Justin Ivey, NLL Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©
Photo Credit Featured Image: Vancouver Warriors
The Vancouver Warriors (1-4) hosted the Saskatchewan Rush (2-1) in front of 8,217 fans at Rogers Arena in downtown Vancouver Saturday night. Vancouver was hoping for their first home win of the season, but the visiting Rush used a quick start to chase starting goaltender Aaron Bold and grab control early. The Warriors got to within one goal at halftime as backup netminder Eric Penney provided the needed spark. Unfortunately for Vancouver, Saskatchewan found their groove again in the second half, outscoring the home team 6-3 to leave victorious. Final Score: Saskatchewan-14, Vancouver-10
Saskatchewan came out of the gates firing. Jeremy Thompson (1G) won the opening faceoff and took it himself, scoring just 17 seconds in. 30 seconds later, Matthew Dinsdale (2G, 1A) made it 2-0 after finishing the cross-field pass from Mark Matthews (2G, 5A). Matthews made it three unanswered 3:16 in and Ben McIntosh’s (5G, 3A) goal 4:55 in forced Vancouver to make an early goalie change. Starter Aaron Bold allowed four goals on seven shots in under five minutes of play. Eric Penney replaced him in net and immediately made an impact with a few big saves, some coming from point blank range. The Rush extended the run to five straight with 3:55 remaining as Jeff Shattler (2G, 3A) ripped a shot in from outside. A powerplay opportunity gave Vancouver the needed spark to get on the board. Mitch Jones (3G, 2A) scored unassisted in transition during the man advantage. Before that goal, Rush goaltender Evan Kirk stopped the first 10 shots he faced. Within the next minute of play, Vancouver was able to score twice more. Tony Malcolm (1G) cut to the middle and finished a beautiful feed from Jordan McBride (3G, 2A), and Brandon Goodwin (1G) scored in transition to get the Warriors within two goals. At the end of the first quarter, Saskatchewan led Vancouver 5-3.
The first half of the second quarter was a defensive battle. It took a power play opportunity to open the flood gates that turned into seven goals in the second half of the quarter. McIntosh scored his second of the night 7:24 in to give the Rush a three-goal lead. Vancouver’s Jones answered the bell, scoring from the crease 44 seconds later. For the second time in the quarter though, the Rush found it easy to finish on the power play. With 4:32 remaining, Shattler used the quick stick to score his second goal on the night. Vancouver then rattled off two in a row. Owen Barker (1G) scored in transition and Colton Porter (1G) scooped up the loose ball off the ensuing faceoff, took it to the cage himself, beating Evan Kirk. With 3:02 remaining in the half, Vancouver was within one goal of Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan answered within a minute when Ryan Keenan (1G, 1A) used the quick stick after a feed from behind the cage. Not to be outdone, McBride finished with his own quick stick as he cut to the crease with 1:32 remaining. At the half, Saskatchewan led Vancouver 8-7.
McBride scored his second goal in a row 1:02 into the second half and tied the game at eight. Vancouver had successfully overcome the early five-goal deficit they found themselves in during the first quarter. Unfortunately, they could not take the lead. Only two more goals were scored in the third, and both were by Saskatchewan. In fact, McIntosh had both. 7:15 in he buried his second of the game, and 8:41 in he completed his hat trick as he dunked in a ball from behind the net on the powerplay.
At the end of the third quarter, Saskatchewan led Vancouver 10-8.
Vancouver struck first again to start the fourth quarter. Jones scored after firing over a teammate screen to get the Warriors back within one 2:45 in. The Rush buckled down and put the game away over the next 10 minutes. Curtis Knight (1G, 2A) scored under a minute after the Jones goal, followed by Matthews scoring five-hole 6:36 in. Dinsdale scored the highlight goal of the game next. He caught a pass from Matthews behind the net, strode behind the crease and dunked the ball far post as the shot clock buzzed. With 4:58 remaining, the Rush led 13-9. In desperation, Vancouver pulled the goalie with just over three minutes remaining in the game. McIntosh got the ball in transition and faked out the defender acting as goalie to put the game out of reach. McBride added one more goal for Vancouver with the extra attacker and 2:23 on the game clock, but it was too little, too late. Final Score: Saskatchewan-14, Vancouver-10.
Up Next:
The Saskatchewan Rush (2-1) host the Rochester Knighthawks (1-2) on Saturday, January 19 at 8:30 PM EST.
The Vancouver Warriors (1-4) host the San Diego Seals (2-2) on Saturday, January 19 at 10:00 PM EST.
Justin Ivey, NLL Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©