Saskatchewan Rush lose Game 1 to Buffalo Bandits in NLL finals nailbiter
The Saskatchewan Rush outscored the National Lacrosse League's top team for two and a half quarters on Friday night, but it wasn't enough to secure Game 1 of National Lacrosse League finals in Buffalo.
Leading 10-8 midway through the third quarter, the Rush struggled to find the back of the net as the Buffalo Bandits netted four straight goals to earn a 12-10 victory in the NLL Cup series opener.
The Rush will now be playing for their season on Sunday night at home, looking to stretch the best-of-three series to a winner-take-all Game 3.
'I thought we came out with a lot of energy and we were playing really well,' Rush captain Ryan Keenan said in a post-game interview. 'When you play a team as good as Buffalo, it's just the little mistakes throughout the game that can cost you. I think we played really well, we played hard. It's just a few things we had to clean up and that was the difference.'
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Saskatchewan and Buffalo went toe-to-toe at KeyBank Centre in a match that featured four lead changes. The Rush kicked off the scoring, building an early 2-0 lead with goals from Clark Walter and Levi Anderson just over two minutes in.
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A potential turning point came in the second quarter as Anderson appeared to score a goal that would have put Saskatchewan up 5-2. It was later called back as the ball hit the post while the Rush rookie was in the crease.
Buffalo would bury four of the next six goals including a hat-trick from Ian MacKay before the end of the first half, tying the game at 6-6.
Zach Manns made it an 8-6 game early in the third quarter with a pair of goals, with Saskatchewan and Buffalo exchanging markers over the following seven minutes.
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Saskatchewan Rush chasing lacrosse glory, facing Buffalo Bandits in NLL Cup Finals
Last weekend's overtime hero Austin Shanks scored on a bouncing shot with 6:43 left in the third quarter to put the Rush up 10-8. The Bandits, however, would go on to close out the quarter with two goals from Dhane Smith and a tally courtesy of Kyle Buchanan.
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With Buffalo holding an 11-10 lead, neither side would find the back of the net until Buchanan deflected a ball into an empty Saskatchewan net with 12 seconds remaining to secure the Game 1 victory.
'There was a lot of goals early,' Rush co-head coach Jimmy Quinlan said after the game. 'I think as you get into those crucial moments the defences start to tighten up, the goalies seem to zone in and it just becomes harder and harder.'
Assisting on a pair of MacKay's goals in the second quarter, Smith moved past his head coach John Tavares into first place all-time in NLL playoff scoring with 201 points.
Game 2 of the NLL Cup will be in the building Sunday at SaskTel Centre, with the Bandits one win away from securing a third consecutive league title.
According to Quinlan, the Rush will need to dig deep and find that extra gear to tie up the series Sunday and prevent a Buffalo dynasty.
'Obviously, we got a tall task Sunday,' Quinlan said. 'But again we're a confident group, we know that the sun will come up tomorrow. So we're good.'
The Rush and Bandits square in Game 2 of NLL Finals in Saskatoon at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday.
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