Toronto Rock, in Front of Record Crowd, Beat Bandits and Takeover No. 1

Just when it appeared the Buffalo Bandits were rounding into NLL Finals form, the Toronto Rock struck back in front of the largest home crowd the team has played in front of since moving to Hamilton — and the largest home crowd for the franchise in 10 years.

With the result, Toronto moved into first place in the East and in the latest National Lacrosse League power rankings. Buffalo will have to wait three weeks to potentially exact revenge.

1. TORONTO ROCK (12-4)

The Rock made a statement by scoring the first seven goals in their 18-7 win against Buffalo, holding the Bandits to a goose egg until just 13 seconds remained in the first quarter. The visitors never got closer than four the rest of the way as Toronto secured its most lopsided victory in the teams’ series history. Tom Schreiber surpassed the 100-point mark for the first time in his career with nine on the night, while Corey Small notched his second 10-point showing as a Rock. Last week: 4

2. SAN DIEGO SEALS (11-3)

The Seals were also entangled in a battle of top seeds but were able to defend their throne against the Roughnecks and clinch a playoff spot. Wes Berg had eight points and Kevin Crowley added six in a game San Diego never trailed. That secures a 2-1 season series victory for the Seals and puts them two games up in the loss column on the Riggers. Last week: 2

3. BUFFALO BANDITS (11-4)

The first quarter deficit of six goals was tied for the second largest in Bandits franchise history, according to former Buffalo News reporter Budd Bailey. The 18 goals were also the most the team has given up since a January 26, 2019, meeting with Rochester, so it is no wonder some frustration boiled over in the closing minutes. Buffalo got additional bad news this week, as Chase Fraser was placed on injured reserve after playing just one game. Last week: 1

4. CALGARY ROUGHNECKS (10-5)

The Roughnecks’ win streak ended at three, as the team missed out on an opportunity to get neck-and-neck with San Diego in the standings. The Riggers got as close as three goals twice in the second half but were unable to earn a second straight victory against their biggest competitors in the West. Last week: 3

5. PANTHER CITY LACROSSE CLUB (9-6)

Tyler Burton won 78 percent of his draws and 16 players got on the scoresheet in PCLC’s 12-8 win against the FireWolves. Will Malcom and Callum Crawford each notched four points for Panther City, which rebounded from a 3-0 Albany start. It marked a needed return to form after an eight-goal loss to San Diego. Last week: 6

6. COLORADO MAMMOTH (7-7)

It has been an up-and-down season for the defending champions, but they find themselves in playoff position after an 11-9 victory against Las Vegas. Colorado had to dig itself out of a 7-3 hole in the second half and did so thanks to a six-goal run featuring four Eli McLaughlin points. The Desert Dogs responded, but the Mammoth sealed a win by scoring the game’s final two goals. Last week: 8

7. GEORGIA SWARM (6-8)

It feels like ages ago the Swarm sat at 0-7, almost certainly heading toward a lost season. But with a pair of victories this weekend — 12-7 against New York and 17-7 against Halifax — Georgia is now 6-1 in its last seven games and only a half-game back of the fourth East playoff spot. Rookie goaltender Brett Dobson made a combined 82 saves, while Andrew Kew’s 15-point weekend included a goal worthy of SportsCenter’s top plays. Last week: 10

8. PHILADELPHIA WINGS (7-8)

Joe Resetarits completed a seven-point performance with an overtime tally off a dodge from the left side, lifting the Wings to a 14-13 win against Rochester and the team’s second triumph against the Knighthawks in three games. Mitch Jones also had seven points, reaching 100 points on the season and 200 goals for his career. Last week: 9

9. HALIFAX THUNDERBIRDS (7-8)

A week after getting a leg up in the playoff race with a win against Philadelphia, Halifax fell back into a tie with the Wings and just a half-game up on Georgia with a lopsided loss to the Swarm. The T-Birds fell behind by as much as 12 in the second half after allowing their foes to score seven of the game’s first eight goals. Last week: 5

10. ROCHESTER KNIGHTHAWKS (9-6)

The K-Hawks fell for a third straight game to a team below .500 as they continue to lose stream from a stellar start to the year. Rochester scored five straight in the fourth quarter to erase a four-goal deficit with two and a half minutes remaining, but Philadelphia’s Taite Cattoni equalized less than 30 seconds later to force the extra frame. Last week: 7

11. SASKATCHEWAN RUSH (6-8)

Robert Church helped Saskatchewan mercifully end its five-game losing streak, scoring 2:06 into overtime on a goal right on the doorstep to secure a 12-11 triumph against Vancouver. Despite the team’s recent struggles, the Rush are only a game back of the last West playoff spot. Mark Matthews had the primary assist on the Church goal to push his point total to eight. Last week: 11

12. LAS VEGAS DESERT DOGS (5-9)

Las Vegas scored just twice in the second half against Colorado, getting back-to-back tallies from Jack Hannah and Jon Phillips to equalize at 9. After that brief spurt, the Desert Dogs went silent again for the final 10:59 of action. The squad built up a lead in the first half thanks to a 7-3 run that featured goals from six different Desert Dogs. Zack Greer became the 36th player in league history to reach 300 career goals. Last week: 12

13. NEW YORK RIPTIDE (4-11)

New York head coach Dan Ladouceur said there was frustration in the Riptide room after the loss to Georgia, and for good reason. With a second straight defeat in as many weeks to a once-winless Swarm group, playoff hopes all but ended for a team that set sights on a step forward this year. A 7-2 halftime hole proved too much, as well as Jeff Teat being held to two assists. Last week: 13

14. VANCOUVER WARRIORS (4-11)

Vancouver forced overtime with Saskatchewan by holding the Rush without a goal for the final 12 minutes, igniting a five-goal Warriors run. Yet, the team still fell and was officially eliminated from playoff contention. Kyle Killen recorded four of his six points in that final gasp for the team. Last week: 14

15. ALBANY FIREWOLVES (2-12)

The FireWolves are inching closer to locking in last place and the first overall pick in the NLL Draft. Albany took a 4-2 lead early in the second quarter against Panther City but then allowed a five-goal run and trailed the rest of the way. The losing streak has reached 10 games. Last week: 15