Justin Ivey, Co-Editor
Lacrosse is Awesome©
The Saskatchewan Rush returned home Saturday night for Game 2 of their semi-final matchup against the Halifax Thunderbirds. The Rush won handily last Saturday, beating the Thunderbirds in Halifax 16-7 in Game 1. Austin Shanks (2G, 2A) scored six goals on his way to being the hero in Game 1, and although he didn’t repeat the sock trick in Game 2, he scored the game winning goal in overtime to send the Rush to the NLL Finals where the Buffalo Bandits are waiting. The low scoring contest started out with fire in the first quarter as Saskatchewan jumped to a 3-0 lead, but the lead never increased to more than three. Goals became less regular as the game progressed and both teams battled to a 9-9 tie at the end of regulation. 1:40 into the extra time, on a power play opportunity, Shanks buried a side arm shot, igniting the home crowd and sending Saskatchewan to the Finals. Final Score: Halifax-9, Saskatchewan-10.
Thanks to outstanding blocks from Saskatchewan’s Frank Scigliano (9GA, 45SV) and Halifax’s Warren Hill (10GA, 45SV) neither team could find the net for the first five minutes of the game. Robert Church (2G, 3A) finally broke the drought six seconds after the five minute mark, and the Rush were off were on the board. Another five minutes would pass before a second goal was scored, a power play marker from Zach Manns (2G, 2A), that put the Rush up 2-0. Church made it a three-goal run for the home team, scoring while man up 28 seconds later. In a first quarter that was seemingly controlled by Saskatchewan, Halifax finally found the net with 3:49 remaining when Dawson Theede (2G, 4A) scored. Holden Garlent (1G) quickly returned the lead to three scoring 41 seconds later, but Halifax wasn’t done. In the final minute of the quarter, Thomas Hoggarth (4G) and Randy Staats (1G, 2A) tallied goals, the last coming with just two seconds on the clock. At the end of the first quarter, Saskatchewan led Halifax 4-3.
Defenses clamped down in the middle of this game. Halifax had two man up opportunities, but couldn’t capitalize on either. Hoggarth scored 6:38 into the quarter, tying the game 4-4, but Ryan Keenan (1G, 1A) handed the lead back to the Rush with his lone goal of the game just about a minute and a half later. At the half, Saskatchewan led Halifax 5-4.
The third quarter was similar, as Halifax kept Saskatchewan within reach, but could not take the lead. Clarke Petterson (2G, 2A) struck first, tying the game 5-5 just over two and a half minutes in, but Mike Messenger (1G) scored unassisted in transition under a minute later. Scoring halted again as both defenses tightened up, but Petterson broke through with four seconds left for this second goal of the quarter. At the end of the third, Saskatchewan and Halifax were tied 6-6.
Both teams combined for six goals in the fourth quarter. All six scores came in the last three and a half minutes of the frame. Overtime seemed likely as neither team could find an opening to score for nearly 12 minutes. Theede emerged from the lockdown as the first goal scorer, giving Halifax their first lead of the game with 3:23 remaining. Enter Austin Shanks. Shanks, shut down for nearly the entire game, scored his first goal with 2:57 left, tying the game 7-7. Hoggarth answered with two straight Halifax goals almost a minute apart. With 1:36 left, the Rush were now down 9-7. In the final minute, they were able to match both. Manns scored with 44 seconds left and Matt Hossack (1G, 1A) tied the game 9-9, scoring with just six seconds on the clock. At the end of the fourth quarter, Saskatchewan and Halifax were tied 9-9.
Halifax forward Mike Robinson (4A) was called for boarding and a game misconduct penalty a minute and a half into the extra frame. Facing a man down situation for the five-minute major, Halifax was unable to keep the Rush from scoring. Just ten seconds into the extra man opportunity, Shanks caught the ball from its spin around the outside and fired a sidearm shot that found the net and ended the semi-final series. Final Score: Halifax-9, Saskatchewan-10.
NLL Finals Schedule:
Friday, May 16
(2) Saskatchewan Rush at (1) Buffalo Bandits
Game 1, 7:30 PM ET – KeyBank Center, Buffalo, NY
Sunday, May 18
(1) Buffalo Bandits at (2) Saskatchewan Rush
Game 2, 8:00 PM ET, SaskTel Centre, Saskatoon, SK
Saturday, May 24
(2) Saskatchewan Rush at (1) Buffalo Bandits
Game 3, 4:30 PM ET (if needed), KeyBank Center, Buffalo, NY