Justin Ivey, Co-Editor
Lacrosse is Awesome©
Last night at the SaskTel Centre, the Saskatchewan Rush (12-6) hosted the Toronto Rock (11-7) in a game that mattered to both teams in the final weekend of the regular season. With a win, the Rush would clinch a first-round home playoff game. With Buffalo’s loss earlier in the evening, Toronto would also clinch a first-round home playoff game with a win. The two teams needed extra time to settle it. Toronto jumped out to an early lead in the first half, pitching a shutout in the second quarter. Scoring was spread throughout the lineup, and Chris Boushy (2G) was the only multi-goal scorer for the Rock. CJ Kirst (1G, 3A) led the team in points, and Nick Rose (1
0GA, 40SV) allowed only 10 goals on the evening. Saskatchewan strung together just enough goals in the second half to mount a comeback. Robert Church (2G) tied the game 9-9 with one minute left in the fourth quarter. Frank Scigliano (9GA, 30SV) held the Rock offense under 10 goals, and Brock Haley (2G, 1A) came through as the overtime hero. Final Score: Toronto Rock – 9, Saskatchewan Rush – 10.
The Rush struck first, much to the excitement of the home crowd. Saskatchewan won the opening draw, and Church buried the first shot of the game from outside. Toronto gathered and answered with two in a row. Josh Dawick (1G, 1A) scored while the teams were unsettled in transition. He was wide open in the middle of the zone and side-armed the ball low past Scigliano. Under a minute later, Sam English (1G, 2A) ran untouched through the zone and scored his 30th goal of the season. Zach Manns (2G, 3A) tied the game with 7:41 remaining. After a screen on his defender, he stepped back and fired low-to-low. Before the quarter ended, the Rock regained the lead. Kirst scored shorthanded, finding space to cut to the crease after a double team slammed him into the boards. At the end of the first quarter, Toronto led Saskatchewan 3-2.
The defenses owned the second quarter, and only two goals were scored. Unfortunately for the Rush, both went to the visitors. Even with a late power play, Saskatchewan could not beat Rose. Isiah Moran-Weeks (1G, 1A) scored first, almost eight minutes into the quarter. He twisted the ball in while falling into the crease after a perfect pass from Kirst across the front of the net. Challen Rogers (1G, 1A) struck next just over a minute later. He danced to the center of the zone past his defender and quickly fired a sidearm shot. At the half, Toronto led Saskatchewan 5-2.
The slow-roll Rush comeback started in the third quarter, where they outscored the Rock 3-2. In the back-and-forth frame, Saskatchewan scored first and last. Manns struck first, 28 minutes and 5 seconds after the last Rush goal. With 9:36 left in the third, he circled around the zone before firing an overhand shot that went bar down over Rose’s shoulder. The celebration was short-lived, as Nicholas Rowlett (1G) took the ensuing faceoff in himself unassisted for a quick goal. The floodgates remained open. Thirteen seconds later, Haley scored for the Rush with a dunk from behind the net after the under-10 TV timeout. The frenzy calmed down for a few minutes before Brad Kri (1G) scored his first goal of the season in transition, stretching the Rock lead back to three. But off the next faceoff, Jake Naso (2G) won it to himself, ran around the zone, and fired after being left open. His goal cut the deficit back to two. At the end of the third quarter, Toronto led Saskatchewan 7-5.
Saskatchewan strung together their second straight goal with the first score of the fourth. Austin Shanks (1G, 1A) struck the top corner over Rose’s left shoulder from outside. The teams traded goals over the next few minutes. Boushy cut to the point around two screens and scored low-to-low for Toronto, but Naso again took the next faceoff straight to goal unassisted. Boushy stretched the lead to two once more with 8:53 remaining, scoring on a quick dunk from behind the net after receiving a pass from Kirst. The Rock could not build momentum off the goal, and the teams battled to a stalemate until under two minutes remained. With the extra attacker on for the Rush, Levi Anderson (1G) found an opening on the crease. He reached the ball over Rose and into the net. With exactly one minute left in the game, Church tied it. Again with the extra attacker, he picked the top far-side corner from outside. At the end of the fourth quarter, Toronto and Saskatchewan were tied 9-9.
Overtime started with empty possessions for both teams. On Saskatchewan’s second opportunity, Haley became the hero. He caught a pass from Ryan Keenan (5A) high in the zone and fired a low shot that hit nothing but net. Final Score: Toronto Rock – 9, Saskatchewan Rush – 10.