The books are closed on the 2026 NLL season, as the Toronto Rock defeated the Halifax Thunderbirds in the Nest to take game two. The Rock won their seventh Championship, but first since 2011. Challen Rogers was 17 when the Rock last won it all. CJ Kirst was eight. The Thunderbirds lost their first trip to the Finals since 2018 when they were the old Rochester Knighthawks. Of course that predates their move to Halifax, so the vast majority of Thunderbirds fans will consider that their first trip to the dance.

Game one of the Finals featured strong goaltending and excellent defense, and game two was even better in that respect. Warren Hill and Nick Rose battled but for both teams, the defenders in front of them made things a bit easier for them. The best defenders know where the goalie wants to see shots coming from, and manage to prevent shots from coming from anywhere else. This happened a lot on Sunday, particularly in front of Nick Rose, to the point where Toronto PxP announcer Matt Caruk tweeted that Rock defensive coach Bruce Codd should be a candidate for Championship MVP.

The Rock offense was well-balanced, with Chris Boushy and Owen Hiltz scoring three each and singles coming from six other players. CJ Kirst only scored once but he does so much in the offensive zone that even an off day for him is still great for the team. Every Rock rookie in the game scored at least once, including Lucas Hucal who scored his first NLL goal. Chris Boushy continued his strong post-season, finishing second in playoff team scoring behind Mark Matthews who did some more amazing Mark Matthews things.

Rock rookies from left to right: Owen Hiltz, Lucas Hucal, Hugh Kelleher, CJ Kirst, Sam English

On the Thunderbird side, Clarke Petterson was the only multiple goal scorer and was a potent force in the offensive zone. Randy Staats scored one early, just a couple of minutes after a Petterson goal, and I thought that if the both of them got hot at the same time, game two could have a very different outcome than game one. But Staats was snakebitten the rest of the evening and Jason Knox didn’t score at all, so the Rock defense has to be happy with that.

After the game, we spoke briefly to a Halifax fan who was concerned that this would be it for Cody Jamieson, who will be 39 when the 2027 season begins. Jammer is no longer putting up the MVP numbers he used to but of course, that’s not his job anymore. But that powerful overhead shot can still make it by goalies, and he showed in both Finals games that he can still get it done. In the fourth quarter of game 1, Jamieson scored two to give Halifax a brief (14 second) lead. In game two, Jamieson again gave his team the lead, though this time it was in the second quarter. But even Jamieson can’t do everything. The Rock defense was too suffocating and Halifax just couldn’t get the looks they needed.

I don’t want to take anything away from the Halifax defense though. Warren Hill made more than his share of excellent saves and the defense in front of him could be pretty frustrating for Rock forwards as well. Jake Withers, in particular, made some great defensive plays and fought for a number of loose balls. Yes, his LB totals get inflated because he takes (and wins) so many faceoffs, but many of those LBs came on plays unrelated to faceoffs. Graeme Hossack was either an unstoppable force or an immovable object, depending on what the play required, and both Curtis Romanchych and Max Wilson made a few standout plays as well.

Other game notes:

• With just a few minutes left in the fourth quarter, Rock defender Billy Hostrawser blocked a shot off his leg. He could barely stand but couldn’t get off the floor, and somehow played some defense while standing on one leg and putting as little weight as possible on the other one. But just a few seconds later he grabbed a loose ball and ran up the floor when he had the chance, looking like his pain was gone, and passing to someone else once he crossed centre. But as soon as the ball was out of his stick, he limped off the floor, showing that the pain hadn’t just magically disappeared. Respect.
• Huge thanks again to Thunderbirds fan Todd Bechard who got tickets for me, my wife, and our friends before they went on sale to the general public. Without Todd’s help, we’d have been sitting waaaay back, if we were able to get tickets at all. You the man, Todd.
• I’m really happy for the first-time Championship winners, particularly the guys who have been around a long time like Nick Rose, Billy Hostrawser, and Brad Kri. I’m really happy for the rookies who get to experience the Championship feeling, which many players never get, in their first season. I’m really happy for Jamie Dawick who has owned the Rock since 2009 and has done an outstanding job with the team. And of course as a long-time Rock fan myself, I’m just really happy.

The Halifax experience

My wife and I along with a couple of friends travelled to Halifax for this game. It was my fourth time watching the Rock win a Championship, and second away from Toronto, but it was my first time experiencing a game at the Nest. I have no intention of allowing it to be my last. I wrote about that experience separately, and I will update this article with a link once that article is published.