By Colton Swiderski

Rush defeat Roughnecks 12-11 in overtime

Feb 26, 2017 | 7:30 AM

The Saskatchewan Rush have now won 10 in a row against the Calgary Roughnecks after defeating their rivals 12-11 in overtime last night.

The Rush solidified their lead on first place in the National Lacrosse League’s (NLL) West Division with the Feb. 25 win. The Saskatchewan team holds a solid lead over the Colorado Mammoth for top spot in the division.

The game was back and forth throughout, but in the end it was the Rush who came out victorious in their first overtime game of the 2017 season.

Saskatchewan Head Coach and General Manager Derek Keenan said the game played out very much like he had anticipated.  

“I knew [Calgary was] going to come in desperate,” Keenan said. “They ran us extremely hard and they pushed the transition game, but we just kind of hung around.”

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Calgary started goaltender Christian Del Bianco, who is arguably one of the greatest at his position for ball movement – hockey fans may compare him to Martin Brodeur – and it helped open up the Roughneck offence. However, the Rush defence found their footing in the second half and were able to shut down the Roughnecks offence to regain the lead and win in extra time.

Mark Matthews led the Rush’s offence with one goal and six assists. Chipping in with hat-tricks were Robert Church and Ben McIntosh, while Adam Jones netted the winning goal just over a minute into the overtime frame.

“I thought it was a real good second half, but I would like to see a full 60 minutes out of the whole group,” Keenan said.

Rush goaltender Aaron Bold made 34 saves out of 45 shots for the win in front of more than 15,000 fans. 

After starting the season 0-2, the Rush have now won six in a row for a solid 6-2 record in the NLL. Saskatchewan will look to make that seven wins in a row next weekend when the team heads to Vancouver to take on the Stealth March 4.

The Rush’s next home game is on March 11 when the Colorado Mammoth visit the SaskTel Centre.

If the Rush can win their next two games versus Vancouver and Colorado, chances are good that they’ll clinch the division and get a first round bye in the playoffs.

colton.swiderski@jpbg.ca            

On Twitter @coltonswiderski