Toronto Rock ride rookies for sweep of Halifax in NLL final

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Nick Rose came to the Toronto Rock in 2012, the year after the team had won the National Lacrosse League championship for the sixth time.

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His tenure has been filled with playoff disappointments and having to tune out a number of social media critics. But on Sunday, he finally became a champion, leading the Rock to a 12-7 win over the Halifax Thunderbirds.

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“Nothing like it, I can barely breathe,” Rose said after the Rock completed the NLL Finals sweep. “I wanted to be here so bad. We did it and we’re champions.”

Rose was magnificent in the second half of Sunday’s win at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, just as he was at TD Coliseum in the 13-11 series opener in Hamilton. Rose allowed just one goal while making 34 saves.

The championship capped an incredible comeback season after the team missed the playoffs in 2025. The difference this season was the number of rookies on this team, unsaddled with the baggage of past failures. Five rookies scored in the clinching game before the sold-out crowd of 10,889 in Halifax.

“I’m so jealous of them, winning it in their first year,” Rose said. “They re-energized this group and they’re the reason we got this done.”

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Rookies fuel early Rock lead

The Rock’s rookies went right to work early with three scoring to give the visitors a 5-3 lead after a quarter. Sam English finished an end-to-end transition play to open the scoring. Owen Hiltz added the second and later Lucas Hucal, a mid-season replacement on a defensive corps depleted by injury, scored his first NLL goal off a transition feed from Elijah Gash. Veterans Chris Boushy and Mark Matthews also scored. Clarke Petterson scored twice and Randy Staats added a power-play marker for the hosts.

Much like Friday’s opening game, the Thunderbirds made a run in the second quarter. Peterson’s third and goals by Mike Robinson and Code Jamieson gave Halifax its first lead. But Toronto’s response was much earlier this time with Boushy scoring his second from mid-range and goals by Hugh Kelleher and Hiltz giving the Rock an 8-6 edge at the break. Hiltz’s second of the game came with two seconds left in the half.

Hiltz, who had 32 goals in the regular season and seven in the post-season coming in, completed his hat trick in the third quarter. Brendan Bomberry scored for Halifax, which trailed 9-7 after three.

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After a 20-minute stretch where Rose and Thunderbirds goaltender Warren Hill stole the show, newly minted NLL rookie-of-the-year CJ Kirst fired a long, low shot through Hill’s legs to increase the lead. Kirst had four goals in the Game 1 win. Then with 1:50 left, Boushy, who the Rock acquired from Halifax in 2023, completed his hat trick with a diving effort from in front of the net.

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Franchise tied for most NLL titles

Latrell Harris added one more and the party was on.

“We worked so hard for so long,” Boushy said. “Now we’re bonded by blood, sweat and tears for the rest of our lives.”

Before Rogers, the Rock captain since 2019, received the NLL Cup, English was named the finals MVP.

“The older guys lead us by example,” English said. “They’re the once that keep us going. They make it fun in the locker-room.”

The win was also special for Bill Hostrawser, with the team since 2014, and for Rogers, Latrell Harris and coach Matt Sawyer, who have all endured the Rock’s post-season heartbreaks since 2017.

The seven championships won by the Rock bring the franchise back into a tie for most in league history. The Buffalo Bandits, who had won the last three titles, have seven in their history. The Thunderbirds, who had won five titles as the initial incarnation of the Rochester Knighthawks, were appearing in their first final since moving to Nova Scotia in 2019.

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