Justin Ivey, NLL Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©
Until last night, box lacrosse had not been played on Long Island since 2009. It was a historic night at the renovated NYCB Live Arena as the New York Riptide (0-4) hosted the Saskatchewan Rush (2-1) in front of 6,089 fans. Even commissioner Nick Sakiewicz was in the building. New York was playing their second game of the weekend, dropping a Friday night match to the Black Wolves in New England. Unfortunately, the home opener was spoiled by a veteran Rush team and the Riptide remain winless in their inaugural season. Saskatchewan got off to a quick start in the first half and in a second half defined by defense, New York could not find their way back in. Final Score: Saskatchewan-11, New York-4.
The hometown Riptide were given a gift early in the game. A crosschecking penalty on Ben McIntosh (1G, 2A) just 45 second into the game presented the Riptide with a power play opportunity. They were only able to muster two shots on net, with neither of them beating Rush goalie Evan Kirk. After getting back to full strength, it only took just over a minute for the Rush to find their offense. Robert Church (4G, 1A) scored his fourth of the season 3:47 in. He waited to exit the floor on a New York fast break and was wide open in the offensive zone when the Riptide were unable to capitalize on the other end. Off the ensuing faceoff, Jeff Shattler (2G, 4A) picked up the loose ball and immediately found himself in a two on one scenario in the offensive zone. He fired a quick pass to the 4th overall draft pick in 2019 NLL Draft Holden Garlent (1G). Garlent beat Riptide goalie Alex Buque for his first NLL goal. The run continued 7:14 in as Connor Robinson (1G) backed down his defender, spun and whipped a bouncer to give the Rush a 3-0 lead. The Riptide were given another power play opportunity immediately off the faceoff, but again could not find twine during the advantage. In fact, they let another goal in. Mark Matthews (1G, 5A) fired a laser with his back foot behind the restraining line with 6:13 remaining, scoring his sixth goal of the season. At the end of the first quarter, Saskatchewan led New York 4-0.
In the first three minutes of the second quarter, the Rush scored twice more. Shattler got his first of the game followed by a Church goal in transition. Finally, 4:34 in, Connor Kelly (1G, 1A) scored the first Riptide goal at home. It came on their third power play opportunity of the night and was the product of a good high seal by Tyler Digby (2G). Kelly ripped to the middle and had a wide-open shooting lane. But, in the next five minutes the Rush took control again with another two-goal run. Shattler scored on the next possession after an acrobatic underhand shovel pass on a pick and roll from Matthews and Matthew Dinsdale (1G) scored his first of the season with an outside bouncer. New York was given another spark from a Digby goal with 5:20 remaining in the half. In transition, it appeared he was running out of room, but underhanded a ball through the tiniest of windows to bring the score to 8-2. He almost had another amazing goal with about two minutes remaining, but it was overturned after review. Immediately after that stoppage, Church scored on a power play opportunity to bring us into the half. At halftime, Saskatchewan led New York 9-2.
The third quarter was a defensive coach’s dream. Only one goal was scored, but it was not because of a lack of shots. Kirk had 14 saves for Saskatchewan and Buque had 12 for New York. Many were routine saves as the defenses forced outside shots. The lone goal was scored by Digby with 3:55 remaining and the third quarter ended with Saskatchewan leading New York 9-3.
The defensive battle continued into the fourth as it took over 13 minutes for the first goal. It was New York again as Dan Lomas (1G, 1A) dunked the ball from behind the net. It was originally called a no goal but after reviewing it was overturned. The hope of a Riptide comeback was quickly squashed. McIntosh scored on a penalty shot with 1:06 remaining and Church buried an empty netter with 17 seconds left to bring us to our final. Final Score: Saskatchewan-11, New York-4.
Up Next:
The Saskatchewan Rush (2-1) enjoy a bye week and then visit the San Diego Seals (0-3) on Sunday, January 12 at 4:00 PM EST.
The New York Riptide (0-4) host the Philadelphia Wings (1-1) on Saturday, Januar