TORONTO (Dec. 27, 2025) – The Las Vegas Desert Dogs (2–1) and Toronto Rock (1–2) combined for a high-scoring affair, with the Desert Dogs pulling away for a 17–11 victory. Las Vegas saw two players record hat tricks, finished a perfect night on the power play, and celebrated Chris Cloutier reaching 300 career NLL points. The Dogs also set a new franchise record with 17 goals, the most scored in a single game.
The first quarter opened with a physical pace and strong defense on both ends. Toronto struck first on an odd-man rush, but Las Vegas answered immediately. Chase Fraser powered through his defender, made a few quick stick moves in front, and finished to tie the game at 1–1. Fraser added his second of the quarter on a pick-and-roll, slipping the ball past the Rock’s netminder. Mitch Jones capped the scoring with his team-leading fifth goal of the season, continuing his goal streak in every game played. The three-goal run gave the Desert Dogs a 3–1 lead after one quarter.
Much like the first quarter, Toronto opened the second by banking the ball off Desert Dogs goaltender Landon Kells and into the net. Las Vegas responded on the next possession, as Sean Westley fired a shot five-hole to restore the two-goal lead. Chris Cloutier extended the advantage with a wide-open shot from the top of the zone, assisted by Chase Fraser, giving the Desert Dogs a 5–2 lead midway through the quarter. Mitch Jones added his second goal of the night with a powerful step-in shot. Toronto scored twice late, but Las Vegas carried a 6–4 lead into the locker room at half.
To open the third quarter, Chase Fraser drew a two-minute penalty after taking a cross-check to the head, then capitalized by completing his hat trick on the ensuing power play, a tough play from a tough player. Later in the quarter, John LaFontaine split the defense on a breakaway and beat the goalie for his first goal of the season and the 15th of his career, extending the Desert Dogs’ lead to 8–4. Chris Cloutier continued the scoring run with another power-play goal.
Toronto answered with a three-goal run to cut the deficit to 9–7, but Adam Poitras halted the momentum by burying a rebound. CJ Kirst responded with a hat-trick goal for the Rock to make it 10–8. With just 4.4 seconds remaining in the quarter, Jackson Webster burst through the Rock defense and scored late, giving the Desert Dogs an 11–8 lead heading into the fourth.
With one frame left, the Desert Dogs continued to pour on the offense. Webster struck immediately to open the quarter, back-to-back goals roughly 40 seconds apart. He completed his run on the power play, jumping from behind the net to stuff it home and extend Las Vegas’ lead to five. The Desert Dogs finished a perfect 3-for-3 on the power play.
Jonathan Donville added his first goal of the night, along with five assists, on a bouncing shot the Rock goaltender couldn’t handle. Westley followed with his second goal of the game, continuing the scoring surge. Connor Kirst and Poitras capped the night with goals each.
Toronto found the net three times in the fourth, but it wasn’t enough as the Desert Dogs secured a 17–11 victory. Las Vegas will look to carry the momentum into the new year when they visit the Buffalo Bandits on Jan. 3, 2026 and then back home in the Den for their Golden Night game on January 9.
LVDD TOP THREE SCORERS
Mitch Jones — 8 points (2 G, 6 A)
Chris Cloutier — 7 points (2 G, 5 A)
Jonathan Donville — 6 points (1 G, 5 A)
