Rush and Knighthawks renew an unpredictable, bitter rivalry
One thorn, one outsized hurdle, one barrier hassled the Saskatchewan Rush all of last season.
That impediment — the Rochester Knighthawks — will fly into Saskatoon for Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. National Lacrosse League clash at Sasktel Centre.
“We only lost five games last year, and three of them were to Rochester,” Rush head coach and general manager Derek Keenan noted this week. “We need to play better against them. Up until last year, we had their number, and they figured out how to play against us. We have to counter that.”
Saskatchewan prevailed in the end last season, taking two of three games from Rochester in the NLL final, but their trek there was bumpy. They lost 16-11 and 13-10 to Rochester in their only regular-season meetings, and the Knighthawks trounced them 13-8 in Game 2 of the final. But that loss was sandwiched by 16-9 and 15-10 Saskatchewan victories — the latter sealing the deal before a boisterous crowd at Sasktel Centre.
Rochester’s 2019 start has been rough; they’re 1-2, while Saskatchewan is 2-1.
“Their defence is tough, they’re big and physical, and we have to get inside on them,” Keenan said. “Last year, transition was a big part of their game. So far this year, not as much, but we haven’t won the transition battle this year. We’re a negative right now, and that’s not like our team, so I really want to see an improvement there.
“And they’ve got some star players, and we want to limit their time and space — Cody Jamieson, Kyle Jackson, Joe Resetarits, Austin Shanks — these guys can all play.”
Saskatchewan, meanwhile, lost its season opener 12-11 to the New England Black Wolves before rebounding with 16-12 and 14-10 wins over San Diego and Vancouver, respectively.
The Rush continue to build up a defensive unit that lost some key pieces during the off-season — Ryan Dilks and Jeff Cornwall to new firefighting jobs, and Adrian Sorichetti to the NLL’S expansion draft.
“Getting more familiarity with one another, getting a little more trust in the system … those aren’t easy things,” Keenan said. “I knew we’d have some growing pains in the back, but that’s getting better.”
Offensively, the Rush have picked up where they left off. Ben Mcintosh leads the Saskatchewan charge with 23 points through three games, and Mark Matthews — last year’s NLL scoring champion and league MVP — is close behind with 20.
Saskatchewan follows Saturday’s Knighthawks clash with road games Jan. 27 in Georgia and Feb. 1 in Toronto. They’re back home Feb. 9 against the Calgary Roughnecks.