoping to right the ship, Glenn Clark had his team ready for a fight.
The Rock made some roster moves prior to the game. Latrell Harris and Jason Noble both were moved to the Active Roster, while Chris Weier and Zach Manns were moved to the Injured Reserve List.
The goalie match-up had Nick Rose for the Rock vs. Doug Jamieson for the FireWolves.
Albany played valiantly, but back to back games against two of the top teams in the NLL took it’s toll. Toronto came away with the 13-9 victory.
To the game…
The Rock opened the scoring when Rob Hellyer (1g,5)converted a Justin Scott pass at 4:49, but Albany came right back when Joe Resetarits (3g,2a) blasted a Curtis Conley pass through Nick Rose at 5:57. The FireWolves took the lead when Greg Downing fed Andrew Kew (3g,2a) who made no mistake at 9:43.
Toronto tied the game when Reid Reinholdt (3g,0a) scored off a Tom Schreiber pass at 11:14 on the power play, but Andrew Kew gave the FireWolves the lead once again when he converted a Joe Resetarits pass at 12:46.
After one quarter, Albany 3 Toronto 2.
Second Quarter:
Andrew Kew got the FireWolves rolling in the second quarter when he converted a Colton Watkinson pass at 4:22 to increase the lead to 4-2.
Josh Jubenville (2g,0a) got one back for Toronto in transition off a Phil Mazzuca pass at 4:57. Reid Reinholdt tied the game with a howitzer of a shot from the restraining line off a Justin Scott pass at 7:08, then took the lead when he scored his third of the night off a Tom Schreiber pass at 8:36. Dan Dawson (1g,2a) scored off a Dan Craig pass at 12:19, but Joe Resetarits stopped the four goal Rock run when he scored off a Ryan Benesch pass at 13:09, and tied it when Charlie Kitchen (1g,0a) scored off an Andrew Kew pass at 14:55.
At the half, Toronto 6 Albany 6.
Third Quarter:
Albany opened up the third quarter with Joe Resetarits scoring his third of the night off a Reilly O’Connor pass at 0:23 seconds, but the Rock tied it up when Brandon Slade (1g,0a) scored in transition off a Mitch de Snoo pass at 3:49. The Rock took the lead once more when Dan Craig (1g,3a) quick sticked a Rob Hellyer pass home at 10:29, followed by Tom Schreiber diving from behind the net, scoring at 10:43 giving Toronto a two goal lead.
Reilly O’Connor (1g,1a) cut the lead to one goal when he scored at 11:54.
After three quarters, Toronto 9 Albany 8.
Fourth Quarter:
Josh Jubenville converted a rebound off a Justin Scott shot burying it past Doug Jamieson at 4:54. Tom Schreiber scored his second of the game with a beautiful side arm shot from the outside off a Rob Hellyer pass at 10:04 to all but seal the game. Latrell Harris (1g,0a) and Challon Rogers (1g,0a) both scored empty net goals. Ryan Benesch (1g,1a) got one more for Albany, but that was how it ended.
Final score, Toronto 13 Albany 9.
The Three Stars:
- 1. Tom Schreiber
- 2. Rob Hellyer
- 3. Andrew Kew
Of Note:
- Shots on goal favored Toronto 57-40.
- The faceoff battle was dominated by Albany with Joe Nardella going 19 for 27.
- Toronto was 2 for 2 on the power play, while Albany was 1 for 2.
Top Scorers
Toronto Rock:
- Rob Hellyer 1g, 5a
- Tom Schreiber 2g, 3a
- Dan Craig 1g, 3a
Albany FireWolves:
- Joe Resetarits 3g, 2a
- Andrew Kew 3g, 2a
- Ryan Benesch 1g, 1a
Toronto’s next game is in New York against the Riptide, Saturday February 26th. Game Time is 7:30pm (ET).
Albany’s next game is against the San Diego Seals, Saturday February 26th. Game Time is 10pm (ET).
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.
Latest Articles
Phillies Maintain Lead in Wild Card After Win Over MetsPhillies
ETU Nostalgia, UltraINDEPENDENT, Wrestling
Philadelphia Looked to Sweep the Season SeriesTrending Now, Union
2 Of 3 From The Braves Hunt For Red OctoberPhillies
Best For BusinessTrending Now, Wrestling, WWE
