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TORONTO (CP) - The Toronto Rock are rollin'.

After opening the season with three straight losses as all the new players tried to adjust to how rookie head coach Glenn Clark wants them to play, the Rock got firmly on track with two wins over the Buffalo Bandits - 14-10 Friday and 13-8 Saturday.

''We're adapting to the systems that Glenn has been implementing,'' said big defenceman Dan Ladouceur. ''We're seeing results now.

''We've got a lot of new players and what Glenn tried to institute from the start, we're finally getting.''

In other NLL action it was: Calgary 15, San Jose 11; Colorado 16, Edmonton 7; and Rochester 13, Chicago 8.



Clark and Ladouceur were two main cogs in the defence corps that helped Toronto win National Lacrosse League titles five times in seven years before a first-round playoff elimination last spring, and they are convinced that the Rock can be on top again if it regains the defensive dominance it once held.

''We've had guys coming in from different teams with different systems where they might have had a little more freedom,'' said Ladouceur. ''Clarkie wants a very structured offence and defence and some guys weren't used to that.''

''Some of them are used to freelancing. To come in cold, sometimes it's hard to get them to buy into it. I think they're finally doing that, and we're going in the right direction now.''

In the latest win, Matt Shearer scored three goals, Kevin Fines and Josh Sanderson got two each and Aaron Wilson, Jim Veltman, Chris Driscoll, Chad Thompson, Rob Marshall and Ryan Benesch added one each for the Rock, while Blaine Manning got five assists in front of an announced Air Canada Centre crowd of 15,471.

For the Bandits, who led 3-0 after eight minutes, Dan Teat scored two goals and John Tavares, Brett Bucktooth, Clay Hill, Delby Powless, Cory Bomberry and Jason Crosbie got one each.

Toronto held slim lids of 6-5 at halftime and 9-8 after three quarters before pulling away in the fourth with four unanswered goals - all of them on power plays as the Bandits' undisciplined play did them in again. They weren't as bad as they were Friday, when they totally melted down, but they've got to get their act together.

Toronto was 6-for-10 and Buffalo 2-for-5 on power plays Saturday. On Friday, Toronto was 6-for-16 and Buffalo 2-for-5.

''All the penalties we had, we handed Toronto both those games,'' said Bandits captain Rich Kilgour. ''You aren't going to win many games when you're in the (penalty) box for half the game.''

''That's basics. This one (Saturday) was a gift for them. We should have put a bow on it. Toronto is a good team and they played well, but if we see the best of the Buffalo Bandits, we'll definitely put up a better fight than that.''

Bob Watson won the goaltending duel with 2006 league MVP Steve Dietrich, making his first start after rehabbing from off-season surgery. Shots were 47-47.

''We're really getting solid defensive efforts from guys,'' said Watson, who held the fort in the third quarter when Buffalo had a 19-5 shots advantage. ''They're keeping things to the outside and making my job a lot easier.''

Ladouceur, Pat Merrill, Phil Sanderson, Derek Suddons, Scott Campbell and Brad MacArthur are the stay-at-home defencemen for the Rock, while Driscoll, Thompson, Marshall, Fines and Veltman are defencemen with the green light to go for fast breaks if opportunities arise in transition to offence.

Marshall's goal on a breakaway in the last minute of the third quarter began the surge of six consecutive Toronto goals that won it for the Rock. The skinny carpenter from nearby Arthur, Ont., is in his second pro season and had never scored a goal. He was elated to finally get one, but he preferred to talk about the team effort than about himself.

''The last two games, we've been gelling,'' said Marshall. ''Play good defence and you generate the offence.''

Veltman was back in the lineup after missing three games with a strained hamstring and his presence provided a spark. Besides their goals, Veltman and Josh Sanderson each had three assists.

Toronto doesn't play again until the expansion Chicago ShamRox visit on the Sunday afternoon of Feb. 18. Clark will use practice time to drive home his systems.

''These two wins bring confidence and help the guys become more sold on what we're trying to do,'' said Clark.

Phil Sanderson sat in the dressing room with ice packs on his skinned knees.

''Awesome,'' he said of the team's effort. ''They were just great team efforts.

''Tenacity - that's what it was.''

The Rock, 2-3, moved into a tie for fourth place with the idle Minnesota Swarm, while the Bandits, 2-4, slipped to fifth in the seven-team East Division.

Rochester grabbed first place when it improved to 5-2 by defeating visiting Chicago 13-8. Scott Evans led the Knighthawks with four goals and four assists, Shawn Williams scored three goals and John Grant had two goals and five assists.

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