Boudreau catches fire for Rush in 13-9 win over Swarm

Saskatchewan takes NLL quarter, advances to semifinal round

The Rush celebrate a fourth quarter goal by Jake Boudreau (#43).

Jake Boudreau admitted he might have let his defence slide to give his squad a boost offensively.

On Saturday, the 26-year-old transition player had the most memorable night of his young NLL career. The Brampton, Ont., product piled up four goals and one assist to power his Saskatchewan Rush to a 13-9 victory over the Georgia Swarm in an NLL quarter-final contest before a raucous 5,434 spectators at the SaskTel Centre.

Boudreau, who is in third season with the Rush, was playing in his first career NLL post-season contest as Rush were making their first appearance in the NLL Playoffs since 2019. His main focus is on making stops on the defensive end, but he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to score all four of his goals in transition.

Jake Boudreau had four goals and one assist for the Rush.

“It was definitely my best game scoring wise,” said Boudreau. “I wouldn’t say it was my best game defensively.

“Getting a goal from the back end is just huge for the team, so that was pretty nice.”

With the win in the single elimination round of the NLL Playoffs, the second seeded Rush advance to play a best-of-three semifinal series against the third seeded Halifax Thunderbirds. The Thunderbirds advanced to the semifinal round downing the sixth seeded Calgary Roughnecks 16-12 in a quarter-final contest on Saturday in Halifax. The Thunderbirds were 11-7 in the regular season, while the Roughnecks were 10-8.

Boudreau said his team is pumped to be advancing on in the post-season.

Jake Boudreau (#43) reacts to scoring an empty-net goal.

“It feels good,” said Boudreau, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 200 pounds. “It would have sucked to work hard all year and lose tonight.

“You could kind of tell we played with everything we had tonight. We want to enjoy the fruits of our labour. They are still not ready to be picked yet.”

Star forward Austin Shanks had two goals and two assists for the Rush. Captain Ryan Keenan and Clark Walter both had two-goal nights for the Rush, while Zach Manns, Mike Messenger and Jake Naso all had singles. Robert Church had three assists for Saskatchewan.

Fans at the SaskTel Centre cheer on the Rush.

Captain Jordan MacIntosh had two goals and two assists for the Swarm, and Lyle Thompson contributed one goal and three assists for the Georgia side. 

Brendan Bomberry and Bryan Cole both had a pair of goals for the Swarm, while Jacob Hickey and Shayne Jackson had singles.

Frank Scigliano stopped 39 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Rush, who were 13-5 in the regular season. Brett Dobson turned away 47-of-58 shots to take the setback in net for the Swarm, who were 9-9 during the regular season.

Brendan Bomberry scored twice for the Swarm.

The Swarm jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first quarter. The Rush closed the frame with a run of four straight goals to hold a 4-2 advantage after 15 minutes.

Saskatchewan would never trail or be tied again for the rest of the contest. Including play in the regular season and post-season, the Rush are 10-1 when their opponents score the first goal of the game.

During the four-goal surge, Boudreau scored his first goal of the night on the Rush’s second tally. 

Working a transition two-on-one rush, Boudreau received a pass from defender Matt Hossack and buried a backdoor chance at the right side of the Georgia net to force a 2-2 tie at that time.

The O16 Electric Crew performs during a quarter break.

“We had a little bit of a slow start, but I thought we were actually getting some pretty good looks on offence,” said Rush co-head coach and general manager Derek Keenan. “Their goalie made a couple of saves.

“Then, we got going there and got our legs underneath us. The one and dones in the first round of the playoffs, they are stressful. We have a pretty young group.

“Fortunately, we have a number of veterans that have been here before. For the most past, we had probably more than two-thirds of our team that haven’t been here and haven’t been to the playoffs in these stressful situations. I think it took us a little while to get our legs underneath us.”

Austin Shanks (#33) had two goals and two assists for the Rush.

The Rush pushed their lead out to 6-3 by the end of the second quarter before running into a little adversity at the start of the third quarter. First, Thompson scored 46 seconds into the third quarter to trim the Rush advantage to 6-4.

Just 22 seconds after Thompson’s goal, Walter was given a major penalty for cross checking. Cole scored quickly in the power play for the Swarm to cut the Rush lead to 6-5. Just 20 seconds after Cole’s tally, Shanks netted a short-handed goal for the Rush to push their edge out to 7-5.

After Swarm defender Jeff Henrick was penalized for holding inside the final two minutes of Walter’s major, MacIntosh scored during four-on-four play to slice the Rush lead to 7-6 with 10:06 remaining in the third quarter.

Frank Scigliano makes one of his 39 saves for the Rush.

A short time later, the Swarm had a huge chance to pull even on the scoreboard. Thompson put a midrange shot net that rebounded out to the right of the Saskatchewan goal to Jackson.

Jackson put a diving shot toward a seemingly open part of the Rush net only for Scigliano to flash up his stick to deny the scoring chance.

“We faced some adversity tonight too,” said Keenan. “We had a few penalties and the five-minute major.

“We got through that kind of unscathed. We got one and only gave up one. All in all, we stuck with our game plan.”

The Rush proceeded to go on a three goal surge that allowed them to control the contest the rest of the way. Walter scored with 37.6 seconds remaining in the third quarter to give Saskatchewan an 8-6 advantage.

Captain Ryan Keenan had a pair of goals for the Rush.

Just 85 seconds into the fourth quarter, Ryan Keenan put home a backdoor chance at the right side of the Swarm net on a five-on-three power play to push the Rush lead out to 9-6. Bourdreau completed the surge scoring a power-play goal on a transition breakaway to make the Rush lead sit at 10-6.

“We knew they were going to run,” said Boudreau. “That is our game is running, so we kind of took that personal.

“We made sure we were fast, and I think they kind of tired out as the game went on. You could kind of see us pushing forward, and they kind of dozed off a little bit, and that was basically the game.”

Boudreau scored his third goal on another transition breakaway into an empty-net and completed the game’s scoring with a transition breakaway tally with 5.7 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Rush faithful do their chest thump celebration after a goal.

While offence took centre stage in Saturday’s contest, Derek Keenan praised the work put in by the goaltenders on both sides in Scigliano and Dobson.

“You’ve got to get saves,” said Derek Keenan. “Our goaltender was really good, and their goaltender was really good as well.

“All in all, it was a good effort by our whole team.”

Scigliano, who has played in the NLL since 2012, thought the Rush had a good outing to open the 2025 post-season.

Matt Hossack (#94) defends against Lyle Thompson (#4).

“I think it was an exciting week,” said the 33-year-old Scigliano, who is still searching for his first NLL title win in his career. “You kind of prepare for this all year.

“I kind of said to the boys earlier the regular season kind of flew by. We had a lot of success. In a single elimination game, anything can happen, so there is kind of a lot on the line.

“We played a pretty complete game for the most part. There were a couple of hiccups, but I thought we did our job tonight. You see the results on the scoreboard.”

The Rush faithful get the rally towels going on Saturday night.

The other best-of-three semifinal series sees the top seeded Buffalo Bandits, who were 13-5 in the regular season, take on the fourth seeded Vancouver Warriors, who were 11-7 in the regular season. The Bandits, who are the two-time defending NLL champions, slipped past the eighth seeded San Diego Seals in a quarter-final on Friday night in Buffalo 5-4. San Diego had a 9-9 record in the regular season.

The Warriors downed the fifth seeded Rochester Knighthawks 15-10 in a quarter-final on Saturday in Vancouver. The Knighthawks were 10-8 during the regular season.

The dates and times of the two best-of-three semifinal series are still to be announced.

Before Saturday, the Rush’s last post-season win came back on June 9, 2018, when they won the NLL title with a 15-10 victory in a series-deciding Game 3 at the SaskTel Centre over the Knighthawks in the NLL Championships Series.

The Rush celebrate their win on Saturday night.

Boudreau wants to see the Rush make their current post-season run a long one. After posting respective 8-10 records in each of the three previous regular seasons during a reloading period, Boudreau believed his squad was ready to take off in the current campaign.

“I came around three years ago, and a lot of the guys came the same year as me or after,” said Boudreau. “We always kind of said in 2025 we should be pretty primed.

“To have it kind of come to fruition and we still have more lacrosse to play, it is awesome. You can’t (be satisfied). The celebration will be done in the morning.”

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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.”

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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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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.

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