Written by Shawn Slaght – Senior Correspondent for All Lacrosse All The Time
The Saskatchewan Rush held off a late charge by the Rochester Knighthawks to remain undefeated with a 14-12 road win on Saturday night.
Austin Shanks had a breakout game in a Rush uniform with four goals and three assists. Zach Manns continued his hot start as well with three goals and three assists.
Saskatchewan’s young guns also got into the action. Josh Zawada joined the lineup with Robert Church out. He scored his first career NLL goal in a four-point night. Brock Haley also added four points, and Levi Anderson added three assists.
Jake Naso dominated on the faceoff dot, winning 25 of 30 draws for the Rush.
Ryan Lanchbury and Ryan Smith each had hat tricks, while Thomas McConvey and Curtis Knight each had a pair of goals.
First Quarter
The first frame was a back-and-forth battle. Mike Triolo got the Rush on the board first, 2:44 into the game, with Anderson and Zawada picking up assists.
With just under six minutes left in the first, Lanchbury scored off a feed from Brad Gillies to tie up the game.
Haley continued his outstanding rookie campaign with a goal at 4:19. But Smith replied on the power play with 1:12 left on the clock to make it 2-2.
Manns would round out the scoring with 36 seconds left to give the Rush a 3-2 lead after one.
Second Quarter
It didn’t take long for the Knighthawks to tie the game. Knight found the back of the net 56 seconds into the second quarter to make it 3-3.
Manns would give the Rush the lead on transition at 2:35. However, Lanchbury scored 18 seconds later to tie the game up again.
Rochester took their first lead of the game at 3:05 as the Knighthawks led 5-4 at the half.
Third Quarter
Whatever was said in the Rush locker room at halftime must have sunk in, as Saskatchewan opened the third quarter with a five-goal run as they tried to remain undefeated.
Ryan Barnable opened the scoring 27 seconds into the third to tie the game 5-5. Shanks then regained the lead for the Rush at 2:54 on the power play.
Manns would make it 7-5 for the Rush at 4:16 before Zawada scored seven seconds later, his first career NLL goal with a beauty as he was cutting through the middle.
Shanks rounded out the scoring at 5:32 as the Rush extended their lead to 9-5.
Connor Fields rounded out the scoring at 7:00 to make it 9-6 heading into the fourth.
Fourth Quarter
Saskatchewan extended their lead early in the fourth with a three-goal run as they looked to remain undefeated.
Shanks opened the scoring 47 seconds into the fourth, followed by Haley at 2:12. Eighteen seconds later, Triolo found the back of the net to put Saskatchewan up 12-6.
Lanchbury scored 39 seconds after that, but Shanks replied at 4:20 to make it 13-7.
Rochester made it a game by going on a late five-goal run. It started with Knight scoring at 4:57.
Gillies then scored on transition unassisted at 6:15 to make it a 13-9 ball game. Smith then found the back of the net at 8:24 as Rochester only trailed by three.
It appeared that Triolo scored his hat trick goal after that. However, the goal was challenged and overturned, with the officials saying his foot was in the crease. Immediately after, McConvey scored with 5:39 left to bring Rochester within two.
Smith rounded out the five-goal run with 4:55 left to play.
With Rochester’s net empty for the extra attacker, Matt Hossack buried the empty-net goal to make the final 14-12, as the Rush remained undefeated at 3-0.
Top Scorers
Saskatchewan Rush
Austin Shanks, 4g 3a
Zach Manns, 3g 3a
Brock Haley, 2g 2a
Josh Zawada, 1g 3a
Rochester Knighthawks
Ryan Lanchbury, 3g 4a
Connor Fields, 1g 4a
Ryan Smith, 3g 1a
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