Rush hungry for victory after shock defeat
Sudden-death OT loss to Buffalo urges team to ‘be better in nearly every area’
There is no time to dwell on it.
Saskatchewan Rush players quickly picked up their jaws from the Co-op carpet following that shocking sudden-death overtime loss to the visiting Buffalo Bandits. They now have their eyes focused on their next National Lacrosse League opponent.
Saskatchewan wants to quickly re-group when it faces the Calgary Roughnecks in Calgary on Saturday night after dropping its first game of the NLL season in dramatic fashion last Friday night 16-15 before 14,693 stunned fans at SaskTel Centre.
“Probably not bad timing,” admitted Rush head coach and general manager Derek Keenan, whose team is 4-1 for the season and now faces a 1-4 Roughnecks squad this coming weekend.
“It almost seems like every week that we’re a team at or near the top of the league and we face a desperate team, we face the same thing next weekend. We’re going to play a 1-4 Calgary in a place where we’ve had great games in the past.
“We need to figure out ways to play more desperate than them.”
Against Buffalo, Saskatchewan blew a 12-5 lead in the third quarter. The Rush had come out flying with four quick goals and a 6-0 lead, but the Bandits chipped away at that lead and eventually mounted a successful comeback.
There was a big momentum swing in the second half.
“When it happens, it feels like the table is completely slanted and it’s coming at you,” offered Rush captain Chris Corbeil, who admits his team sometimes has trouble finishing out games.
“It gives the other team an extra shot in the butt and, all of a sudden, whether you like it or not, you tell yourself to play confident but you’re second-guessing yourself and, when you’re second-guessing
Seems like every week that we’re a team at or near the top and we face a desperate team, we face the same thing next weekend.
yourself, the guy behind you is, too. You’re not playing your best game.
“Clearly we need to be better in nearly every area of our game.”
The Rush now play four of its next five games away from its Saskatoon-based home. No worries.
“We’ve been good on the road,” said Keenan, whose team remains undefeated away from home this season.
“We’ve been a good road team for a number of years. We obviously love playing here (Saskatoon SaskTel Centre). Fans are great and into it. We made some mistakes, maybe because of that (overflowing exuberance and emotion), which we kind of dealt with our first season here. We’re fine on the road. We play well. We travel well. We look forward to the coming week.”