Holden Cattoni scored 1:35 into overtime as the Philadelphia Wings handed the Saskatchewan Rush their first loss by a score of 12-11 on Saturday night.
The Rush were handed a big blow before the game as Austin Shanks and Adam Jay were out with an illness. However, Mike Triolo stepped up to the plate with four goals that help Saskatchewan come from behind to force overtime.
Another bright spot for the Rush was the play of Jake Naso. He went 20 of 27 at the faceoff dot and scored his first NLL goal.
On the other end of the floor, the Rush struggled to contain Cattoni. He finished with five goals, including the game winner and an assist. Mitch Jones ended the night with two goals and nine points, while first overall draft pick Brennan O’Neill had two goals and eight points.
It was a goaltending clinic as Frank Scigliano stopped 37 shots, while Nick Damude had 47 saves include some huge stops in overtime.
First Quarter
It was a defensive battle to start the game as it remained scoreless until the 8:16 mark. Mike Triolo used his big body to get airborne and beat Nick Damude.
Josh Zawada then gave the Rush a 2-0 lead 32 seconds later.
Brennan O’Neill broke the goose egg for the Wings, diving through the crease with 1:24 left on the clock to make it 2-1.
Holden Cattoni then found Mitch Jones in front 19 seconds later to tie up the game 2-2.
On the ensuing faceoff, Jake Naso won the draw, took the ball down the field and scored with 59.5 seconds left for his first NLL goal to put Saskatchewan ahead 3-2.
The scoring wasn’t over, as Cattoni’s shot through traffic beat Frank Scigliano with 14.9 seconds on the clock to make it 3-3 after the first quarter.
Second Quarter
Saskatchewan regained the lead early in the second quarter. Brock Haley found Clark Walter, who was a healthy scratch the past two weeks, 2:26 into the second.
The Wings would then go on a 4-1 run. O’Neill started it off by picking the top corner at 6:01. Jones then found Blaze Riorden in front at 9:22 to give Philly a 5-4 lead.
Jones would send a flip pass to Cattoni up the middle with 2:51 on the clock followed by a goal from Joe Resetarits 49 seconds later.
Saskatchewan broke up some of the momentum when Matt Hossack sent Ryan Barnable on a breakaway with 1:02 left in the quarter to make it 7-5.
Phil Caputo rounded out the scoring with three second left as Philly held a 8-5 lead at the half.
Third Quarter
Saskatchewan just wouldn’t go away in the second half. Haley opened the scoring at 2:06 to make it a two-goal game. Triolo scored on the power play off a transition breakaway at 7:05 to make it 8-7 for the Wings.
Philly restored their two-goal lead 18 seconds later when Cattoni was found open up the middle to make it 9-7.
The Rush stayed within striking distance when Jake Boudreau scored shorthanded on transition at 8:40.
The Wings finished off the quarter with a two-goal run. Cattoni’s shot around a defender found the back of the net with 2:19 left and Jones scored a one-handed goal with 1:06 left to make it 11-8 heading into the fourth.
Fourth Quarter
It was all Saskatchewan in the fourth quarter as they outscored the Wings 3-0 to force overtime.
Triolo scored his hat trick goal off a swim move 1:08 into the fourth. Haley would then find Triolo again at 2:30 to make it 11-10.
Zach Manns fired a low hard shot at 5:23 to tie the game 11-11 to send the game into overtime.
OT
After getting two overtime victories to start the season, the Rush weren’t so lucky on Saturday night.
At 1:35, Holden Cattoni went glove side on Scigliano to score the game winner to make the final 12-11.
Top Scorers
Saskatchewan Rush
Mike Triolo, 4g 1a
Brock Haley, 1g 3a
Clark Walter, 1g 2a
Ryan Barnable, 1g 2a
Philadelphia Wings
Mitch Jones, 2g 7a
Brennan O’Neill, 2g 6a
Joe Resetarits, 1g 4a
Below are post-game comments from Rush co-head coach Jimmy Quinlan, Rush defenceman Jake Naso and captain Ryan Keenan.
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