Rush aim to finish the deal now

Saskatchewan will try to capture NLL title on the road

The Rush celebrate a goal in Game 1 of the NLL title series.

    All the Saskatchewan Rush want to do is bring that new shiny National Lacrosse League championship trophy home.

    Tonight at 6 p.m. Saskatchewan time, the Rush will enter the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, N.Y., looking to capture the NLL championship against the host Knighthawks. The Rush took Game 1 of the best-of-three series 16-9 on May 26 at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon.

    Saskatchewan has two shots to capture the magnificent looking brand new National Lacrosse League Cup, which replaced the Champion’s Cup as the league’s title trophy. The Rush prefer to make good on this first opportunity to win the NLL championship.

Robert Church had a big night in Game 1 of the NLL final.

    While a potential Game 3 would be played back at the SaskTel Centre on June 9, the Rush would like to avoid a winner-take-all affair like that. The last three NLL Championship series have all ended in sweeps with the Rush winning the title in 2015, when the franchise was still located in Edmonton, and in 2016, when the franchise played its inaugural campaign in Saskatchewan.

    Of course, last year was a heartbreaker, where the Rush were swept in the NLL final by the Georgia Swarm. That loss has been the motivational force that propelled the Rush to a 14-4 regular season record to finish on top of the entire NLL standings.

    The Knighthawks rose up as the big nemesis for the Rush winning both regular season encounters in the 2018 campaign between the two squads.

Cody Jamieson (#88) is a dangerous offensive player for the Knighthawks.

    On Feb. 17 in Rochester, the Knighthawks claimed a 16-11 victory. On March 24 at the SaskTel Centre, the Knighthawks prevailed 13-10.

    Rochester had a solid regular season posting a 10-8 record. The Knighthawks downed the New England Blackwolves 15-11 in an East Division semifinal contest on May 4 and slipped past the Swarm 9-8 in the East Division Final on May 12.

    The Rush had a bye into the West Division final and downed their archrivals the Calgary Roughnecks 15-13.

    Going into the NLL final, there were questions on whether the Rush would be able to get past the Knighthawks stingy defence. Saskatchewan answered by turning a close game into romp.

Mark Matthews, right, had a quiet NLL final Game 1 for the Rush.

    The Knighthawks held a 4-3 lead, but starting at the 7:05 mark of the second quarter, the Rush rolled off seven straight goals to go up 10-4 and cruise to the ultimate 16-9 outcome.

    That was likely the best game the Rush had played to date in the 2018 campaign.
    Forward Mark Matthews, who topped the NLL in regular season scoring with 116 points, didn’t hit the scoresheet in Game 1 of the NLL final until scoring the Rush’s 10^th goal of the contest.

    Matthews set a new NLL record for most assists in one regular season at 84 to go along with his 32 goals.

Joe Resetarits topped the Knighthawks in scoring this season.

    Forward Robert Church, who finished second in NLL regular season scoring, was the main spark plug for the Rush offence in Game 1 netting four goals and two assists.

    Jeremy Thompson and Mike Messenger scored singles in transition, and defender Jeff Cornwall had a pair of tallies.

    Goalie Evan Kirk was solid in the Rush net making 35 saves to pick up the win for his club.

    The Rush had all facets of their game going. With the way things played out in Game 1, it would be hard to picture the Knighthawks pulling out a win in Game 2 to force the series back to the SaskTel Centre.

    With that said, the coaching in modern day sport never ceases to amaze me. You can expect Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen and his staff to make adjustments for Game 2. The Knighthawks have a storied history that includes winning five NLL titles including three in a row from 2012 to 2014.

Jeff Cornwall scored twice for the Rush in Game 1 of the NLL final.

    Knighthawks forward Cody Jamieson was the NLL final MVP in the 2012 and 2013 championship wins, and he had a goal and five assists in the Game 1 setback. Joe Resetarits topped the Knighthawks in regular season scoring with 37 goals and 63 assists.

    Rochester has a solid goalie in Matt Vinc, so the Knighthawks have the tools to extending the series. They needed all three game to take the 2014 NLL championship series against the Roughnecks.

    Of course, Rush head coach Derek Keenan and his staff will do their best to ensure the result of Game 1 repeats itself in Game 2.

    Right now, it feels like the Rush have too much drive to recapture the NLL title after falling in the championship series a year ago.
    That drive might ensure the brooms are brought out for a series sweep on Saturday night.

    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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