Rush need one more win to earn second straight NLL title

BUFFALO — The players didn’t know what to expect last summer when Rush owner Bruce Urban moved them from Edmonton, where they’d just won the NLL championship, and dropped them into the pro lacrosse wilderness of Saskatoon so they have been absolutely thrilled with the ton of love that has been heaped on them by Saskatchewan sports fans.

Winning helps, of course, and a 13-5 regular season led to capacity crowds in excess of 15,000. Now, three playoff wins later, the Saskatchewan Rush are just one win from achieving what they’ve craved: rewarding their new fans by hoisting the Champion’s Cup in SaskTel Centre.

A 11-9 Rush victory over the Buffalo Bandits in Game 1 of the best-of-three championship series Saturday night sends the teams to Saskatoon for Game 2 this Saturday (TSN 2, 9:00 ET).

Saskatchewan’s Aaron Bold made 43 saves and Buffalo’s Anthony Cosmo made 41 saves. Bold’s two-goal edge in saves and a 2-1 Rush edge in defence-to-attack transition goals was the difference.

“We didn’t completely take away their transition game, that’s almost impossible to do, but we limited it,” said Rush coach Derek Keenan.

The super-close, heavy-hitting Champion’s Cup opener was an outstanding showcase of Canada’s official national summer sport. All 36 players who were in uniform have home towns in Canada.

“It was a tight, tight game that could have gone either way,” said Keenan. “We really stuck to our game plan well, executed it well, and just kind of grinded it out.

“Aaron Bold was outstanding. Both goalies were really good. It was a tough game and well-played by both teams. Both teams are physical teams on the back end and there’s a lot at stake. It was a great game and we’re just happy to get out of here with the win.”

“Both teams are battling for the Cup and you can’t get it any closer than that,” said Bandits coach Troy Cordingley.

Robert Church, Mark Matthews, Zack Greer and Ben McIntosh each scored twice and Jeff Cornwall, Jarrett Davis and Adrian Sorichetti got one each for the Rush.

For Buffalo, Dhane Smith scored three times, Anthony Malcolm and Ryan Benesch got two each and Mark Steenhuis and Alexander Kedoh Hill chipped in with one apiece in front of a First Niagara Center crowd of 12,692.

“For the most part, we kept a lot of their shots to the outside lanes and when they did have good looks Aaron made big saves for us,” said Keenan.

The Rush led 3-0 early in the second quarter but Buffalo came on strong and it was 6-6 at halftime. It was 8-8 after three quarters thanks to the first of McIntosh’s two goals.

In the fourth, Benesch put the Bandits up 9-8 at 4:18 and Church tied it for the Rush at 5:04. It was 9-9 and shots were 44-44 with 10 minutes to go.

The outcome was decided when McIntosh darted towards the net to take a pass from Davis and score at 10:44 and Greer, positioned mid-zone to the left of Cosmo, buried the ball in the far top corner of the net at 11:34.

“They went on a two-goal run late and time ran out on us,” said Cordingley.

“When our defense plays that well, we’re hard to beat,” said Church.

As for Game 2, Buffalo can go in knowing it has never lost in Saskatoon. Granted, they’ve only played there once — a 19-18 overtime win back in February — but a win is a win, and the Bandits need one now to bring the series back to First Niagara Center.

“We can’t hang our heads,” said Cordingley. “We’ve got to look forward to next Saturday, prepare, and take it from there.”

“They beat us there earlier in the year so they know they’re capable of doing that,” said Keenan. “We know we’re going to have our fans behind us and we’d like to close it out there. Having that opportunity is really important for us.”

Rush players are pumped. The Game 1 win has set them up in a best-case scenario.

“Going back to Saskatchewan a game up is massive,” said Church. “Our fans help us so much. We can’t wait to play there again and have a chance to win it in front of them.”