CHAMPIONSHIP ON LINE
Rush in Rochester one win from title
That thrashing the Rochester Knighthawks absorbed last Saturday wasn’t without moments of clarity.
The question is what they do with that clarity Saturday night, when they play for their lives against the Saskatchewan Rush.
“One big lesson we learned is that no matter how good you think you are, there’s another level to get to,” said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen, whose team lost 16-9 to the Rush in Game 1 of their best-of-three National Lacrosse League final.
“We saw the Rush take it to another level, and we’ve got to be able to get there and match it.”
Saskatchewan is chasing its third title in four seasons. They won in 2015 and 2016, but were swept two straight by the Georgia Swarm in last season’s final.
The Rush rebounded quickly, putting together a league-best 14-4 record during the regular season, and now they’re a win away from putting their stamp on the NLL one more time. Game 2 goes Saturday night in Rochester.
“Everyone just really wants to win, especially after last year,” says second-year Rush forward Ryan Keenan, one of the small handful of players on the team without an NLL championship ring.
“Everyone, even and especially the veterans, are playing with more of a chip on their shoulder going into this championship after losing last year.
“We’re a team of 20 or so fierce competitors, and we’ll be ready to go win this thing.”
Here’s some things to know with the game at hand.
TEAM IN TRANSITION
The Rush collected five goals in transition during last Saturday’s win over Rochester.
Saskatchewan head coach Derek Keenan called it “a bit of a catalyst for us” at game’s end, and Hasen touched on it this week.
“We’ve got to manage their speed and their transition, by being smart and quick,” Hasen said.
“We’ve got to focus on winning battles between the restraining lines.”
TO SCORE OR NOT TO SCORE
Mark Matthews, who led the NLL in scoring this season, didn’t collect his first point last Saturday until the third quarter, on Saskatchewan’s 10th goal.
He finished the day with one goal and two assists — small numbers by his standards, but Keenan pointed out that even though he didn’t hit the scoresheet with any regularity, he siphoned a lot of attention from opposing defenders.
PEPPERING THE GOALIE
Saskatchewan outshot Rochester 64-44 in the victory, and would have scored even more if Knighthawks goalie Matt Vinc hadn’t been as good as he was.
Vinc was excellent for the Knighthawks, but they’ll need to do a better job of evening the shots on goal to extend the series.
STREAKS AND SCORES
Saskatchewan won Saturday’s game in large part because of seven straight goals stretched between the second and third quarters.
They trailed 4-3 when the outburst started, and led 10-4 when it ended.
Particularly lethal was Rush forward Robert Church, who scored three consecutive times in a 3:03 span. Church finished with a gamehigh four goals and two assists.
UP NEXT ... MAYBE
If the Rush win, they’ll be NLL champions. If Rochester wins, the two teams will return to Saskatoon for a June 9 clash at SaskTel Centre. The winner of that game will capture the new NLL Cup, which replaces the old Champion’s Cup.