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Global News
7 days ago
- Sport
- Global News
Saskatchewan Rush look back on breakthrough season, run to Game 3 of NLL finals
Sitting at the podium Saturday with a room full of media members in tow, it was a look of dejection on the face of Saskatchewan Rush captain Ryan Keenan which told the entire story. Finishing the 2024-25 National Lacrosse League season one win shy of a league title and picking up the pieces following a 15-6 loss to the Buffalo Bandits. 'Definitely not how we expected things to go,' said Keenan post-game on Saturday. 'You know, it sucks. I thought we were ready for the moment.' The Rush watched on as the Bandits raised the NLL Cup for the third year in a row on Saturday, falling in Game 3 of the best-of-three NLL championship series to see their season come to a heartbreaking end. Trailing only by one goal 7-6 at halftime in Buffalo, the Rush struggled to contain the Bandits' lethal attack in the third quarter with the home side burying eight unanswered goals over the final two quarters to secure the three-peat. Story continues below advertisement 'Honestly it really came down to 30 minutes of them playing really, really well and us not playing very well,' said Rush co-head coach and general manager Derek Keenan on Tuesday. 'That's really what it came down to.' It's a crushing end to the 2024-25 season for the Rush, who pushed Buffalo to a deciding third game in the series after a narrow 11-10 victory a week prior at SaskTel Centre in Game 2. According to rookie forward Brock Haley, the team is taking some solace in the fact they pushed Buffalo to the brink and got to push their season into late May. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Everyone was just really excited to continue to have another week with the fellas,' said Haley. 'That was one thing we were preaching in the locker room, just play for another week with each other and that's what we did. 'We played until the last possible game we could. It didn't go our way, but that's sports.' Despite the loss, it was a breakthrough season for Saskatchewan following a trio of 8-10 seasons dating back to 2022 and a playoff drought which stretched back to 2019 before the Rush returned to the post-season this spring with a 13-5 regular season. 2:07 Saskatchewan Rush stave off elimination with gutsy Game 2 victory in NLL Finals What followed was a 13-9 quarter-final win over the Georgia Swarm, before sweeping the Halifax Thunderbirds in the second round which included one of the NLL's greatest last-minute comebacks in Game 2 to advance to the championship series against Buffalo. Story continues below advertisement 'I think I'm most proud about our resiliency throughout the year,' said Rush transition threat Jake Boudreau. 'We had a lot of games where we were down at (halftime) and came back, or the bounces weren't going our way and we always stayed in the fight. That's a great characteristic of our group.' Five members of the Rush were celebrated with NLL year-end awards including Matt Hossack for league defensive player of the year, Frank Scigliano for goaltender of the year, co-head coach Jimmy Quinlan earning the Les Bartley Award for coach of the year, Derek Keenan winning GM of the year, and Keegan Bell picking up NLL teammate of the year honours. Putting together the franchise's best season since winning it all in 2018, Haley said it was a memorable first year as a professional and one which proved doubters wrong. 'We were written off at the start of the year,' said Haley. 'I don't think anyone in the lacrosse world thought the Rush were going to be as good as we were, or even go to the finals. Just to kind of prove everybody wrong and show what we can do, and show that we're going to be here for the next five or 10 years.' 'We got a lot of young guys, we got a young core and we're hungry.' Constructing a Rush championship dynasty in the mid-2010s, Keenan believes there are parallels between this group and the one which began knocking on the door of greatness over a decade ago. Story continues below advertisement 'Way back in 2012 when we were still in Edmonton, we had a 6-10 team actually that went to a final that year and lost to Rochester by a couple of goals,' said the Rush general manager. 'We were just building then and it's a little bit reminiscent of that, although I think we're way ahead of the curve on that one.' Experiencing the pain of getting so close to their end goal, the Rush say it's a difficult lesson to learn losing the way they did in Game 3 to Buffalo. However, it's a loss they feel will only lead to better days in the years to come. 'Now we know what it takes seeing Buffalo,' said defenceman Jerrett Smith. 'Obviously they've done it three times in a row, but I think we somewhat have the blueprint now and ideally we get back there.' According to Keenan, the next steps will be determining the future of his role with an expiring contract as Rush general manager, as well as inking new contracts for the team's coaching staff.
Global News
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Global News
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.' Story continues below advertisement 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. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 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. 2:07 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. Story continues below advertisement 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.
