Nothing like getting the work done early. The Toronto Rock, needing one win from home-and-home contests with the Philadelphia Wings to clinch a home berth in the NLL semifinals, blew out to a quick 7-0 lead en route to a 17-9 home-floor victory Friday night, led by four goals each from Colin Doyle and Kim Squire.

Jake Bergey led Philly with four goals and three assists, while Mark Millon chipped in with a hat trick, but nothing but gonig to be enough to keep the Wings flying above the Rock slide.

Regular goalie Dallas Eliuk sat out with some very sore muscles, so it fell to deputy Chris Sanderson to face the brunt of the opening onslaught. Just over two minutes in, Rock coach Les Bartley opened his bag of tricks. The Rock power play had Philly pinned in their own end when Toronto goalie Bob Watson raced to the bench. Colin Doyle tore onto the floor, took a perfect feed, and blasted home his fortieth goal of the season. Blaine Manning doubled the lead, pouncing on and converting a fat rebound at 4:08. For number three, Doyle zipped to the net just as Kim Squire snagged a loose ball. One perfect pump pass later, Doyle scored his second, but got freight-trained by the Philadelphia defence. No call, and Doyle, though momentarily groggy, continued.

Kim Squire buried a diagonal runner at 8:15, and Dan Stroup went bag from right in front on the power play exactly a minute later. Then light-scoring Rock defender Darryl Gibson got into the act, going coast-to-coast untouched at 9:34. Soon after that, Kim Squire bagged his second off a twisting fake on the full run. 7-0, Toronto! Tom Ryan finally came close for the visitors, ringing one off Watson's goalpost, before Jake Bergey finally put the Wings on the board cutting across the crease, unassisted, at 12:52.

7-1 Toronto after one!

The Wings were much stronger in the second quarter, but were only able to slightly narrow the gap.

Tom Marachek got his lone marker of the night, firing over Watson's shoulder from in close. Back came Toronto, with Glenn Clark punishing a soft loose ball with a floor-length scoring gallop. Bergey was then able to go for a lengthy invisible float behind a triple screen before zapping one home from well outside. Millon then opened his account with a long laser rip off the inside of the post.

But the Rock roared back with two quick markers of their own: Kim Squire with a long, one-bounce wicket job at 5:24, and Jim Veltman converting a brilliant behind-the-back pass from Ken Millin 20 seconds later. Philly's Kevin Finneran then conjured a fine finish, running outside after finding the middle totally blocked. At 9:36, Bergey cut further into the lead with a neat zap-in from beside the post.

Then... oh my!

The Wings went into a huddle, and came out looking very determined as Toronto started, shorthanded, in their own end. A long, high, very soft pass from Jim Veltman found a straining, reaching Colin Doyle in double coverage with his back to goal. Doyle hauled in the ball, but was so hemmed in, he had no way to turn. So he didn't. To the delighted amazement of 17,501 fans, Doyle fired over his own head with his back to the goal. The net and the building exploded. Sanderson never saw it.

11-6 Rock at the half.

Right off the second-half draw, still shorthanded, Toronto scored again. Veltman gobbled up the ball, and hit a streaking Glenn Clark with a perfect pop pass. Net go boom. No more scoring until 12:10, when Rock defender Rodd Squire muscled on in from the high slot. Just over a minute later, brother Kim added yet another with a powerful half-floor run. Mark Millon closed out the quarter with Philadelphia's best goal of the night, a one-hand underhand muscle job at 14:30.

14-7 Toronto after three.

Forty seconds into the final frame, Chris Sanderson was pulled from the Philly net in favour of youthful third-stringer Nick Schroeder. Just ten seconds later, Blaine Manning lit him up with a diagonal line rip. Doyle then added his fourth -- once again, with his back to the goal! Millon and Bergey each added singled for the Wings before Pat Coyle wrapped things up with an empty-netter at 12:48.

Notes: No, I don't ever remember the same player scoring two no-lookers in the same game. That makes at least five goals Doyle has scored this way this season. And it's not like he's been playing like a total hot dog, either. He's far and away Toronto's best goal scorer, and has showed ever increasing wisdom, patience and maturity as the season has worn on. but as I've noted many times, he's a total seven-year-old at heart, as the Wings found out spectacularly tonight.

BOX SUMMARY
                                      1  2  3  4     TOT
Philadelphia Wings (7-8)              1  5  1  2  --   9
Toronto Rock (11-4)                   7  4  3  3  --  17

PHILADELPHIA WINGS            TORONTO ROCK
               G - A   PTS                   G - A   PTS
Bergey         4 - 2     6    Veltman        1 - 5     6
Millon         3 - 1     4    K Squire       4 - 1     5
Marechek       1 - 3     4    Manning        2 - 3     5
Finneran       1 - 2     3    Doyle          4 - 0     4
Ryan           0 - 2     2    Toll           0 - 4     4
Barrett        0 - 1     1    G Clark        2 - 1     3
Ratcliffe      0 - 1     1    Coyle          1 - 1     2
C Sanderson    0 - 1     1    Gibson         1 - 1     2
Spano          0 - 1     1    Stroup         1 - 1     2
                              R Squire       1 - 0     1
                              Chapman        0 - 1     1
                              Millin         0 - 1     1

Shots on goal           48    Shots on goal           59
Saves made by (GA)      42    Saves made by (GA)      39
   Sanderson (14)    37          Watson (9)        39
   Schroeder (3)      5
Penalties                6    Penalties                9
Penalty Minutes         15    Penalty Minutes         21
Power Play Chances       5    Power Play Chances       2
Power Play Goals         1    Power Play Goals         2
   Millon             1          Manning            1
                                 Stroup             1
Shorthanded Goals        0    Shorthanded Goals        2
   (None)                        G Clark            1
                                 Doyle              1
Loose Balls             79    Loose Balls             85
   Marechek           9          G Clark           14
   A Martin           9          Veltman           13
   Spano              8          Toll              10
Faceoffs Won            15    Faceoffs Won            15
   Stilley      (11-11)          Millin       ( 8- 8)
   R Traynor    ( 4- 4)          Toll         ( 7- 7)

   *** STATS OFFICIAL BY VERIFY WITH TORONTO ROCK ***

Ben Knight is lacrosse columnist for Sportsnet.ca