Saskatchewan thumps Halifax 16-7 in feisty
affair
On Saturday, the skilled 31-year-old forward fired home six goals to power the visiting Rush to a 16-7 romp over the host Thunderbirds in Game 1 of a best-of-three NLL semifinal series at Scotiabank Centre. The Rush will look to close out the series this coming Saturday when they host Game 2 at 7:30 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon. If Game 3 is necessary, it will held on Sunday, May 11 at 6 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.
Shanks had played for the Thunderbirds franchise for his entire career starting in 2018 when it was still located in Rochester, New York, as the original Rochester Knighthawks. He signed with a Rush as a free agent before the current campaign began.
The Game 1 clash between the Rush and Thunderbirds was a feisty affair too. Saskatchewan had 35 minutes in penalties in the contest, and Halifax piled up 71 minute in the sin bin.
Zach Manns had big night for the Rush recording nine points off two goals and seven assists. Robert Church had a five point night for Saskatchewan coming off a pair of goals and three helpers.
Rush captain Ryan Keenan had one goal and four assists and engaged in a late fourth quarter fight to complete the Gordie Howe hat trick.
Brock Haley scored two penalty shot goals for the Rush, while Clark Walter, Matt Hossack and Mike Messenger had singles.
Veteran forward Randy Staats led the Thunderbirds with six points coming off one goal and five assists. Dawson Theede and Thomas Hoggarth each had a pair of goals for the Thunderbirds, while Clarke Petterson and Ryan Terefenko had singles.
Frank Scigliano stopped 41 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Rush. Drew Hutchison turned away 21-of-32 shots to take the loss in net for the Thunderbirds before being pulled in the third quarter. Warren Hill turned away 14-of-19 shots playing the rest of the way in relief.
The Thunderbirds jumped on the scoreboard first just 53 seconds into the contest on Petterson’s tally. That set the stage for the Rush to improve their record in the regular season and post-season to 11-1 when their opponents score first.
Saskatchewan responded with a five-goal run to go ahead 5-1. Walter got the equalizer and tallies from Manns and Church followed. Shanks completed the surge with his first two markers on the night.
The Rush held a 6-3 lead after the first quarter, a 7-4 advantage at halftime and a 12-5 edge after three quarters.
Fireworks started late in the fourth quarter with the Rush holding a 14-7 lead in what was basically a decided contest. With 1:38 remaining in the fourth quarter, Keenan ended up in a fight with Thunderbirds defender Nonkon Thompson.
Keenan was given a fighting major, while Thompson was assessed an instigator minor, a fighting major and two game misconducts. Also at that point in the contest, Thunderbirds defender Trevor Smyth was given a minor for boarding.
Due to the Rush being on a two-man advantage, Haley was able to score his first penalty shot goal with 67 seconds remaining in the stanza when Thunderbirds defender Tyson Bell picked up a slashing minor.
Haley scored his second penalty shot goal just six seconds later after a scrum where the Thunderbirds picked up an extra roughing minor given to transition player Jake Withers.
With 10.7 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Theede took a slashing minor resulting in a third penalty shot opportunity for the Rush. Forward Mike Triolo took that penalty shot and missed the net.
The Rush finished second overall in the NLL regular season with a 13-5 mark. The Thunderbirds were third overall at 11-7.
In the other best-of-three NLL semifinal, the host Buffalo Bandits romped over the visiting Vancouver Warriors 9-3 on Friday night. Those two clubs go at it in Game 2 on Sunday at 6 p.m. local time at Rogers Arena.
The Bandits topped the NLL regular season at 13-5, and the Warriors were fourth overall at 11-7.
With the way the Game 1 clash between the Rush and Thunderbirds ended, the animosity intensity might be on the uptake when the series switches back to the SaskTel Centre. “Rush Nation” could be in for quite a show before this series draws to a conclusion.
If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.
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