NLL TITLE ON THE LINE
Rush excited, wary going into final game
They didn’t want to play this game.
They didn’t want to be in Saskatoon, at SaskTel Centre, preparing for a do-or-die clash on a warm June evening. The Saskatchewan Rush would have much rather toppled the Rochester Knighthawks last weekend in New York State — but their failure to do just that extended the National Lacrosse League season an extra week, and injected a healthy dose of uncertainty into the NLL’s championship series.
“That’s why we finished 14-4, in case this does happen. And sure enough, here we are,” Rush defender Ryan Dilks said Friday after a team workout at SaskTel Centre.
That aforementioned 14-4 regular-season mark was the best in the NLL this season, and gives Saskatchewan home-floor advantage over the 10-8 Knighthawks. Saskatchewan won Game 1 in Saskatoon 16-9, and lost 13-8 in Rochester the following weekend.
The final match in the best-ofthree series goes Saturday at 7:30 p.m., with the winner claiming the newly minted NLL Cup.
“There’s so much anxiousness to get out there and play,” said Rush forward Ben McIntosh. “It’s always on your mind, you’re watching film … you’re able to sleep, but it’s always on your mind, all week.
“This is my first Game 3, and we’ve been to the finals four years in a row. Leading up to the game, you’re so anxious — you just want to play. It’s going to be a good game, and I don’t think it’s going to be heavily swung one way or the other like the first two games. I think it’s going to be a close game.”
Rochester won three straight NLL titles between 2012 and 2014. The Edmonton Rush captured the title, their first, in 2015, and won again in 2016 after moving the franchise to Saskatoon. They reached the 2017 final, but were swept two straight by the Georgia Swarm, including an overtime setback at home in the clincher.
And now, two past champions are scrapping in one final tilt.
“The biggest message this week,” says Rush head coach Derek Keenan, “is we didn’t compete hard enough last week. We forgot about the process and what it takes to win; we were thinking about the end game, and we had too many distractions. This week, we’ll be dialed right in.
“We knew they were going to bring it. We just didn’t match it. We have to compete. We have to play hard. We have to out-compete them, out-run them, out-loose-ball them — do the little things. Offensively, we became a perimeter team last week, and that’s not our team.”
Rochester goalie Matt Vinc was a standout in both games, including a 47-save performance this past weekend. They got a fourgoal outburst from Josh Currier, who had tallied just twice in three previous playoff games this season, and 17 times in 16 regular-season contests.
Jeff Shattler was the most productive Rush player offensively, collecting three goals and four assists in a losing cause. League scoring champion Mark Matthews, who has tallied just one goal in the two post-season contests with Rochester, also picked up four assists.
The Rush will get a head start on Saturday’s game with a pre-game rally, slated for 4:30 p.m., outside the arena. It will include live music, food trucks and a Knighthawks car fans can attack with spray paint.
A few hours later, the two teams will figure out a champion.
“We fought all year to get homefloor advantage,” McIntosh said. “This is why we played all season. We earned this, and hopefully we can take advantage of it. I think it’s a big advantage for us. We like having our crowd here; we like playing here. I think it’s going to be good for us.”