Rush Drop Swarm in Low-Scoring Affair

Shawn Slaght

In a defensive battle, the Saskatchewan Rush came away with a 7-4 win over the Georgia Swarm in a low-scoring affair on Saturday night in Saskatoon.

Saskatchewan’s defence and goaltender Frank Scigliano held the Swarm to just one goal through three quarters of play. Scigliano finished the night stopping 35 of 39 shots in the win.

At the other end of the floor, Brett Dobson stopped 37 of 44 shots in the loss.

Jake Naso was dominant once again at the faceoff dot for Saskatchewan, winning 12 of 15 draws on Saturday.

The Rush’s struggles in the fourth quarter nearly resurfaced. Holding a four-goal lead, Saskatchewan gave up three straight goals, but Georgia’s comeback fell just short.

First Quarter

Saskatchewan opened the scoring with Zach Manns ripping a shot past Dobson at the 1:13 mark.

The Swarm answered back just 41 seconds later when Nolan Byrne picked up a rebound off the backboards. With Scigliano caught out of position, Byrne buried the loose ball to tie the game.

The Rush regained the lead with 4:15 remaining in the quarter, as Robert Church found Brock Haley streaking down the wing. Saskatchewan led 2-1 after one.

Second Quarter

The defensive struggle continued into the second quarter.

The lone goal came at the 3:42 mark, as Josh Zawada scored shorthanded with a low sidearm shot, giving the Rush a 3-1 lead heading into halftime.

Third Quarter

Georgia appeared to get back on the board 2:17 into the third quarter. However, the Rush challenged the play, and the call was overturned as Richie Connell was in the crease before the ball crossed the line.

Saskatchewan then scored its second shorthanded goal of the game. Ryan Barnable finished a breakaway at 7:51 to put the Rush up 4-1.

Austin Shanks extended the lead on a delayed penalty, picking the corner with 3:51 remaining as Saskatchewan carried a 5-1 advantage into the fourth quarter.

Fourth Quarter

Heading into the fourth, the biggest question was whether Saskatchewan would see another late-game meltdown. Georgia opened the quarter on a three-goal run to pull back into the contest.

Jordan MacIntosh scored at 3:35, slipping one past Scigliano from all alone in front of the net.

Jacob Hickey then intercepted a pass and went coast-to-coast at 5:10 to make it 5-3.

An outside shot from Byrne at the 9:27 mark cut the deficit to one.

Shanks sealed the win with 45.7 seconds left, diving across the crease to score, before Holden Garlent added an empty-net goal with 19.6 seconds remaining to secure the 7-4 victory in a low-scoring affair.

Rush co-head coach Jimmy Quinlan, forward Brock Haley and defenceman Holden Garlent commented after the game: