The Saskatchewan Rush are capable of recapturing the Champion’s Cup, and they just proved it.
The Rush flew to Georgia for their first game against the Swarm since Georgia ended their two-year National Lacrosse League championship reign last spring and posted a decisive 13-9 win Saturday. They never trailed and, after breaking a 2-2 tie, they were in control.
“It’s a big psychological win for us,” general manager and coach Derek Keenan said. “We lost the cup final to them last year, didn’t win a game in their building last year, so this was very important.”
Two last-minute Swarm goals reduced the victory margin but did not diminish its relevance, as Saskatchewan improved to 3-0.
“It was a pretty tight game for the most part,” Keenan said. “We got on a roll in the third quarter, stuck to the plan and started to put a few past [goaltender Mike] Poulin. They played really well. It wasn’t easy to get inside and get quality shots. We wore them down a little. Transition goals were big. We scored five or six in transition, and that was the game.”
Evan Kirk again delivered standout goaltending behind a defense that relentlessly pursued the ball. Keenan’s moves to strengthen the back end are working.
“He’s been good,” Keenan said of Kirk. “He made a lot of big saves. Games like that can go either way. Our defense has been more tenacious playing with a lot more grit.”
Robert Church and Jeff Shattler each scored three goals and Mark Matthews continued quarterbacking the offense as if earning another ring is his life’s purpose.
“Our goalie was unreal, our defense played tough, and our offense was going,” Shattler said. “We’re playing really well right now.”
Georgia fell to 1-3.
“It’s about staying positive,” said Shayne Jackson, who scored three goals for the Swarm. “Kirk played unbelievable. As long as we’re getting the chances, I think we’re alright. It’s just about burying them.”
“Five-on-five, we were even with Saskatchewan,” Georgia coach Ed Comeau said. “We got crushed in the transition game.”
“We gave up six goals in the third quarter and four of them were transition. That was the difference,” Comeau continued. “It wasn’t anything we didn’t expect from them. We knew they were going to run and create those opportunities. We have to address how we take care of that and how we turn it around.”
PHOTO BY RYAN MCCULLOGH/NLL
Forwards Tom Schreiber (left) and Rob Hellyer combined for 24 points on a record-setting night for the Toronto Rock, who jumped out to a 17-1 halftime lead en route to a 20-13 win at Vancouver.
ROCK SET RECORD
Toronto lost its first two games 13-9 in Buffalo and 17-9 at home against Saskatchewan, but the Rock have rebounded with a 20-13 home win over Buffalo and a 24-7 victory in Vancouver thanks to a much-improved offense. Some tinkering did the trick.
“We made some lineup changes, inserted Dan Craig and Kieran McArdle, and switched from a strong right side to a strong left side,” coach Matt Sawyer said. “So far, the results look pretty good.”
Tom Schreiber, who had five goals and seven assists, Rob Hellyer (3g, 9a), Adam Jones (4g, 6a), McArdle (3g, 6a) and Craig (3g, 2a) piled up the points in the latest win Saturday night, when the Rock pelted shellshocked Stealth goalies Tye Belanger and Brodie MacDonald with 79 shots.
Toronto led 10-0 after one quarter and 17-1 at halftime, which meant the Rock eclipsed the previous NLL record for most goals in a half, 16, by the one-year Montreal Express on Nov. 24, 2001, in a 32-17 win in Calgary. The Rock deserved everything they got. Nick Rose played the first three quarters and was superb in the nets and his teammates gathered in 78 loose balls to 48 for the Stealth