Justin Ivey, Co-Editor
Lacrosse is Awesome
In front of 14,057 fans at the Sasktel Centre on Saturday night, the first place Saskatchewan Rush (10-2) hosted the last place Vancouver Stealth (1-11) in a West Division battle. Also in attendance for the game were the Minnesota Vikings cheerleaders. The Stealth started quickly and kept it close in the first quarter, but by halftime the Rush took control. Even though they have already clinched a playoff berth, and have been nearly unstoppable so far this season, the Rush bolstered their offense with the addition of future hall of famer Dan Dawson in a trade with the Rochester Knighthawks during the previous week. Dawson seemingly fit in without any issue in his first game wearing green and black. Vancouver is still searching for answers, and with the loss drop even further away from any chance of making the post season. Final Score: Vancouver-10, Saskatchewan-16.
Much like the week before against New England, Vancouver started the game off strong scoring twice before the Rush could get on the board. Pat Saunders (2G, 1A) spun and cut to the crease, beating his old teammate Evan Kirk just 1:18 in. Joel McCready (2G, 1A) sniped the top corner from outside less than two minutes later to put the Stealth up 2-0. A power play opportunity allowed Saskatchewan to open the floor and get on the board. Jeff Shattler (3G, 3A) cut through the middle and caught a perfect feed from Robert Church (4G, 4A) just under five minutes into the game. But, Vancouver still had the early game fire. Rhys Duch (1G, 4A) fired a shot wide off the backboards, and Corey Small (1G, 5A) was in the right place to gather and beat an out of position Kirk, running the score to 3-1. Matthew Dinsdale (4G) cut the lead to one, sprinting down the middle and scoring from in close and Ben McIntosh (2G, 3A) dodged a few defenders on his way to the crease tying the game at three just over a minute later. Under a minute later, Shattler gathered his own rebound in front and scored a behind the back goal for Saskatchewan’s first lead of the night. Church extended that lead with 1:37 left on the power play to two but Tony Malcom (2G, 1A) gathered the loose ball off the faceoff and scored a diving goal, getting the lead back down to one. At the end of the first quarter, Saskatchewan led Vancouver 5-4.
For the first four and a half minutes of the second quarter, both defenses played tight and neither offense could break through. Finally, Dinsdale scored his second of the game to get the lead back to two for Saskatchewan. They never looked back. Ryan Keenan (2G, 2A) fired a laser from outside around a screen 45 seconds later. On a power play opportunity with 7:17 left, Church was the recipient of beautiful passing to score the Rush’s third unanswered. Dinsdale followed it up with his second of the quarter to complete his first half hat trick, and Church scored shorthanded with just under four minutes remaining, also completing a first half hat trick. The Saskatchewan defense held Vancouver scoreless in the quarter while scoring five unanswered, taking control of the game going into halftime. At the break, Saskatchewan led Vancouver 10-4.
The Rush made the run six straight 2:36 into the third quarter when Keenan scored on the power play. Down seven, Vancouver needed to get back into the game quick. Brandon Clelland (1G) started the comeback attempt, beating Kirk with 7:37 remaining. Duch scored his only goal of the game 1:18 later, and then assisted on Malcom’s second of the night with 3:53 left. Suddenly, Vancouver threw together a three-goal run to get within four. They almost ended the quarter that way, but the Rush scored two goals in the final 12 seconds. Dan Dawson (1G, 2A) scored his first goal as a Rush player, and off the ensuing faceoff win, Shattler caught the pass from Jeremy Thompson (1A) and scored with six seconds left on the clock. At the end of the third quarter, Saskatchewan led Vancouver 13-7.
Vancouver found themselves down a man because of an early penalty in the fourth, but Matt Beers (1G) found a way to score. The Rush did finally capitalize on the advantage, as Church scored with three seconds left in the power play. Soon after, Vancouver had a power play chance, and Saunders scored again. They couldn’t swing the momentum though. Saskatchewan scored the next two; Dinsdale just over a minute and a half later, and McIntosh with 3:53 left in the game. McCready scored for Vancouver with 1:35 left, but the game was out of reach. Final Score: Vancouver-10, Saskatchewan-16.
Up Next:
The Saskatchewan Rush (10-2) have a week off and then travel to play the Buffalo Bandits (6-5) on Friday, March 16 at 7:30 PM EST.
The Vancouver Stealth (1-11) have a week off and then host the Colorado Mammoth (7-3) on Saturday, March 17 at 10:00 PM EST.