Green grass is hard to find mid-winter in Manitoba but 3,500 lacrosse fans — and 40 professional lacrosse players — made full use of a suitable substitute Saturday night at the MTS Centre.

On bright green artificial turf, the Minnesota Swarm and Toronto Rock did battle in downtown Winnipeg’s first-ever National Lacrosse League (NLL) match-up. The start of the 2007 NLL season is a short month away, and Saturday’s exhibition game gave veteran players and up-and-coming prospects the chance to showcase their stuff in a central location.

As Eastern Division rivals, Toronto and Minnesota share a heated history. Kicking off their third NLL season, the Swarm had home-field advantage in Manitoba, donning their home jerseys and playing on turf shipped up from the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

As the league’s winningest franchise, the Toronto Rock have five NLL championships and a passionate fan base behind them. With superstar forwards Josh “Shooter” Sanderson and Colin Doyle in the line-up, the Rock entered the match with firepower aplenty.

At the onset of the game, however, Minnesota dominated the offensive rush, keeping Rock goalie Bob Watson on his toes. Despite taking an early penalty, the Rock battled back shorthanded with Sean Kimpinski netting the first goal of the game 3:18 into the first quarter.

Finding their powerplay groove, the Swarm closed the gap with Dean Hill putting one past Watson a short 42 seconds later. Quick goals proved to be the story of the first quarter, as Toronto’s 3-1 lead (on go-ahead goals by Aaron Wilson and Rusty Kruger) faded fast when two Swarm shots, six seconds apart, tied the game at three.

Carrying a 4-3 lead into the second, Toronto increased their lead with Wilson and Kruger both netting their second goals of the game on Swarm backstopper Matt Disher. Sean Pollock put the Swarm on the board in the second, potting his first of the game with 34 seconds left in the half.

Through the remaining 30 minutes, the Rock repeatedly charged ahead only to lose ground to speedy Swarm snipers on a comeback crusade. Twice in the third, back-to-back Swarm goals cut Toronto’s lead and kept Minnesota in the match.

Riding final frame goals by Pollock, Jamie Taylor, and Kasey Beirnes, the Swarm pressed to gain the lead but couldn’t stop the Rock. Toronto’s Wilson, Kruger, and Chris Driscoll all posted hat tricks, propelling the Rock to a close 13-12 victory over the Minnesota Swarm.

---