Matthews, Church and Bold deliver for Rush

Mark Matthews came up big for the Rush on Saturday.

    While the entertainment around a Saskatchewan Rush game can be a spectacle, the players that take the floor deliver more than their fair share of thrills as well.

    The Rush are gunning for a third straight National Lacrosse League title, and they have relied on a core group throughout their current run. On Saturday at the SaskTel Centre, three key members of that core group delivered in a big way to power the Rush to their third straight NLL Championship series appearance.

    Mark Matthews, Robert Church and Aaron Bold all had big games to help the Rush slip past the Denver based Colorado Mammoth 11-10 in Game 2 of a Western Division championship series. With the win, the Rush swept the best-of-three set 2-0.

    Matthews, who finished second in the NLL regular season scoring race with 40 goals and 78 assists, led the way offensively for the Rush on Saturday netting two goals and four assists. Church, who was second in regular season team scoring with 35 goals and 42 assists, record two goals and three assists in the Rush’s series clinching win. Bold, who is the club’s standout goalie, made 32 key stops to preserve the one-goal win, which included holding the fort in the dying seconds of Saturday’s contest.

Mark Matthews signs autographs for fans at a rally last Friday.

    Backed by solid performances by those three, the Rush received what seemed like key contributions from the rest of their roster. Ben McIntosh had a pair of goals, while Jeff Cornwall, Matthew Dinsdale, Adam Jones, Ryan Keenan and Mike Messenger all had singles. Messenger, who is a rookie defender, had the winning tally with 13:34 to play in the fourth quarter.

    Eli McLaughlin had a hat trick for the Mammoth, while Jeremy Noble and Zack Greer both had two-goal nights. Greg Downing, Joey Cupido and Jacob Ruest all had singles for the visitors. Dillon Ward made 37 shots to take the loss in goal for the Mammoth.

    Besides being able to get up and down the floor in quick order, the Rush often make gifted athletic plays to score goals. Matthews has a habit of bringing the SaskTel Centre faithful, who numbered 14,052 on Saturday, out of their seats.

    Away from the game, the Rush players interact really well with the public. That could definitely be seen during a lunch time downtown rally last Friday a block south of the team’s office and gift store.

Jeremy Thompson is pictured with fans at a Rush rally.

    Players like Matthews and Bold kept signing autographs as the endless waves of supporters kept coming. Transition player Jeremy Thompson, who is also a huge fan favourite due to a big work ethic and motor that doesn’t stop, posed for numerous pictures as well.

    The thing that seems to make the Rush players stay down to earth is the fact they all have jobs away from the game. During the week they work regular jobs in their hometown communities, and on weekends, they fly to wherever the Rush are playing be it at home or on the road for games.

    The Rush will play one more home game during the 2017 campaign, and fans are likely hoping history will repeat itself with a victory party night in Saskatoon. In the best-of-three NLL title series, the Rush, who were 12-6 in the regular season, will face the Eastern Division champion in the Duluth based Georgia Swarm, who topped all NLL clubs with a 13-5 regular season record.

    Game 1 is set for Sunday, June 4 in Duluth, and Game 2 is slated for Saturday, June 10 at 7:30 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. If necessary, Game 3 will be held on Sunday, June 18 in Duluth. If the Rush can sweep this series, they would win the Champion’s Cup for a second straight year at the SaskTel Centre.

    Last year, the Rush swept the Buffalo Bandits in the NLL title series 2-0, which including posting a series clinching 11-10 victory at the SaskTel Centre. 

Mascot Bruiser meets a young fan at the Rush rally.

    That game will be best remembered for Cornwall going coast-to-coast to score the winning goal with 12 seconds to play in the fourth quarter, which broke a 10-10 tie.

    The Swarm downed the Rush 18-10 in the only head-to-head meeting between the two clubs back on Jan. 7. 

    The Rush were without Bold and McIntosh in that contest because both were sitting out a one-game suspension for their participation in a brawl that broke out in a 9-6 pre-season win on Dec. 16, 2016 against the Calgary Roughnecks at the SaskTel Centre.

    With that noted, the series with the Swarm should be a tossup. Georgia’s roster includes second-year forward Lyle Thompson, who topped the NLL in scoring with 45 goals and 71 assists.

    The Rush have won the last two NLL titles. In 2015, they claimed the Champion’s Cup, when the franchise was still located in Edmonton. Last year, they repeated as NLL champs in their first year based in Saskatoon.

Rush office staffer Gulka becomes cult hero

Big plays only 2017 @SaskRushLAX pic.twitter.com/hzaUsZuFpR

— Connor Gulka (@ConnorGulka) May 21, 2017

    Saskatchewan Rush account executive Connor Gulka might be the most famous office staffer from all the Saskatoon-based sports teams at the moment.

    With just over 30 seconds to play in the fourth quarter of the Rush’s Western Division championship clinching series victory on Saturday, a fan climbed over the glass and ran out on to the playing surface. Gulka caught up to the fan and threw him to the turf.  The fan got up and ran off again, but was quickly apprehended by security.

    The video of Gulka throwing the idiot fan to the ground has been shown over a number of social media and mainstream media sources. On various social media channels, a number of other Rush fans have praised Gulka for the throw down, which is being dubbed the “Gulksmash.”

    What the idiot fan did in running out on to the floor was obviously stupid. What made it more stupid was the Rush had the ball, the momentum and were trying to close out a one-goal game that was still in the balance. Had the visiting Colorado Mammoth netted the equalizer on their last possession, there could have been a lot of unhappy people on the side of Rush Nation.

    As things played out, the Rush held on for the 11-10 victory. The idiot fan has been banded from SaskTel Centre events until further notice.

    On the total great lighter side of all this, Gulka gets more notoriety.

Murphy’s sure hands delivers last second Valkyries win

Kelsey Murphy came up with a huge catch for the Valkyries.

    Kelsey Murphy has always been one of the most popular players inside the Saskatoon Valkyries dressing room, so it was extra exciting for the team when she made the biggest playing in a thrilling comeback win.

    On Sunday night at Taylor Field in Regina, the Valkyries trailed the host Riot 17-13 with 1:58 remaining the fourth quarter. Starting with possession at their own 35, the Valkyries executed a two-minute drill drive and moved the ball down to the Riot eight yard line. With seven seconds remaining on the clock, sophomore quarterback Alex Eyolfson hit Murphy with an eight-yard touchdown toss to allow the Valkyries to win the game 20-17.

    Murphy, who is in her fourth season with the team, has always been a dependable receiver and also returns kicks. She is one of those players that will do any role that is asked of her by the coaching staff, and at times, her efforts get overlooked by those outside the team.

    Due to the fact the Valkyries are without star receiver Marci Halseth for the entire season with a torn Achilles tendon, Murphy has seen more action this season. It was a feel good moment to see her step into the spotlight in one of the best games the Western Women’s Canadian Football League has seen in its young history dating back to 2011.

Alex Eyolfson fires a pass downfield for the Valkyries.

    Eyolfson has been a great story as well. Having graduated from Holy Cross High School in June of 2015 best known as a player on that institution’s elite senior girls’ basketball team, she joined the Valkyries last season as a rookie and played beside individuals who coached her in minor sports.

    As time has gone on, Eyolfson’s confidence has grown, and she has really taken charge of the team’s huddle. It has been an impressive sight, considering she is still one of the youngest players on the offensive side of the ball for the Valkyries. She can fire the ball downfield really well too.

    Valkyries power back Samantha Matheson ran for 117 yards and scored a touchdown on a 12-yard run in Sunday’s win. Carly Dyck nailed field goals from 38 and 25 yards out for Saskatoon.

Samantha Matheson was big for the Valkyries on Sunday.

    Carmen Agar ran the ball 16 times for 107 yards for the Riot and scored two touchdowns. Morgan Turner hit a 14-yard field goal for Regina.

    With Sunday’s result, the Valkryies and Riot both hold identical 2-1 records, but the Riot sit first in the WWCFL’s Prairie Conference thanks to holding a 33-20 edge in points scored in the two head-to-head meetings between the clubs. The Winnipeg Wolfpack and Manitoba Fearless both have identical 1-2 records to sit behind the two Saskatchewan squads.

    The regular season ends for the Prairie Conference teams this coming Sunday in Winnipeg. The Fearless will host the Valkyries and the Wolfpack will host the Riot.
    The first and second place clubs in the standings advance to a conference championship game, which is expected to be held on June 4.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

The spectacle of the Rush

National Lacrosse League team thrills Saskatchewan fans

Matt Hossack celebrates scoring a goal for the Rush.

    When it comes to providing the ultimate escapism for the sports fan in Saskatchewan, no one beats the Saskatchewan Rush.

    After winning a league championship in 2015 in Edmonton, the National Lacrosse League franchise relocated to Saskatoon for the 2016 season after owner Bruce Urban was unable to secure a long-term lease in the Alberta capital. In June of 2016, the Rush repeated as NLL champions, and local fans from around the province had the opportunity to experience the thrill of championship victory first hand.

    Leading the best-of-three NLL championship series 1-0 against the Buffalo Bandits, the Rush hosted Game 2 at the SaskTel Centre on June 4, 2016. Locked in a 10-10 draw, a crowd of 15,182 gleefully watched Rush defenceman Jeff Cornwall bolt coast-to-coast and tuck home the winning goal with 12 second to play to give the host side an 11-10 victory in the game and a 2-0 sweep of the series. 

A mini-monster truck shoots sparks at the Rush game.

    In the aftermath of that exciting finish, it seemed the Champions Cup found its way to numerous parts of Saskatchewan.

    Now in their second season in Saskatoon, the excitement around the Rush hasn’t diminished. On Saturday, they improved to 11-5 and locked up first place in the NLL’s West Division with a 15-10 victory over the storied Toronto Rock before a raucous crowd of 15,045 at the SaskTel Centre.

    During their nine regular season home dates, the Rush are averaging just under 15,000 per game, and the ticket buyer is enjoying every minute of the action.

    The action isn’t limited to the game itself. It also includes all the entertainment aspects surrounding the contest.

    Last year, I went to games were the Rush locked up the West Division final series and the NLL championship game as a ticket buyer. On Saturday, I ventured to the SaskTel Centre on the media end to get my feet wet with another side of the Rush experience.

Members of the Crush Dance Team entertain the SaskTel Centre crowd.

    I took my camera and expected to shoot photos of the game and likely write some sort of story about the night. The Rush victory allowed head coach Derek Keenan to become the all-time leader in NLL career wins at 122 surpassing the previous mark of 121 held by Darris Kilgour, who coached the Bandits from 2003 to 2013.

    Keenan’s record win provided the perfect bailout story for me. I became so involved with the picture taking aspect of the night I was really oblivious to the blow-by-blow of how the Rush won by a 15-10 final.

    I remember the Rush bolting out to a quick 2-0 lead, when Ben McIntosh scored 47 seconds into the contest and Mark Matthews tallied at the 3:03 mark of the first quarter. From there, half of pictures I took were of the game and half were of things that happened around the game.

Rush fans do the chest beat celebration after one of the team’s goals.

    I took cool shots of the mini-monster truck shooting out huge sparks during the pre-game and was taken in by the skill displayed by the Crush Dance Team during their performances. I found myself in the party zone set up in the one corner of the facility and wandering the concourse checking out the various displays the Rush staff set up through the facility.

    It was also a 1980s promo night on Saturday, and considering I love 80s music, I was grooving pretty good to the tunes Trystan Meyers , who is also known as “D.J. Anchor,” was cranking out. The Nightrain, which is a Guns N’ Roses tribute band, was pretty sweet as well.
    In between, I was able to capture a couple of shots of Bruiser the Rush bulldog mascot.

Rush mascot Bruiser waves a team flag.

    On the floor, I loved the up tempo pace of action the NLL presents. Being at the contest in a media capacity, I really took in and was in awe checking out how much the fans reacted and enjoyed the night. While there are obvious fan favourite players like goalie Aaron Bold, Jeremy Thompson, Matthews and Robert Church, the fans were soaking in the pure fun.

    Even if the Rush had lost, you felt like the fans wouldn’t be over dissecting the game, which commonly happens when the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders come up on the wrong end of the scoreboard.

    The announcers do their best to get the crowd revved up into the game like noting the Toronto Rock come from a city that considers itself “the centre of the universe.”

    When the Rush score, everyone get super intense into the chest beat celebration.

    Behind the scenes, the Rush game day staff are first class to deal with. It seem like they are upbeat all the time, which adds to the fun.

    At a Rush game, it feels like all your daily troubles go away for the two to three hours you are there.
    For the ticket buyers that are coming from all over Saskatchewan, that feeling of euphoria is priceless.

    If you have any comments would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

NLL champion Rush better than advertised

Champion’s Cup winner delivers thrills to Saskatchewan

Rush captain Chris Corbeil raises the Champion's Cup.

    It seems unthinkable to say a championship contending team exceeds expectations when it wins, but that is exactly what the Saskatchewan Rush have done.

    The Rush capped their first season in Saskatchewan on Saturday by sweeping the best-of-three National Lacrosse League championship series 2-0 with an 11-10 victory at the SaskTel Centre over the Buffalo Bandits. Locked in a 10-10 draw in Game 2 with 12 seconds to play, Rush defenceman Jeff Cornwall found himself on a breakaway and tucked home the championship winning goal to send a sellout crowd of 15,182 into delirium.

    The noise and sheer excitement from the crowd might have hit the highest high that has ever been seen for a sporting event held at the SaskTel Centre. The exciting finish was fitting way to cap a special season.

    The Rush followed and unprecedented path since winning their first NLL championship in June of last year while the franchise was based in Edmonton.

    Unable to secure a long-term lease in the Alberta capital, owner Bruce Urban moved the team to Saskatoon in July of last year to end a decade long run in that centre.

The Rush celebrate an NLL finals winning goal from Jeff Cornwall, centre.

    The NLL is an established professional league dating back to 1987. In a circuit like the NLL, it was almost unthinkable to see a club leave a city after winning a league title. To go on and repeat as a league champion in a new home city isn’t something that would be conceivable.

    When the Rush set up shop in Saskatoon, an obvious curiosity factor existed. Saskatoon had seen its share of professional teams come and go, but the Rush were the first team to arrive from an established circuit, and they had the Champion’s Cup in tow.

    The club took on the provincial moniker calling itself the Saskatchewan Rush in order to brand itself as the province’s team like the CFL’s Roughriders, who are based out of Regina.

    The strategy appears to have worked. If you wandered thought the tailgate parties that happened in the SaskTel Centre parking lots pre-game, you would have found a group of supporters from Prince Albert who arrived at 3 p.m. for a 7 p.m. start.

    While the biggest contingent of supporters comes from Saskatoon, you would have found supporters from all sorts of locations in Saskatchewan. You would have also encountered some diehard fans from Edmonton, who traveled in to see their former team play.

The Rush fans are ready to party at the SaskTel Centre.

    In the six months leading up to the season, the Rush really had to hustle to sell the sport of lacrosse and be in a position to deliver a great game day experience for the fans. On Jan. 15 of this year, the Rush played their first home game before 9,147 spectators falling 13-11 to the Vancouver Stealth. While the Rush lost, the fans were hooked, and they returned.

    The Rush hosted 11 home games between the regular season and playoffs, and attendance did not dip below 10,000 for the last eight of those contests. Over 15,000 people attended each of the last three home dates. That included a SaskTel Centre record for a sporting event of 15,192 spectators for a May 21^st home game that saw the Rush win the West Division final series against the Calgary Roughnecks.

    On the court, the Rush were expected to content for another championship. The club proceeded to top the West Division with a 13-5 record as the players quickly became comfortable playing in front of raucous home crowds.

Rush forward Robert Church drives to the net for a scoring chance.

    The fans loved the game presentation from watching the performances of the Crush dance team, getting pumped up by the music that blared continuously during play and doing the chest beat celebration every time the Rush scored a goal.

    To top things off, games were exciting, and the Rush were a fun team to watch. Goalie “Stone Cold” Aaron Bold and gritty transition player Jeremy Thompson became fan favourites as well as likeable team scoring leader Mark Matthews, who piled up 40 goals and 69 assists during the regular season.

    Matthews got the party rolling Saturday with an amazing diving goal that saw him get shoved into the Bandits goalie Anthony Cosmo just 74 seconds into the contest. It took a video review to allow the goal to count, but when it went up on the scoreboard, the crowd went into a frenzy.

    The Bandits were game too, and both teams went back-and-fourth on the scoreboard. The visitors led 9-7 going into the fourth quarter, but the Rush prevailed on one of their classic final frame outbursts.

The Rush celebrate winning their second straight NLL championship.

    It seemed fitting for Cornwall to get the series winner as a reward for playing an unselfish and sound defensive game, which included a big shot block on Bandits phenom Dhane Smith.

    Scoring the series winner with 12 seconds to play, Cornwall showed he had hands of gold around the net. After the final buzzer sounded, a large number of fans stuck around for about an hour soaking in the post-game celebrations. The championship party would go long into the Saskatoon night.

    Forget being as good as advertised, the Rush were even better than advertised. Time will tell how long the feel-good honeymoon will last.

    Saskatoon sports fans have a reputation for being fickle. One wonders if they will disappear the first time the Rush have a losing season.

    With that said, the Rush appear to have the potential to be a winner for the foreseeable future. More good times appear to be in store in the coming years.

Nogier’s NHL signing an uplifting story

Nelson Nogier springs into action for the Rebels.

    The Saskatoon hockey community and the city of Red Deer received a feel good story on Wednesday when Nelson Nogier signed a three-year entry-level NHL contract with the Winnipeg Jets.

    The Jets selected the Saskatoon product in the fourth round and 101^st overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. Nogier, who turned 20 in late May, played last season with the Red Deer Rebels posting four goals, 17 assists and a plus-27 rating in the plus-minus department in 69 games.

    He helped the Rebels advance to the Eastern Conference Championship series of the WHL playoffs for the first time since 2004. The Rebels hosted the Memorial Cup and Nogier helped them make the tournament’s semifinal game.

    Nogier started his WHL career playing two-and-a-half seasons for his hometown Saskatoon Blades and was dealt to the Rebels in a trade in December of 2014.

    When Nogier signed with the Jets, tributes poured in from social media from the hockey communities in Saskatoon and Red Deer. The big overall message was that everyone was happy for Nogier, because he is an outstanding individual.

    Of course, Nogier is my young cousin, and my family is really proud of him. I was always big time impressed he won the league award as the WHL’s scholastic player of the year while with the Blades during the 2013-14 season. To do so well in school while playing elite level hockey is impressive.

Nelson  Nogier protects the point for the Rebels.

    With that said, it will still heartwarming to see the tributes from everyone else.

Blades play-by-play voice Les Lazaruk said a lot of really glowing words over the radio waves which were repeated on his blog. Kind words also came from social media posts from Blades president Steve Hogle and Blades managing partner Colin Priestner.

    I recently visited with Blades and University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team alumnus Derek Hulak, who plays for the AHL’s Texas Stars, and he was happy to hear my cousin signed with the Jets. That was extremely cool to hear as Hulak is held in very high regard in Saskatoon’s hockey community.

    It was also so enjoyable to travel to Red Deer and see how much the Rebels fans really took Nogier in as one of their own.

    Nogier has always been the perfect gentleman even when he was a young boy. As he grew up, it always amazed me how well-mannered he was.

Nelson Nogier brings the puck up ice for the Rebels.

    It is also sweet to see how close he is to his younger sister Danielle, who just graduated as the captain of the two-time defending Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League champion Saskatoon Stars. Danielle was the scholastic player of the year for the SFMAAAHL this past season and will join the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team in the fall.

    Nelson and Danielle love sharing stories about their hockey adventures with each other and are always in constant contact. They really enjoy spending time doing things together.

    Both are outstanding persons, and I am confident they will do well in the next chapters of their hockey lives.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.