Rose is the stem of a Rock-hard defence
Goaltender leads the way for the Hamilton-based NLL squad as it looks for a fifth straight win
The way the Rock plays lacrosse — which, these days, is pretty well — there is no visible border between what’s happening in the crease and the ferocious defensive work outside of it.
“Most teams rely on just their goalie or just their defence but we’ve got the double whammy of a strong defence and a strong goalie,” says 30-year-old Rock defender Brad Kri, who leads the National Lacrosse League in creating turnovers.
The Rock have added scoring power this year, signing free agent snipers Stephen Keogh and Corey Small to offset the trade of Rob Hellyer to Las Vegas, but the identity of the Hamilton-based team revolves around keeping the ball out of its own net. It’s a punishing synchronicity of the looming reliability of Nick Rose in net, full commitment to shot blocking, ball retrieval and vicious checking in front of him — and the quick offensive rushes that result from all of the above.
“We have a lot of athletic defenders, guys who are so strong they make it difficult on opposing offensive players,” Rose said as the 5-2 Rock prepared to host the New York Riptide on Saturday (7 p.m. TSN) at FirstOntario Centre.
“We’re just playing very physical. It’s a cliché for every team in the NLL that, if you keep a team under 10 goals, your success rate goes up quite a bit. It’s something we pride ourselves in.”
So far, so very good. In starting slowly at 1-2, they allowed 11 goals in both losses, but since then have won four straight, with the opposition scoring just seven, eight and five times in the first three. They did allow 10 in last Saturday’s overtime win in Calgary, but three of those occurred during a rare letdown during the final three minutes of regulation.
The six-foot-three, 220-pound Kri, a good hockey player who was on defence for the 2011 Hamilton Red Wings when Zach Hyman was the star, has caused 14 turnovers and is also ranked 11th overall in corralling balls up for grabs. Teammate TD Ierlan, a faceoff maestro, ranks third in loose balls and Mitch de Snoo is sixth. The Rock have surrendered about a goal per game less than any other team and Rose owns the NLL’s top save percentage and goals-against average. Not uncoincidentally, the Rock are excellent in the rapid reset to offence.
The Rock are loaded with veterans — of pro lacrosse and of the franchise itself — so there’s a symbiotic relationship between goalie, defenders and transition players.
“It helps having a strong, five-man unit that allows me to be a little more aggressive,” Kri says. “If I’m in a two-man game with let’s say Billy Hostrawser, I know what he’s going to do. I know he’ll have my back and I can pursue this offensive guy a little more than usual and that can create a turnover. Billy will fight through the pick.
“And, if we take a couple of more chances, we have that trust in Nick that, if we do happen to get beat, he’s going to make that save for us.”
Rose, a native of Orangeville where an arena is named for his late lacrosse-playing father, Tony Rose, is headed for the National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame. Earlier this year, he moved into seventh alltime in goalie minutes, and will move up a couple of spots during the season. He’s sixth in career wins and eighth in total saves. Although he’s been a finalist a few times, he’s not been named the NLL’s goalie of the year and his teammates think that’s a travesty.
“He definitely doesn’t get the recognition he deserves,” says Kri. “I believe he is the best goaltender in the league. What you want is consistency and that’s what he gives us every night. It makes it easy on our defence because we know what we’re getting out of him and our defensive unit is a lot more comfortable. We know what we have to do to keep a low number on the board because Nick’s going to always do his part.”
Rose turns 35 in a few days but is coming off his best two seasons in goals-against average since he became a starter in 2013, and has lowered that percentage in the opening seven games this season. Earlier in his career, he challenged snipers on the basic hockey-lacrosse premise that, the further out the goalie moves, the weaker the shooter’s angle. But the game has evolved, he says, especially in the NLL, where the net is three inches (7.6 centimetres) wider than in other leagues, and he’s playing much deeper.
“There are a lot of great offensive players who can score back door, crease dive, all that stuff, so I’ve adjusted, playing a little further back into the net,” says the six-foot, 285-pounder. “When we watch film with goalie coach Brandon Miller, I’m not taking up any less net and I can move more quickly to the posts.”
Rose insists it doesn’t bother him that he has not been named the league’s top goalie.
“If I’m in the conversation, that’s kind of good enough,” he says. “The award would be great but it wouldn’t matter if it’s not a championship year.”