Justin Ivey, NLL Correspondent/Co-Editor
Lacrosse is Awesome©
Featured Image Photo Credit: Saskatchewan Rush
In their final regular season game, the Saskatchewan Rush (11-7) hosted the Colorado Mammoth (6-12) in front of 13,860 fans. The Rush scored eight unanswered goals to open the game, and Colorado was never able to recover despite a strong fourth quarter. The win for Saskatchewan crowns them West Division champions for the sixth straight season. Colorado secured the fourth spot in the West and will have to visit Saskatchewan again next weekend for the first round of the playoffs. Final Score: Colorado-8, Saskatchewan-13.
The first quarter of play was all Saskatchewan. The offense was able to score five unanswered goals spread throughout the quarter, but the defense was the real star. Colorado was not able to get good looks. The Rush were pressing the outside and not allowing inside passes. When you are limited to shooting from the outside against Saskatchewan, you need pinpoint shots and swing movement to beat goalie Evan Kirk. Kirk had 10 saves in the first quarter and the Mammoth were not able to break through. While the defense stifled the Mammoth, the offense fired on all cylinders. Jeff Shattler (2G, 3A) scored two in the quarter including the first goal of the game 3:31 in. A goal from Ryan Keenan (1G, 5A) was sandwiched between the two Shattler goals, and Mark Matthews (3G, 2A) found the net on the first Rush powerplay opportunity with 4:03 remaining in the quarter. Matthew Dinsdale (4G, 2A) finished off the quarter with his first of the game and 2:18 remaining. At the end of the first quarter, Saskatchewan led Colorado 5-0.
Dinsdale finished the scoring in the first and opened it in the second. He dove through the crease after a beautiful ground ball and spin move to put the Rush up 6-0 1:54 in. 10 seconds into their second power play opportunity of the night, Matthews again found the net and this time chased starting goaltender Dillon Ward to the bench. Backup Steve Fryer didn’t fare much better. 57 seconds into his shift, Dinsdale completed his hat trick and Ward returned to the net. Colorado finally got on the board when Jacob Ruest (1G, 3A) scored 8:30 in. The goal snapped a 23:30 drought but it didn’t create any momentum. Robert Church (1G, 2A) answered just 24 seconds later with his 200th career goal. Curtis Knight (2G, 2A) then finished off the quarter with two goals of his own to give the home team a 10-goal lead going into the half. At halftime, Saskatchewan led Colorado 11-1.
Colorado came out and won the third quarter 3-2. Chris Wardle (1G, 2A) scored 17 seconds in, and Jeremy Noble (3G, 1A) scored his first of the game 6:01 in. Noble had only played in a handful of games this season, but in last night’s contest he would have an astounding 13 shots on goal, with three on the night. Matthews stopped the Mammoth run at two goals with a quick stick finish on an assist from Keenan, but Noble found the net for his second of the quarter with 3:26 remaining. Again though, the Rush answered quickly. 31 seconds later, Dinsdale scored his fourth of the game. At the end of three quarters, Saskatchewan led Colorado 13-4.
With a huge deficit to overcome in the final 15 minutes, Colorado played perhaps their best quarter of the season. In a mirror image of the first quarter, Colorado held Saskatchewan scoreless. The Rush were content with taking their time in setting the offense, but even on breakaway opportunities and odd man situations, they could not get anything past Dillon Ward. But there was not enough time for them to score enough goals to get back into the game. Ryan Lee (2G, 1A) scored twice to open the quarter, the second shorthanded, to get Colorado within seven goals with 9:52 remaining. It took almost four minutes of game time for Noble to complete his hat trick and then almost another four minutes for Brad Self (1G, 2A) to hit the net. Self’s goal came with 2:10 remaining in the game, and they could not score anything beyond that. It should be an exciting matchup next week in Round 1 of the West Division playoffs when these two teams meet again. Final Score: Colorado-8, Saskatchewan-13.
Up Next:
The #1 Saskatchewan Rush will host the #4 Colorado Mammoth on Friday, May 3 at 9:30 PM EST.
Justin Ivey, NLL Correspondent/Co-Editor
Lacrosse is Awesome©