Ontario Raiders

In mid-September, a group led by Toronto Maple Leaf executive Bill Watters purchased the Ontario Raiders from Chris Fritz and the Major Indoor Lacrosse Group. Watters' group has relocated the team to Toronto, and has renamed it the Toronto Rock. As the franchise continues to establish itself for the 1999 season, the Outsider's Guide will phase out this page in place of a new page.

Before the season, the Ontario Raiders weren't considered all that much of a contender. Sure, they had young wunderkind Colin Doyle and loose ball vacuum Jim Veltman, but they weren't given much credit. It was their expansion brethren in Syracuse that were expected to be the contenders, if one developed out of the pair. Those expectations failed to hold true.

The Raiders lived up to the expansion stereotype of a team that struggles to unify, dropping their first two games (both overtime losses) enroute to a 2-5 start. Luckily for Ontario, their poor start was nullified by the poorer starts of other teams, including expected title contender Buffalo. The Raiders found themselves right in the thick of the playoff chase at the end of February, a half-game back of the fourth-place Bandits.

The race was on, as Buffalo and Ontario went neck-and-neck for the final playoff spot over much of the last eight weeks, with New York making cameo appearances here and there. On 14 March, the 4-5 Raiders visited the 3-6 Bandits in a game that meant a big lead for Ontario if it won, and a dead heat if Buffalo prevailed. The Bandits squeaked out a 14-12 victory, but the Raiders jumped back out two weeks later by defeating Syracuse 22-21 in overtime.

The final week of the season turned into a three-horse race as Rochester slid back to the pack. Ontario's chances for a playoff berth didn't hinge as much on a Buffalo loss as they did on a Rochester win. If Buffalo and Ontario tied alone for fourth place, the Raiders would have won the tiebreaker on goal differential throughout the season.

However, while Buffalo trounced on Syracuse and Ontario lucked into a lackluster Wings performance, the Knighthawks lost to Baltimore. The three-way tie for third (at 6-6) sent Ontario home on head-to-head among the three (3-1 for Rochester, 2-2 for Buffalo, 1-3 for Ontario). Raiders fans point to the team's poor overtime record (1-3) as the ultimate destroyer of the team's playoff chances. However, the team showed a cohesiveness growing over the course of the season that is encouraging for the upcoming season.

DATE         OPPONENT       ONT-OPP   W/L  REC   POS
----------------------------------------------------
Sat Jan  3   ROCHESTER       14-15 OT  L   0-1   t-5
  Jan  9-10  -open date-                         t-4
Sat Jan 17   @ Baltimore     10-11 OT  L   0-2   6th
Sat Jan 24   NEW YORK        13-11     W   1-2   5th
  Jan 30-31  -open date-                         t-4
Sat Feb  7   @ Rochester      9-14     L   1-3   t-4
Fri Feb 13   @ New York      10-11     L   1-4   t-5
Sat Feb 21   BUFFALO         17-15     W   2-4   4th
Sat Feb 28   PHILADELPHIA    11-12 OT  L   2-5   5th
Sat Mar  7   SYRACUSE        15-11     W   3-5   4th
Fri Mar 13   BALTIMORE       17-14     W   4-5   4th
Sat Mar 14   @ Buffalo       12-14     L   4-6   t-4
  Mar 20-21  -open date-                         t-4
Fri Mar 27   @ Syracuse      22-21 OT  W   5-6   t-4
  Apr  3- 4  -open date-                         t-4
Sat Apr 11   @ Philadelphia  15- 8     W   6-6   t-3
----------------------------------------------------

Raiders record breakdown:
  vs BAL       1-1        Tuesday     0-0
  vs BUF       1-1        Friday      2-1
  vs NY        1-1        Saturday    4-5
  vs PHI       1-1        Sunday      0-0
  vs ROC       0-2        After win   2-3
  vs SYR       2-0        After loss  4-2
  home         4-2        January     1-2
  road         2-4        February    1-3
  overtime     1-3        March       3-1
  1 goal       1-4        April       1-0
  2 goals      3-5
  after bye    2-2
  second game* 0-1

* Second game of a multiple-game weekend.