Rush host Swarm in do-or-die NLL quarter-final

Saskatchewan back in post-season after six years out

The Rush celebrate a goal during a game on January 25.

The Saskatchewan Rush ended a post-season drought with a memorable regular season.

Now, they will try to ensure the appearance in the NLL Playoffs isn’t a brief one.

The Rush finished second overall in the NLL regular season standings with a 13-5 mark, which is their best regular season record since going 14-4 in their NLL championship campaign in 2018. They last appeared in the NLL post-season in 2019, when they fell 11-10 in overtime to the Colorado Mammoth on May 3 of that year.

Saskatchewan opens the 2025 NLL Playoffs on Saturday hosting the seventh seeded Georgia Swarm (9-9) in a single elimination quarter-final contest at 7:30 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

“It has been a long stretch without the playoffs,” said star forward Robert Church. “We’ve had some rough years, but we’ve been building back towards this and getting back to a championship caliber team.

Zach Manns led the Rush in scoring with 74 points.

“I think that is what we have in this room. The boys, we just got together and kind of just saw everyone. I think everyone is excited.

“For a lot of guys, it is their first time in playoffs, so they’re real fired up.”

The Rush’s NLL post-season absence started in 2020 and 2021 when the NLL Playoffs were cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Saskatchewan was 7-3 in the 2020 regular season before that campaign was stopped.

The Rush posted respective 8-10 marks over three straight NLL regular seasons from 2022 to 2024 to just miss making the playoffs in each of those campaigns. The current campaign has been the breakout season where the work in the reload is paying off.

“I think we’re a very talented team, a deep team,” said Rush co-head coach Jimmy Quinlan. “We have a lot of buy in.

Robert Church had 73 points in 14 games for the Rush.

“They’re all selfless individuals, and I think we’re fortunate to have the veterans we have that kind of lead them. I thought the last few years we had to learn how to win, and now we’re kind of understanding what it takes. It doesn’t really matter too much what goes on in a game.

“We kind of right now have that mentality of staying the course. It has got us to where we are, and we’re going to continue that this weekend.”

Zach Manns topped the Rush in scoring during the regular season with 74 points coming off 35 goals and 39 assists. Church had 73 points coming off 33 goals and 40 assists even with missing four games due to injury this season. Captain Ryan Keenan also had 73 points coming off 26 goals and 47 assists, while Austin Shanks had 72 points coming off 35 goals and 37 assists.

Rush star goalie Frank Scigliano had a great season posting an 11-4 record, 9.40 goals against average and an 80 per cent save percentage.

The Rush look to get a boost from their home crowd.

Lyle Thompson topped the Swarm in scoring with 94 points coming of 42 goals and 52 assists. Forwards Shayne Jackson and Andrew Kew each recorded 74 points for Georgia. Jackson recorded his 74 points on 32 goals and 42 assists, while Kew had his 74 points coming off 28 goals and 46 assists.

Brett Dobson has carried the load in goal for the Swarm posting a 9-8 record, an 11.82 goals against average and a 76 per cent save percentage.

The Swarm roster also contains Lyle Thompson’s brother and gritty transition player Jeremy Thompson, who used to be a fan favourite when he played for the Rush. Jeremy was a member of the Rush’s 2016 and 2018 NLL championship teams and the 2015 NLL title winner when the franchise was still located in Edmonton.

Frank Scigliano had a big season in goal for the Rush.

The NLL Playoffs got underway on Friday when the top seeded and two-time defending champion Buffalo Bandits slugged out a 5-4 victory over the eighth seeded San Diego Seals. The Bandits posted a 13-5 record in the regular season and downed the Rush 9-7 on March 1 at the SaskTel Centre in the only head-to-head meeting between the two sides to gain the standings tiebreaker for first place. The Seals posted a 9-9 mark in the regular season.

The single elimination quarter-final round has the potential to favour lower seeded teams that just snuck into the playoffs, because you need to be hot just for one game to move on. Shanks believes his squad is ready to handle the winner takes all contest.

“I think we played really well with our backs against the wall,” said Shanks. “We kind of try and put some pressure on ourselves, and that is all this is.

“It is one game. We’ve said it all year that we have to play 60 minutes, and there is no better test than tomorrow night.”

Ryan Keenan had 73 points this season for the Rush.

The NLL post-season will be a new experience for numerous Rush players. The Rush only have four holdovers from their last NLL championship team in 2018 including Church, Keenan, Mike Messenger and Matt Hossack.

Keenan was in his second season with the Rush when they captured the NLL title in 2018. He admitted the team’s post-season drought gave him a little more appreciation for how hard it is to make playoffs and how hard it is to win in the post-season after experiencing early career success.

“I mean those years the talent was just off the charts,” said Keenan. “It was kind of just an expectation to win every game and win it at the end of the year.

“It became more challenging, but this year, the success has just come down to just the hard work part of our game and loving that grind aspect of it. That comes with a young group who is hungry and wants to win.”

Austin Shanks had 72 points for the Rush this season.

Shanks, who is 31-years-old, is one of the veterans who is hungry to win a league title which has eluded him in his career. He signed with the Rush this past off-season after spending four campaigns with the Halifax Thunderbirds.

Back in 2018, Shanks began his NLL career with the original Rochester Knighthawks, who fell to the Rush in the best-of-three NLL final 2-1.

The Rush claimed a 15-10 victory in a series-deciding Game 3 on June 9 of that year at the SaskTel Centre. Shanks hasn’t forgotten what it was like being on the losing end of that contest even after the original Knighthawks moved to Halifax to become the Thunderbirds.

“It has been eating at me for seven years,” said Shanks. “I got a taste my rookie year, and I didn’t get that trophy.

“I’ve been playing to win championships. That is all I want to do, and to have a chance to do that again is cool. There is a lot of work to do.

The Rush aim to celebrate a playoff win on Saturday.

“This is just round one.”

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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Rush spectacle still there

NLL squad’s game nights remain a tonne of fun  

The Rush head to the SaskTel Centre turf for pre-game intros.

Saskatchewan Rush game nights are still the most entertaining put out by any sports organization in the province.

When the Rush franchise first came over from Edmonton and set up shop in the SaskTel Centre before the start of the 2016 NLL season, their game nights became a spectacle that you had to see. From performances from the dance team, various pre-game festivities with videos and pyrotechnics, fun in game promotions and theme nights, Rush contests had it all.

Plus, the style of box lacrosse played by the NLL is fast paced, and an in house DJ is always pumping tunes that match and add to the hectic pace of the action.

In the current day, Rush games are still the best time out. They are sitting there waiting to be rediscovered by fans.

This past December 28, the Rush hosted their second home game of the current campaign, and it was the team’s “Sask Vegas Night” that was presented by the Dakota Dunes.

Fans play casino games during the Rush’s“Sask Vegas Night.”

The O16 Lounge in the SaskTel Centre was set up with various casino style games, where those attending the contest got to play for prizes. Singer, songwriter and guitar player Kris Klyne was on hand to provide music that created an upbeat mood.

Leading up to game time, everything you have come to expect from Rush games is still there. The O16 Electric Crew dance team started all the pre-game festivities with an energetic dance routine. It can’t be understated how good those ladies really are, and they perform a couple of other times as the night goes on.

The Rush had their classic pyrotechnics and light show going as they came out for pre-game introductions. They also had a “burn song” to introduce the visitors, who happened to be the Philadelphia Wings on this night.

The O16 Electric Crew performs before opening faceoff.

The rink also had a couple of party zones to watch the contest from including the “Outlaws Corral.” The “Outlaws Corral” has been the traditional party zone for Rush games set up in the Zamboni entrance in the southwest corner of the facility. That area includes the DJs who play music throughout the action of the game.

The NLL game itself is still as fast paced as ever. Of course, fans in attendance love getting to do the trademark chest thumping celebration that is performed every time the Rush score a goal. They also have unique food items at their concessions like bison burgers.

 The Rush ultimately fell 12-11 in overtime on this night with Wings forward Holden Cattoni potting the winner 95 seconds into extra time. Even with the loss, fans could come away from the contest feeling both their time and their money was well spent.

Following the contest as has been a tradition since the Rush arrived in Saskatoon, fans could go down to field level and autographs from various players that night. The Rush also have a cool mascot to mingle with in Rowdy the Bison.

Ryan Keenan is the veteran captain of the Rush.

Despite the fact Rush game nights are still a great time, their games haven’t had the hype they have had in the past. One of the big factors for that comes from the fact the Rush haven’t been winning like they did when the first came to Saskatchewan.

The Rush arrived in Saskatoon after winning the NLL championship during their final season as the Edmonton Rush playing out of the Alberta capital city in 2015. Unable to secure a long term lease deal for the brand new Rogers Place in Edmonton, then owner Bruce Urban relocated the Rush to Saskatoon and the club was branded as the Saskatchewan Rush for the 2016 campaign.

The Rush arrived in Saskatchewan with one of the best teams the NLL had ever seen. They were in one of the best runs the circuit had ever seen too.

Another NLL title followed for the Rush in their first season calling Saskatchewan home in 2016. They fell in the league final in 2017 and reclaimed the NLL title in 2018.

Zach Manns is one of the top scorers on the Rush.

Over that time, players like Zack Greer, Aaron Bold, Mark Matthews, captain Chris Corbeil, Jeff Cornwall, Jeremy Thompson, Robert Church, Ryan Keenan, Jeff Shattler and Evan Kirk all became household names along with head coach and general manager Derek Keenan. Thanks to the fan following around Thompson, most Rush supporters, who had never seen box lacrosse until the NLL came to Saskatchewan, picked up an eye-opening appreciation for all the little gritty things a good transition player does for a team.

The party was seemingly going on every night as an average of over 13,400 spectators regularly came out per game.

On a provincial level, the Rush truly became a provincial team and were like a miniature version of the province’s CFL franchise in the Saskatchewan Roughriders based out of the province’s capital city of Regina. It was common for Rush games to be covered by nine to 15 media members from various communities around the province.

The town of Chamberlain located on Highway 11 between Saskatoon and Regina used to have a billboard that stated, “This highway flows; south for the Riders, north for the Rush.”

Rush fans do their traditional chest bump celebration after a goal.

A very small number of folks might have wondered at the time how things would look when the franchise had to undergo an inevitable rebuild. Those thoughts were quickly forgotten, and it was easy to get wrapped up in the success of the time.

Everything got disrupted when the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic hit in March of 2020. The Rush were 7-3 at the time and looked poised to make a run at another NLL title. The rest of that NLL campaign was cancelled along with the 2021 season.

On May 10, 2021, Urban sold the Rush to the Priestner family, who owned the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades. The Rush, Blades and WCBL’s Saskatoon Berries are operated under the umbrella company of the Sask Entertainment Group.

The sale of the Rush allowed the Urban family, who are based in Calgary, to focus on running the Western RV Group of Companies. The Priestners had more staffers living in Saskatoon including Colin Priestner, who is best known as general manager and president of the Blades. The presence of staffers helped with a restart after the pandemic.

Mike Messenger in one of the Rush’s long time veterans.

When the NLL got going again for the 2022 campaign, the rebuild started for the Rush. Actually, it was more like a reload as the club never bottomed out and posted 8-10 regular season marks in each the 2022, 2023 and 2024 campaigns, where they just missed out on the playoffs.

Average attendance fell to 8,743 in 2022, 8,606 in 2023 and 8,085 in 2024. In three home dates in the current campaign, the Rush have attracted attendances of 5,661, 6,016 and 5,558 spectators.

The media gatherings have shrunk to about two or three persons outside of Rush team staff and the staff of the visiting squads on game night.

The holdovers from the 2018 championship team include Church, now captain Ryan Keenan, Mike Messenger and Matt Hossack. Derek Keenan is still the general manager and is a co-head coach along with Jimmy Quinlan. The Rush have new stars who are turning heads in Zach Manns, Austin Shanks and Brock Haley.

Two youngsters lead a Rush autograph session happy.

They have gotten out to a 4-2 start and host the 2-5 Albany Firewolves on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. The Rush will be hosting a retro night promotion where the team wears special jerseys, and there will be retro arcade games, a photo booth and tattoos from tattoo artists available on the concourse. Overall, another fun night out should be on tap.

The Rush are waiting to be rediscovered. Their game days continue to be worth the price of admission.

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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Keenan made his mark as coaching icon with Rush

Oshawa, Ont., product leaves bench boss role, remains GM

Derek Keenan with the NLL Cup in 2018.

    In a world that has very few certainties, it seemed like Derek Keenan would coach the Saskatchewan Rush forever.
    With that noted, change seems to be inevitable in life. On Friday, the Rush announced Keenan was stepping down from his role of head coach.

    The 58-year-old product of Oshawa, Ont., will remain with the powerhouse National Lacrosse League club as general manager.

    Taking over as head coach will be Jeff McComb. The 51-year-old McComb, who is from Pickering, Ont., has been with the Rush for the last seven seasons and was their assistant coach responsible for offence.

    Former Rush captain Jimmy Quinlan has been hired as the team’s new assistant coach responsible for offence. The 38-year-old Quinlan last played for the Rush in 2013, when the franchise as still located in Edmonton.

    His #81 is retired by the team.

    Following his playing career, the Sherwood Park, Alta., product proceeded to spend five seasons with the Rush as an assistant coach responsible for defence.

Derek Keenan checks out action from the Rush bench in 2018.

    Jeremy Tallevi, who is from London, Ont., remains on the Rush staff as the assistant coach responsible for defence.

    Way back in June of 2009, Keenan was hired by the Rush to be the team’s head coach and general manager. He guided the club to an NLL championship in 2015 in the squad’s final season in Edmonton.

    Keenan led the Rush to another NLL title in 2016, which the franchise’s first season playing out of the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon as the Saskatchewan Rush. The Rush captured the NLL crown again in 2018 under Keenan’s leadership.

    As the Rush bench boss, Keenan was viewed as the ultimate player’s coach. He treats his players with so much respect that the players don’t want to let him down.

Derek Keenan speaks at a Rush rally in 2017.

    In a lot of ways, Keenan is viewed as a kind father figure with the Rush.

    As Rush general manager, Keenan focuses on bringing in good people and his goal is that those players become better persons during their time as Rush team members.

    Keenan came to the Rush with boatloads of positive experiences in the game. As a player, he was a member of the Buffalo Bandits when they won NLL titles in 1992 and 1993.

    He doubled as a player and assistant coach when the Toronto Rock won the NLL crown in 1999. Keenan was an assistant coach for the Rock’s NLL championship wins in 2000, 2002 and 2003.

    Keenan was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2012 before the Rush moved on to win their three NLL titles. As both a player and a coach, Keenan has been a part of nine NLL title wins.

Derek Keenan speaks to the media after a game in 2017.

    Just how big of an impact did Keenan have on the Rush?

    The Rush franchise posted a 16-48 regular season record in their first four campaigns of existence before Keenan came on board. In Keenan’s first season with the team in 2010, the Rush made the playoffs for the first time with a 10-6 record.

    The effect Keenan had on the Rush players showed through in the 2015 campaign. The Rush entered that season with expectations to contend for the NLL title with their only drawback being their youthfulness at the time.

    Keenan’s wife, Wendy, passed away on Jan. 2, 2015 due to her battle with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Derek had taken a leave of absence from the Rush to tend to Wendy in November of 2014.

    After she passed away, Derek returned to the Rush bench to resume his duties as head coach and general manager for a regular season game on Jan. 24, 2015. The Rush rallied around their coach for the rest of that campaign resulting in the team’s first NLL title win.

Derek Keenan gives a Rush player encouragement on the bench.

    Keenan views that first championship as his most memorable time with the team.

    “It was a very difficult year for our family, because we lost my wife and my kids’ mom and that was difficult, but we won that year,” said Keenan in a 2018 interview. “I think the amount that our players put into that season in terms of kind of her memory was so strong with our group.

    “I think that was really important to our team, and it was really important to me. It kind of started a legacy then that we were a very driven group. That was a big memory for sure.

    “The 2015 championship I think was really, really huge for us.”

    When the Rush moved to Saskatchewan, Keenan quickly became a household name in the province.

Derek Keenan hugs Rush goalie Evan Kirk after the 2018 NLL title win.

    Keenan’s kind and personable demeanor was one of the factors that helped the people of Saskatchewan develop a love in for the Rush.

    He would also take the time to explain the ins and outs of the lacrosse game, which also helped draw you into the sport.

    After winning the NLL title in 2016, the Rush were able to pick Derek’s son, Ryan, with the first overall selection in the 2016 NLL Draft. With Derek behind the bench and Ryan on the floor as a skilled forward, the Rush captured their third NLL title in 2018.

    Derek will also tell you he had a lot of help in creating a powerhouse program in the Rush. He will spread credit to his assistant coaches and to team owner Bruce Urban.

    Of course, Keenan guides a terrific group of players like captain Chris Corbeil, Mike Messenger, Jeff Cornwall, Robert Church, Ryan Dilks, Evan Kirk, Mark Matthews, Jeremy Thompson, Jeff Shattler, Ben McIntosh and Matt Hossack.

Derek Keenan speaks at the Rush victory rally in 2018.

    Along the way, Keenan became the NLL’s all-time leader in head coaching victories, and he has 155 combined wins in the regular season and post-season. The win total includes stints as head coach and general manager of the Anaheim Storm and the Portland LumberJax.

    He was the NLL coach of the year in 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 and the NLL’s general manager of the year in 2006, 2010 and 2014. The 2010 NLL coach of the year award was shared with Chris Hall of the Washington Stealth.

    It was just too bad real life threw a wrench into how Keenan’s final campaign behind the Rush bench went.

    The 2019-20 NLL season was suspended on March 12 and ultimately the remainder of the campaign was cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Rush were 7-3 when NLL play was halted.

Derek Keenan and the Rush pose for a championship team picture in 2018.

    While Keenan will no longer be behind the bench, he will still be a key part of the organization. The outstanding culture that the Rush have built will be a huge asset for the franchise when it returns to action.

    Combined with the support legendary fan Joyce Souka, who is best known as “Grandma Rush,” and the rest of Rush Nation, you can already see the Rush quickly hitting high gear when they return to play.

    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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Pumped Rush and NLL avoid stoppage, will play in 2018-19

The Rush celebrate an NLL title win last June.

    If the Saskatchewan Rush didn’t play in 2018-19, it would have felt like something was missing.

    For a large chunk of November, the National Lacrosse Association and the Professional Lacrosse Players Association were trying to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement. At times, there was loud talk that the negotiations were going so bad the 2018-19 NLL season could be lost.

    I am sure some fans were starting to decide where else they would spend their free time and disposable income. The may have included going to other sporting events, nice dinners at fancy restaurants, movies and concerts.

    In my own individual life, I knew I wouldn’t be deeply impacted, if the Rush didn’t play.

Captain Chris Corbeil lifts the Champion’s Cup in June of 2016.

    Fears of losing the season were erased on Nov. 24, when the NLL and PLPA reached a new collective bargaining agreement that is five years in length.

    The Rush, who are the defending NLL champions, will play a full 18-game regular season. They open the regular season on the road on Dec. 28 traveling to Uncasville, Connecticut, to play the New England Black Wolves.

    The Rush open the regular season on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre against the expansion San Diego Seals.

    Saskatchewan hosts an exhibition game on Saturday, Dec. 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre against their archrivals the Calgary Roughnecks.

    I admit I am not enough of a hard core lacrosse follower to know all the ends and outs of the struggles of what went into the negotiations that resulted in the new collective bargaining agreement between the NLL and PLPA.

Captain Chris Corbeil lifts the NLL Cup last June.

    Now that the NLL season will go on, there was a sense of being pumped up that there will be Rush games to go to. For myself, I was happy to have Rush games to look forward to.

    It hit me that it would have felt like something was lost, if the Rush didn’t play.

    During the three complete seasons the Rush have played in Saskatoon taking on a provincial tag as the Saskatchewan Rush, they have become a team the whole province supports. The nights the Rush clinched the NLL title at the SaskTel Centre in 2016 and 2018 are two of the top moments in that building’s history, and I was fortunate enough to be present for both of those games.

    When Rush defender Jeff Cornwall went coast-to-coast to score the NLL championship winning goal with 12 seconds to play to break a 10-10 tie with the Buffalo Bandits and give the Rush an 11-10 victory on June 4, 2016, the sellout crowd of 15,182 spectators at the SaskTel Centre erupted like they have never erupted before.

The scene after Jeff Cornwall scored the NLL title winning goal in 2016.

    For myself, that was the loudest I have ever seen the fans cheer in that building.

    Many fans go for the party, and why not. The Rush put on an enjoyable show around the game.

    For the game itself, it is easy to get addicted to the non-stop action of an NLL lacrosse game.

    Rush owner Bruce Urban and his front office staff are a stellar group. They help set the tone for what you see on game day.

    Head coach and general manager Derek Keenan is an outstanding man. He is a kind and understanding forward-thinking coach, and it will take you spending less than five minutes with his to realize why the Rush have won three of the last four NLL titles including their final campaign based in Edmonton, Alta.

Rush forward Matthew Dinsdale is set to score on this circus shot.

    The Rush have been strong in getting their players out in the community across Saskatchewan, and they are a terrific group of young men. Knowing that individuals like captain Chris Corbeil, fan favourite Jeremy Thompson, Mark Matthews, Ryan Keenan, Robert Church, Cornwall, Ben McIntosh and Evan Kirk will be back in the community makes the cold winter feel that much warmer.

    It will be cool to see the new ways star forward Jeff Shattler holds court in the humour department in the upcoming campaign.

    Rush fans will also get to see mascot Bruiser the Bulldog, Rush Hulk and the Original 16 Crush Dance Team making appearances all over the place too. They all add their significant parts to Rush Nation.

Grandma Rush’s sign says it all.

    Of course, Rush games wouldn’t be complete without the passionate support of the club’s top fan in Grandma Rush.

    There is so much to look forward to now that the Rush season will go ahead. Let the games and the defence of the NLL title begin.

    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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    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Rush continue to be perfect at home fit in Saskatchewan

The Rush celebrate winning the NLL Cup on Saturday.

    The honeymoon is still going strong between Saskatchewan and the Rush.

    On Saturday, the Saskatchewan Rush added to their continually growing list of magical moments at the SaskTel Centre winning their third National Lacrosse League championship in franchise history and third in the last four years. In a series deciding Game 3 of the NLL championship series, the Rush scored the last four goals of the contest to surge to a 15-10 victory over the Rochester Knighthawks.

    The win sent the gathering of 13,645 spectators into a joyful victory celebration. The celebration ran through that night and into a victory rally on Sunday morning at the Delta Bessborough Gardens with the newly minted National Lacrosse League Cup.

Rush goalie Evan Kirk sets to pass the ball to a teammate.

    The Rush captured their first league title in early June of 2015, when the franchise was still located in Edmonton.

    Unable to secure a long-term lease in the Alberta capital, owner Bruce Urban moved the team to Saskatoon in July of 2015. The club was branded as the Saskatchewan Rush aimed at drawing fans from all over the province following a model established by the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders.

    Now three years after that move, the Rush have become an established part of Saskatchewan’s culture. In the town of Chamberlain located about an hour drive north of Regina on Highway 11 heading to Saskatoon, you can find a billboard that says the road runs south for the Roughriders and north for the Rush.

    The Rush’s rise to prominence in Saskatchewan was aided by the fact the NLL’s championship team was heading to Saskatoon. In their title win in Edmonton, the Rush swept the Toronto Rock 2-0 in the best-of-three NLL title series.

Rush Hulk and Bruiser get the crowd fired up at the SaskTel Centre.

    The Rock have the reputation of being Canada’s most storied NLL team equaling the Philadelphia Wings for most titles in the circuit’s history at six.

    The Rush won their first championship in 2015 with one of the league’s youngest teams. While hope was high the title wins would continue in Saskatchewan, they were tempered with caution that the title win in Edmonton could be a one-year run type thing.

    There was good optimism the Rush could be a success, but the last three years have comfortably passed the most optimistic expectations.

    The Rush capped their inaugural campaign in the “Wheat Province” capturing a second straight NLL crown in 2016 sweeping the Buffalo Bandits 2-0 in the title series. Game 2 of that set at the SaskTel Centre provided a “where were you when” moment, when defender Jeff Cornwall went coast-to-coast to score the series winning goal for the Rush with 12 seconds to play in the fourth quarter.

Rush forward Robert Church (#17) charges towards the Rochester goal.

    Cornwall’s tally broke a 10-10 tie and gave the Rush an 11-10 victory. The noise made by the 15,182 spectators in attendance that night was likely the loudest that was ever heard in the history of the SaskTel Centre for a sporting event.

    Saskatchewan fans had their first opportunity to watch their team lift what is now the circuit’s former championship trophy in the Champion’s Cup on home turf.

    The Rush had a real chance to win the NLL title again in 2017. They advanced to the NLL title series again only to be swept 2-0 by the Georgia Swarm.

    That series ended with a heartbreaking 15-14 overtime loss in Game 2 played at the SaskTel Centre. They were painfully close to forcing a series-deciding Game 3.

Jeff Shattler cheers after scoring a goal for the Rush on Saturday.

    In the aftermath of that setback, the Rush set out to reclaim the NLL championship. They topped the overall NLL regular season standings in 2018 with a 14-4 record and dumped their archrivals the Calgary Roughnecks 15-13 in the West Division final.

    That set up the championship encounter with the Knighthawks, who claimed both head-to-head regular season matches with the Rush.

    The Rush took Game 1 convincingly at the SaskTel Centre 16-9 on May 26, and the Knighthawks returned the favour with a 13-8 victory in Game 2 in Rochester on June 2.

    Game 3 on Saturday was a back-and-fourth affair until the Rush’s final surge to pull out victory. The Saskatchewan side wasn’t going to be denied.

The Crush Dance team entertains the crowd at the SaskTel Centre.

    While the Rush are an exciting and athletic team, they are also a club that is easy to cheer for. All their players are very down to earth including captain Chris Corbeil, top scoring threats Mark Matthews and Robert Church, fan favourite Jeremy Thompson, Kyle Rubisch, Cornwall, Ryan Keenan, goalie Evan Kirk and the list goes on from there.

    Former Roughnecks star Jeff Shattler joined the Rush this season and was immediately accepted into the fold by the Rush organization and the fans for being a beauty character on top of a great player. He cemented his status as a favourite picking up NLL playoff MVP honours with the Rush winning it all.

    Head coach and general manager Derek Keenan is the ultimate player’s coach and success has followed him wherever he has gone in the sport.

Rush Nation has backed the Rush since they arrived in Saskatchewan.

    The 56-year-old has been a part of nine NLL championship wins as a player, assistant coach and head coach, and he has made a total of 13 trips to the league final. 

    Along with assistant coaches Jeff McComb and Jimmy Quinlan, the Rush have the best coaching staff in the NLL.

    Urban made all of this possible by bringing in the right people to coach his club and the right people to run the business side of the operation.
    That helped the Rush franchise become part of Saskatchewan culture with the numerous appearances the team makes across the province.

Mark Matthews raises the National Lacrosse League Cup.

    People have continued to pack the SaskTel Centre for games, and team merchandise has flown off store shelves.
    The Rush logo is showing up in all corners of the province.

    While there will be changes with the Rush set to lose a couple of players in the NLL expansion draft and regular turnover that happens in professional sports, the club’s run to the top likely isn’t over yet.

    Most of the players on the team are in the prime of their careers. The organization is solid in coaching and in the front office.

    The brand new National Lacrosse League Cup might be in for a longer stay in Saskatchewan.

Sight of Dahlgren, Wasserman set Game 3 tone

Kaleb Dahlgren, left, and Jacob Wasserman, centre, sparked the fans.

    The pre-game appearance of two members from the Humboldt Broncos junior A hockey team set the tone for the Saskatchewan Rush and Rush Nation on Saturday night.

    While the Rush put on spectacle during pre-game introductions to get fans into games at the SaskTel Centre, the biggest cheers went to Kaleb Dahlgren, 21, and Jacob Wasserman, 18, when they were introduced as heroes of the game before Game 3 of the NLL championship series. Dahlgren was a right-winger for the Broncos and Wasserman was a goalie.

    Both were on the team bus that was involved in a tragic crash on route to a Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League playoff game in Nipawin on April 6 that resulted in the deaths of 16 players and team personnel.

    The loud cheers for Dahlgren and Wasserman went on for almost a minute.

    Of course, the Rush went on to claim the back-and-forth contest 15-10.

    The Rush were on board right from the start looking to do their part to help those involved in the Broncos bus crash. A day after the crash, the Rush hosted the Colorado Mammoth in a regular season clash at the SaskTel Centre.
    That April 7 game marked the first big community gathering in the province since the tragedy involving the Broncos. The Rush equipment staff quickly put Broncos logos on the helmets of all the Rush players, and stations were set up to raise funds to help aid those involved with the Humboldt club.

Chris Corbeil and the Rush players wore Broncos logos on their helmets.

    The Rush jumped ahead 10-4 early in the fourth quarter in that clash with the Mammoth and cruised to an 11-8 victory.

    The highlight occurred in the break between the third and fourth quarters when the crowd of 14,971 spectators broke into a chant of “Let’s Go Broncos.”

    During post-game media scrums, Rush captain Chris Corbeil said his team was playing for “our” community, the people of Saskatchewan and Canadians everywhere, and he hoped they did everyone proud.

    The contest provided a first real opportunity for people in Saskatchewan to gather together and collectively start helping each other through the tragedy and healing.

    The Rush took part in various events to help the Broncos as the season went on and visited Broncos players and families at their homes often bringing team merchandise as gifts.

    The Rush were stellar with their efforts in this area.

    On side note, Wasserman returned to the building on Saturday where it appears he might have picked up his lone win of his goaltending career in the WHL. On Feb, 23, Wasserman was called up to play for the Regina Pats against the Saskatoon Blades in a WHL regular season clash at the SaskTel Centre. He made 23 saves going the distance in goal for the Pats, who downed the Blades 7-5.

    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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Corbeil gets redemption in Rush NLL championship win

Rush captain Chris Corbeil lifts the National Lacrosse League Cup on Saturday.

    Chris Corbeil slayed the demons from literally dropping the ball a year ago.

    When the Saskatchewan Rush began their journey through the 2018 National Lacrosse League campaign, they were seeking redemption after being swept 2-0 by the Georgia Swarm in the best-of-three National National Lacrosse League championship series in 2017. Corbeil, who has been the Rush captain since the start of the 2014 campaign, struggled with the sting of that loss worse than anyone else on the team.

Jeremy Thompson (#74) and Chris Corbeil react to Corbeil’s second goal.

    In Game 2 of that series at the SaskTel Centre, the Rush held a 14-13 lead in the final seconds of the fourth quarter. The Rush had possession of the ball and pulled their goalie looking to play keep away from the Swarm to run out the clock.

    That tactic is often used in lacrosse.

    Corbeil mishandled a pass from teammate Jeremy Thompson while running in the open near midfield. The Swarm picked the loose ball and scored into the empty Rush net to tie things up at 14-14 and proceeded to win 15-14 after a goal in sudden death overtime.

    Due to that botched play in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, the Rush weren’t able to force a series deciding Game 3 back in Duluth, Georgia, and watched the Swarm celebrate a championship in Saskatoon.

The crowd at the SaskTel Centre celebrates a Rush goal on Saturday.

    On Saturday in a series deciding Game 3 of the 2018 NLL championship series before 13,645 spectators at the SaskTel Centre, Corbeil had a hat trick to help the Rush down the Rochester Knighthawks 15-10 and take the series 2-1.

    The Rush held a slim 11-10 lead with 12 minutes to play in the fourth quarter and proceeded to seal victory with a four-goal surge. Corbeil capped the surge scoring into an empty net with 2:34 remaining in the fourth quarter.

    “It is that much sweeter,” said Corbeil. “I really took a lot of ownership for what happened last year.

    “It was a tough time for me. After the season ended, I apologized to all the guys, because I really thought we should have been playing for a Game 3 and the championship back in Georgia. I dropped the ball and didn’t give my brothers a chance to do that.

Jeremy Thompson (#74) and Adrian Sorchetti defend Eric Fannell (#66).

    “(Saturday night) was unbelievably special.”

    The 30-year-old defender from Oakville, Ont., is one of the most personable players on the Rush. While what happened in Game 2 in the NLL final against the Swarm was in the back of his mind, he never visibly let it affect him as the Rush proceeded to finish first overall in the league’s regular season standings at 14-4 in the 2018 campaign.

    Corbeil has a reputation for saying the right things at the right time. He also had a good sense of humour, and he knows when to crack a joke to break up a sombre mood during rough times.

    After he scored his empty-net goal on Saturday against the Knighthawks, Corbeil was focused on closing out the game having put the Rush ahead by five goals.

Nik Bilic brings the ball upfield for the Rush.

    “When I put it in, I didn’t think much of it, because there was still time on the clock,” said Corbeil. “I know anything can happen in this wild sport, especially with the way Rochester can come back and their job on faceoffs.

    “When that buzzer went, it does feel like there is a weight off my shoulders. It is incredible.”

    The Rush won the NLL title in 2015 in their final season in Edmonton. They captured the title again in 2016 in their first season in Saskatchewan.

    Hopes were high inside the team about winning a third straight championship in 2017.
    The disappointment intensified that much more in the Rush organization after falling in the NLL title series to the Swarm.

    Rush head coach and general manager Derek Keenan said Corbeil didn’t need to shoulder the blame for what happened in that Game 2 loss to the Swarm. Keenan and Corbeil have always had a good relationship, and the bench boss loves how his captain leads by example.

The fans at the SaskTel Centre celebrate a third quarter Rush goal.

    The lead by example included following tips on how to get the better of Knighthawks star goalie Matt Vinc on Saturday night.

    “He (Corbeil) is our leader clearly in the room and on the floor,” said Keenan. “I like the fact that he kind of followed our shooting plan on Vinc.”

    Keenan said his club took a team approach to addressing what happened in last year’s NLL final going into the 2018 campaign. He said that helped make Saturday’s NLL championship victory that much more special.

    “It feels great, because it was disappointment last year for all our guys,” said Keenan. “We talked about it from the very first day of training camp.

The Rush celebrate winning the National Lacrosse League Cup.

    “I remember being in Toronto our first game of the regular season and saying to our guys, ‘You know what. I think last year was a blip on the radar for this team, this organization. We are going to get it done this year.’

    “They’ve been focused on that all year.”

    No matter what anyone told him, Corbeil still felt like the Rush loss in the 2017 NLL final was his fault, and Saturday’s win really helped him put to rest what happened against the Swarm in 2017.

    With that said, he didn’t want his personal story to overshadow the overall story of the Rush winning their third NLL title in team history and third championship in the last four years.

Captain Chris Corbeil meets a couple of Rush fans from Edmonton.

    To him, everyone on the team played their part in capturing the brand new National Lacrosse League Cup.

    “I am using ‘I’ a lot here, and I don’t like talking about myself,” said Corbeil. “This is such a team effort.

    “Really, I just feel good so I can do this my brothers. That is all this is about.

    “I felt horrible. I didn’t care that I lost it for myself. It was that I lost it for these guys. I was able to play a part and make amends of that this season.”

    Corbeil’s sense of humour proceeded to pop up when he talked about lifting the league’s new championship trophy, which replaced the Champion’s Cup. His crack made reference to captain Alexander Ovechkin of the NHL’s Washington Capitals, who is popping up all over the place with the Stanley Cup after the Caps won professional hockey’s top price.

The Rush pose for the team picture after winning the NLL Cup.

    “It (the National Lacrosse League Cup) was heavy,” said Corbeil. “I couldn’t believe it.

    “I got it a little in front of me, and I think I dropped it almost on Churchy’s (teammate Robert Church’s) head. It looks kind of smaller than the last one. I wouldn’t be like Ovechkin carrying it around for the next four days.

    “I’m not strong enough. I haven’t done enough shoulder presses lately, so I will be passing it off.”

    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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    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.