Well-travelled Rush back in town for six games
Saskatchewan gets through road-heavy early schedule with solid 8-2 record
Saskatchewan Rush players and coaches touched down in Saskatoon, and got reacquainted with the place.
“A lot of guys said it feels like we haven’t been here in forever,” Rush defender Ryan Dilks said Friday following a team practice.
It hasn’t been forever, exactly, but we get his point: The squad hasn’t spent much time here lately, thanks to a scheduling quirk that saw them play seven of their first 10 games on the road. Their schedule has been road-heavy since they hosted the Buffalo Bandits on Jan. 19, with their only home game since then a rushed affair on the heels of a contest the night before in Denver.
The good news, if you’re the Rush, is six of their last eight games will be played at SaskTel Centre, including tonight’s 7:30 p.m. clash against the Calgary Roughnecks.
And even more good news: Even though Saskatchewan lost last weekend in Rochester, getting pounded 16-11 by the Knighthawks, they still lead the National Lacrosse League with an 8-2 record.
“It’s what we wanted. We’re right where we wanted to be,” Dilks said of that lofty record despite a tough first-half schedule. “But it’s such a funny league that way. It doesn’t matter where you fit in the standings; it’s whoever shows up that night and wants to win. Just because we’re at home, we can’t expect we’ll win. We’ve got to expect we’re playing desperate teams.”
Calgary flies into Saskatoon with a 4-5 record, but that mark is deceptive. Since a 13-12 overtime loss to Saskatchewan on Jan. 27, Calgary is perfect — notching wins of 16-8 over Toronto, 13-9 over Colorado and 20-12 over Vancouver.
“They built confidence off that game, and they’ve played really well ever since,” Saskatchewan head coach Derek Keenan said of the Roughnecks’ reaction to last month’s tight overtime matchup. “They’re getting to where they should be, based on talent and how well they prepare.”
Saskatchewan, meanwhile, practised for the first time in a month on Friday. Circumstances over the previous month kept the nomadic team from staging a mass workout. Friday’s practice was uptempo, and they worked on their five-onfive play, on both ends of the floor. Keenan says that’s been a problem area of late.
“(Lack of practice) started to show a little bit the last couple of games,” Keenan said. “Last week, Rochester earned the win, and we just weren’t that great.”
Saskatchewan heads into the weekend clash with the league’s top average attendance, at 14,474 per game. Three other teams are over 10,000 — Buffalo (12,496), Colorado (12,241) and Calgary (10,390).
Dilks said he’s missed the fans, and yes — he does believe in the idea of a home-arena advantage.
“It’s hard to beat us in our building,” he said. “Our fans carry momentum.”
In this weekend’s other games, all today, Buffalo hosts Rochester and Vancouver hosts New England.
Just because we’re at home, we can’t expect we’ll win. We’ve got to expect we’re playing desperate teams.