The Rock's win clinched first place in the NLL

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HAMILTON — Before Saturday's game, Chellen Rodgers was concerned that the Toronto Rock hadn't produced a 60-minute effort in a single game this season.

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That box was checked, but the box clearly marked: “Home advantage in the National Lacrosse League playoffs.”

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The Rock won their 14th game of the season in a 13-6 victory over the Rochester Knighthawks to move into first place in the NLL standings, but more importantly, they showed they are ready for the playoffs.

60 minutes of dominance wasn't necessary, as the first 30 games were as good as any Toronto Rock team has played in years. The Rock outscored Rochester 42-14 in that span to take a 10-1 lead. Chris Bouchey and Corey Small scored hat tricks in that period. Rodgers played his first home game two months after returning from injury and scored twice, while Mark Matthews and Justin Martin also found the scoresheet.

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Rochester managed to pull two back in a penalty-filled third quarter. Tom Schreiber and Brad Cree scored for the Rock in the final period, as did Bushey, and the defense held the Knighthawks to three more points. NLL career second-most goaltender Nick Rose has 43 saves in 108 wins.

The playoffs begin on the afternoon of April 27 with a one-game quarterfinal matchup against the league's eighth seed at the FirstOntario Centre. The players appreciate the crowd in Hamilton and see the importance of home field advantage in the postseason.

“It's very important,” Rock Captain Rogers said. “Playing in Rock City has been great all year.”

“The energy they bring every night has given us a boost.”

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Who that opponent will be won't be determined until the regular season ends next Saturday. Seven teams had a chance to finish as eighth this weekend.

Rock's potential opponent in the second round will also be revealed. With a bracket-style playoff system, Toronto will face the winner of 4-5 games. That could mean a best-of-three against his biggest foe. The defending champion Buffalo Bandits have finished the Rock's last three seasons in the second round and have handed Toronto two of their three losses this season. The Bandits defeated the Calgary Roughnecks 14-7 on Saturday and are now slated to face the Georgia crowd.

Rodgers and his team aren't worried about all that at the moment.

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“We just focused on us,” said the Toronto captain. “It's very easy to look at the scores and fixtures, but they change every week.”

Staying healthy is the Rock's biggest challenge when they hit the road next Saturday to finish their regular season tour against the Saskatchewan Rush. Toronto fielded a full lineup against Rochester after spending most of the first half of the season without Schreiber and Chris Corbeil and spent much of the second half without Rodgers, who made an immediate impact in Toronto's 10-7 road win. The Albany FireWolves are a week away after six games.

Connor Fields, Kyle Waters, Ryan Smith, Dan Lomas, Ethan O'Connor and Brad Gillis scored for Rochester, which faces Georgia and Philadelphia to close out the season. Even at 6-10, the Knighthawks still have a mathematical chance at a postseason berth.

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