RUSHING TO CHEERS
Defence shines against Rochester
Former Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Darian Durant acknowledges the crowd after taking part in a halftime event during the game between the Saskatchewan Rush and the Rochester Knighthawks at the Sasktel Centre on Saturday.
Derek Keenan is not given to lofty superlatives — not often, anyways — but he threw a change of pace under the Sasktel Centre bleachers Saturday night.
“It was incredible,” the Saskatchewan Rush head coach said after his team throttled the visiting Rochester Knighthawks 12-7, running their National Lacrosse League record to 3-1.
When pressed, Keenan couldn’t name a single thing he was unhappy with, but he spared most of his praise for a hard-pressed defensive unit trying to jell after losing three key players during the off-season.
“Tonight was outstanding,” Keenan said. “We only gave up two five-on-five goals; that was it. We caused a lot of turnovers, put pressure on them the entire game, played our system to a tee. We talked all weekend about (how) we need a shutdown, defensive game, and that’s what we got. I love when they play that way.”
And ... really? There was nothing he found fault with?
“No. Not at all,” Keenan said. “Honestly. I’m the happiest I’ve been with our play this year. I’ve always kind of had that defensive mentality, and when we play that way, I’m real happy. And it’s a work in progress. A lot of new bodies back there, learning a system, getting comfortable with one another in terms of where to be at the right time and communication, things like that. Tonight, I thought we played our system to a tee.”
Saskatchewan and Rochester met in last season’s NLL final, with the Rush capturing the bestof-three series 2-1. Their current 3-1 mark stands in sharp contrast to Rochester’s 1-3, and on Saturday night, the two teams headed in different directions.
Saskatchewan led 6-5 at halftime, then scored five straight goals in the third quarter. Given how well their defence played in tandem with goaltender Evan Kirk, that cushion put them out of reach.
“It’s a little different,” Rush defender Mike Messenger said of the new-look Rush defence, which is adjusting to life without Ryan Dilks (firefighting job), Jeff Cornwall (firefighting job) and Adrian Sorichetti (expansion draft). “We’re still building. Every game we’ve played so far, we’ve built stronger as a team and as a defence. But there’s lots more to grow.”
The Rush brought former Saskatchewan Roughriders’ quarterback Darian Durant in as a special guest Saturday, and he delivered the pre-game pep talk.
Once on the floor, Mark Matthews (three goals, four assists) and Robert Church (two goals, five assists) lead the way offensively. Messenger also scored twice — his first two goals of the season — on rushes from the defensive end.
Cody Jamieson and Joe Resetarits collected four points each for the Knighthawks.
Church called Saturday’s outing “our best 60-minute game of the year so far.” The Rush will try to replicate in Georgia on Jan. 27 and in Toronto Feb. 1 before returning to Saskatoon for a Feb. 9 clash with the Calgary Roughnecks.