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Rush cruise to 16-8 win in home opener

Jan 22, 2017 | 8:00 AM

The Saskatchewan Rush claimed their first victory of the season in the National Lacrosse League last night thanks to a decisive 16-8 victory over the visiting Rochester Knighthawks in the Rush’s home opening game. 

Within the first two minutes the Rush were off to a 2-0 start and they had the lead up to 3-0 before the Knighthawks were able to net their first of the game.

“Everyone in the room was aware we didn’t play well the first two games,” Head Coach Derek Keenan said following the win. “We needed a bounce back and I think the real team showed up tonight.”

Keenan said the team struggled with slow starts in their first two contests, but getting a couple of goals early on really helped get the crowd of 15,000 into the game.

The team’s star players, Keenan said, performed brilliantly during the game.

Leading scorer Mark Matthews had an 11 point night, scoring four goals and adding seven assists.

“He’s been really good all year,” Keenan said “He’s been the one guy from game one who’s been good and consistent. [He] played really hard and he’s taken on a leadership role this year and done a good job with it.”

Also scoring multiple points last night were Robert Church, who had three goals and two assists, rookie Ryan Keenan, who extended his point streak with a goal and four assists, and Adam Jones, who managed three assists.

“Guys shot the ball really well,” Keenan said. “We had good five-on-five play which drew a bunch of penalties and we were really good on the power-play too, so all in all a good night and good effort.”

With a 1-2 record so far in the season, the Rush will look to bring their average to .500 next weekend when they welcome the Vancouver Stealth to SaskTel Centre Jan. 27. The opening faceoff is at 7:30 p.m.

 

Colton Swiderski is a news and sports reporter for meadowlakeNOW, paNOW and battlefordsNOW.com. He can be reached at cswiderski@jpbg.ca or tweet him @coltonswiderski.