Rush wary of bitter rivals
Derek Keenan had a feeling the Saskatchewan Rush would meet the rival Calgary Roughnecks in the Western Division final.
When the two teams met during the last game of the regular season, the Roughnecks were at the top of their game and one of the hottest teams in the National Lacrosse League. They gave the Rush all they could handle in what was supposed to be a meaningless game.
The Roughnecks went on to knock off the second-place Colorado Mammoth 15-12 in the West semifinal last weekend and now head to Saskatoon to face the Rush on Sunday afternoon. Game time is 5 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.
“They ’re at the top of the league, or near it, in terms of how they play,” said Keenan.
“They played really well last week. They had an unbelievable second half with their offence. They just have real high-end talent on offence, and if you let them dictate pace and tempo, they ’re really hard to play against. They ’re a really good team.”
Saskatchewan and Calgary played each other three times this season. Two of those games were decided by a single goal.
“We’ve had close games with them all year,” Keenan said. “We had an overtime game . ... It’s not like there’s a big separation between us, that’s for sure.”
Keenan looks at the Roughnecks lineup and sees a high-octane offence operating on all cylinders right now.
The key to defeating them? “We’ve got to really limit what they’re going to do with their highend guys,” he said.
“We’re not going to shut them down. Dane Dobbie had six goals against Colorado and nine points. Curtis Dickson had four goals and six points. We just can’t allow that to happen.
“If we can limit them a little bit and not get too much from their secondary guys . ... They have weapons. That’s going to be the key.”
Of course, the Rush-Roughnecks rivalry dates back to when the Rush were located in Edmonton. The Rush franchise has moved one province over but the rivalry wasn’t lost in the move.
“We don’t like each other much, that’s for sure,” said Keenan.
“Even the last game of the regular season, even though it didn’t mean anything to the standings, it was a hard-fought, bitter game. So you can imagine what it’s going to be like Sunday.”