Robert Church made his return to the line up on Saturday night as the Saskatchewan Rush picked up a 15-9 victory over the Las Vegas Desert Dogs.
Church made on immediate impact, as the Rush announced he was coming off the Injury Reserve List just before the game. He finished with two goals and three assists for five points in the victory.
It was also a big night for Rush captain Ryan Keenan. After getting off to a slow start to the season, he found his groove again with four goals and two assists for six points.
Meanwhile, Las Vegas’ offence struggled. Whenever Saskatchewan as able to set their defence, the Desert Dogs had a difficult time getting to the inside and were forced to shoot from the outside.
Special teams was huge for the Desert Dogs as they managed two shorthanded goals as Saskatchewan’s power play continued to struggled going three for seven on the man advantage.
Frank Scigliano had a quiet night in goal for the Rush, stopping 29 of 38 shots in the victory. It was not a stellar night for Landon Kells. He allowed five goals on 13 shots before getting the hook in favour of Justin Geddie.
First Quarter
Las Vegas opened the scoring 3:08 into the game with Connor Kirst going coast-to-coast to score a shorthanded marker.
Saskatchewan would reply with a five-goal run. Austin Shanks tied it up at 5:10 on a low-to-low shot. Zach Manns then rifled one top shelf at 9:50 to give Saskatchewan a 2-1 lead.
Church would then find a streaking Clark Walter with 3:51 left on the clock. Keenan finally got the monkey off his back 34 seconds later with a high-to-low shot to make it 4-1.
Shanks scored his second of the game with 2:23 left, and that signaled the end of the night for Kells.
Las Vegas rounded out the scoring on the power power with 59.5 seconds left as Adam Poitras scored a beautiful behind-the-back goal to make the score 5-2 after the first quarter.
Second Quarter
The Rush extended their lead 1:38 into the second quarter. Jake Bourdreau found Manns on transition and he scored to make it 6-2.
Jack Hannah would let a cross-body shot go at 3:58 for the Desert Dogs’ second shorthanded goal of the night. Hannaha added another marker at 6:36 when Scigliano got a piece of the shot but not enough as the Las Vegas got within two.
Saskatchewan would end the second quarter on a four-goal run. On the power play ta 7:08, Keenan scored on the quickstick shot off a pass from Church to make it 7-4. Keenan then added his hat trick goal, walking in front with 4:44 on the clock.
Church played a perfect give-and-go with Mann 21 seconds later as the Rush pouring it on to make it 9-4.
Walter, who had been in and out of the Rush line up, rounded out the scoring. He took a slip pass from Keenan with 3:26 as the Rush led 10-4 at the half.
Third Quarter
The third quarter was a bit more back-and-forth. Casey Jackson opened the scoring for Las Vegas at 2:25 with a high shot on the power play.
Saskatchewan replied at 2:48 when Ryan Barnable was given the green light to stay on offence. He buried a feed from Manns to make the score 11-5.
The Desert Dogs would then go on a two-goal run. Rookie Jackson Webster scored on transition at 3:36, followed by Kyle Killen finding Casey Jackson on the power play at 8:31.
Church’s impact continued to be felt. Walter found him inside for a goal with 3:55 on the clock give the Rush a 12-7 lead.
Casey Jackson rounded out the third-quarter scoring with 2:39 when he dove from behind the net for his hat trick goal as the Desert Dogs trailed 12-8 heading into the fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter
The Desert Dogs found themselves in penalty trouble early in the fourth quarter. Keenan danced his way to the front of the net 6:41 into the fourth on a two-man advantage.
Jonathan Donville scored his lone goal of the game, going five-hole on Scigliano, with 5:20 left to play.
Saskatchewan put the game away with 4:20 left. Shanks found Manns in transition for his hat trick goal.
The Rush had a late power play opportunity and tried to just kill the clock. However, Manns and Shanks found themselves in a two-on-one and Shanks scored with 40.4 seconds left as Saskatchewan picked up the 15-9 victory over the Las Vegas Desert Dogs.
Top Scorers
Saskatchewan Rush
Zach Manns, 3g 5a
Ryan Keenan, 4g 2a
Austin Shanks, 3g 3a
Las Vegas Desert Dogs
Kyle Killen, 5a
Jack Hannah, 2g 2a
Jonathan Donville, 1g 2a
Casey Jackson, 3g
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