Rush, Swarm meet in NLL finals rematch
The National Lacrosse League’s hottest team spent the last few weeks cooling off. But not too much, they hope.
The Saskatchewan Rush, who opened their season with respective 17-9 and 24-11 wins over the Toronto Rock and New England Black Wolves, enjoyed a bye last weekend.
That ends on Saturday, when they travel to Georgia (1-2) for a date with the Swarm, who beat Saskatchewan in last season’s National Lacrosse League final.
Here are some things to know as the Rush and Swarm prepare to square off.
FAMILY REUNION
Four Thompson brothers — Jeremy in Saskatchewan, and Jerome, Miles and Lyle in Georgia — populate the two teams.
Lyle was named the NLL MVP last season after collecting 116 points in 18 regular-season games, and he was also named MVP of the Champions Cup.
CHASING A CHAMPIONSHIP
Georgia swept Saskatchewan two straight games in last season’s NLL championship series, halting the Rush’s quest for three consecutive titles.
Georgia won the clincher 15-14 in overtime at Saskatoon’s SaskTel Centre, with Miles Thompson scoring the winner on a set-up from brother Lyle.
The same teams squared off during a pre-season bout on Nov. 18, with Saskatchewan dominating during a 24-9 victory.
SCORING PARADE
Every team in the NLL has played one more game than the Rush, but Saskatchewan still has two players on the top-10 scoring list.
Mark Matthews, who collected a team record six goals and seven assists during Saskatchewan’s win over New England, is No. 7 with 18 overall points. Ben McIntosh — tied for the NLL lead with 10 goals — is 10th in points with 15, while Robert Church comes in at No. 11 with 14.
Lyle Thompson is eighth in league scoring with 17 points for Georgia.
ACROSS THE LEAGUE
Despite playing just two games, one less than everybody else, the Rush are second in league scoring with 41 goals. Rochester leads the NLL with 49 goals.
The Rush have surrendered 20 goals in those two games, lowest in the league, with Colorado next at 26 through three contests.
ELSEWHERE IN THE LEAGUE
In this weekend’s other games, the Calgary Roughnecks visit the Buffalo Bandits, and the Vancouver Stealth host the Toronto Rock.