PLAYOFF BOUND
Rush clinch post-season spot early
There’s a lot of whacks, shoves, shots and saves left in the 2018 National Lacrosse League campaign — nearly half a season’s worth, all told.
But it matters not: The Saskatchewan Rush have, officially, clinched a playoff spot.
“It seems awful early to talk about that,” Rush head coach Derek Keenan said after his team claimed that spot with a 10-6 win over the visiting Calgary Roughnecks Saturday night.
Early, sure, but that’s what a 9-2 record will get you in a Western Division race where one team — the Vancouver Stealth — are 1-9.
The Rush still have seven games left in their regular season. The next target is clinching first place overall.
“I was actually joking around with a buddy of mine on another team the other day that we’re clinching a playoff spot this weekend,” Rush forward Mark Matthews said after notching three goals and four assists in a winning cause. “It’s nice knowing we’re in there. It’s not over, though — we’re working for first place in the league, and looking to stay home-field the whole way.”
That early clinch — Saskatchewan is the only NLL team to have hit that milestone — leads to questions about how a team keeps itself fired up for the next two months of regular-season play. Matthews insisted it won’t be an issue.
“We have good leadership and a coaching staff that keeps that pedal down,” said Matthews, whose team has played in each of the last three NLL championships, winning two before getting swept out of last year’s final by the Georgia Swarm. “There’s no lackadaisical (attitude) or anything on our team, and that’s why we’ve been so good for so many years.”
Saskatchewan’s only Saturdaynight failing came in the second quarter, when they were outscored 3-1 after taking a 4-1 lead in the opening frame. But they scored all three goals in the third quarter, while riding a shutdown defence and brick-walled goaltending from Evan Kirk, who stopped 37 of the 43 shots he faced.
Matthew Dinsdale and Jeff Shattler — the latter signed with the Rush as a free-agent this past off-season after 11 campaigns in Calgary — netted two goals apiece. Ryan Keenan collected four assists.
The Roughnecks, who are 4-6, got four goals and two assists from Wesley Berg, and five assists from Dane Dobbie.
Saturday’s game was a chippy, unfriendly affair, played before a crowd announced at 15,075. Saskatchewan beat Calgary 13-12 in overtime earlier in the season, and the teams will play once more before playoffs hit.
“Four, sometimes five times, six times a year,” Matthews said of his frequent clashes with the Roughnecks. “I’ve probably played them 25 times in my career already. It’s nuts to think about. You grow to hate guys on the floor, I guess. They’ve had virtually the same team for that long, and we’ve had pretty well the same team for so long, too. You grow to hate guys out there, and it kind of shows in games like this.”
The Rush return to action this coming Saturday with a 7:30 p.m. home game against the Vancouver Stealth.