With second place already locked up thanks to Buffalo’s win over Halifax, you might’ve expected the Saskatchewan Rush to ease up a bit—but they had other plans. The boys in green came out flying in a Sunday matinee, taking it to the Colorado Mammoth with a dominant 11–6 win.
There were some big-time milestones in this one. Goalie Frank Scigliano climbed into ninth on the NLL’s all-time wins list, passing none other than Philly Wings legend Dallas Eliuk. And Austin Shanks? He went off for a seven-point afternoon and hit the 400-point mark for his career—huge achievement.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing early on, as Saskatchewan started a little flat in the first quarter. But then they flipped the switch. The Rush absolutely smothered Colorado in the second and third, keeping them off the board entirely while racking up eight unanswered goals.
The power play—something that’s been hit or miss all year—finally clicked, going 2-for-3. Meanwhile, the Mammoth managed just one goal on three chances with the man advantage.
At the faceoff dot, Jake Naso continues to show he’s the real deal. He went 16-for-21, controlling possession and giving Saskatchewan a major edge. On the other side, Colorado’s still searching for answers—Tim Edwards has been in a slump, and they even threw Will Malcom in for a few draws.
The loss is a tough one for Colorado, dropping them into a four-way traffic jam at 8–9 with Georgia, San Diego, and Ottawa going into the final week. The Mammoth now head to Calgary for a must-win showdown. Even if they win, it gets complicated—if Georgia, San Diego, and Ottawa also win, and Calgary loses to Vegas, Colorado could still be on the outside looking in due to tiebreakers.
Tightly Played First Quarter
Saskatchewan got off to a bit of a slow start. Will Malcom opened the scoring for Colorado on the power play just 2:59 into the game.
The Rush answered quickly, with Jake Boudreau going coast-to-coast on the power play for a slick transition goal at 4:42 to tie it up.
Thomas Vela put the Mammoth back in front at 9:54, but Ryan Keenan responded less than a minute later, finding the back of the net at the 10:47 mark to even things up 2–2 heading into the first break.
Wheels Fall Off The Mammoth
Things started to unravel for Colorado in the second quarter. They were blanked 3–0 in the frame, and that was just the beginning of what turned into an eight-goal run by the Rush stretching into the third.
Levi Anderson, back in the Saskatchewan lineup, got things rolling at 1:44 with a highlight-reel goal—pulling off a smooth swim move and finishing with a textbook crease dive.
Enter Austin Shanks. He scored at 5:24 and added a power play marker, diving from behind the net, with 1:58 left on the clock to give Saskatchewan a 5-2 lead at halftime.
Saskatchewan Dominates The Third Quarter
Austin Shanks kicked off the second half in style, completing his natural hat trick just 2:08 into the third quarter. Not long after, Robert Church ripped a laser at 4:34, stretching the Rush lead to 7–2.
The onslaught didn’t stop there. Shanks tallied his fourth of the night at 6:10, pushing the lead to six.
Ryan Keenan buried his second of the game with 2:33 left in the quarter, and Zach Manns added another just over a minute later to make it 10–2 heading into the final frame. The Rush were absolutely rolling.
Colorado Mounts Late Comeback
The Mammoth finally broke through in the fourth, but it was too little, too late.
After having a goal waved off, Connor Kelly ended Colorado’s brutal 50-minute scoring drought at 5:28. But the Rush answered right back. Jake Boudreau, fed by Holden Garlent, scored another beauty in transition at 7:16 to make it 11–3.
Colorado strung together a three-goal run in the final minutes, but the gap was just too much. Malcom found the net off a transition play at 8:09. Connor Robinson followed that up with a long-range strike off a Ryan Lee feed at 4:22, cutting the lead to six.
Malcom added one more with 49 seconds to go, but it was all cosmetic. The Rush cruised to an 11–6 win, locking down second place in the standings and building momentum heading into the final stretch.
Top Scorers
Saskatchewan Rush
Austin Shanks, 4g 3a
Robert Church, 1g 3a
Six other players had two points
Colorado Mammoth
Will Malcom, 3g 2a
Ryan Lee, 3a
Connor Kelly, 1g 1a
TJ Comizio, 2a
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