Ryan Keenan led the way with a sock trick as the Saskatchewan Rush won a high-scoring affair, defeating the Las Vegas Desert Dogs 21-15 on Friday night.
Keenan finished with a career-high 12 points in the highest-scoring game of the season so far.
Saskatchewan’s power play proved problematic for Las Vegas, as the Rush went four-for-six on the man advantage.
Landon Kells got the start in goal for the Desert Dogs but was pulled after allowing 12 goals, making way for 18-year-old Caleb Khan to make his NLL debut. Khan allowed eight goals on 17 shots before Kells returned to the net.
Meanwhile, reigning Goaltender of the Year Frank Scigliano stopped 33 of 48 shots in the win.
At the faceoff dot, Jake Naso outdueled Tyrell Hamer-Jackson, winning 29 of 40 draws.
First Quarter
Las Vegas got on the board first, with Chris Cloutier finding the back of the net 33 seconds into the game off a low bouncer. However, it didn’t take long for Saskatchewan to respond.
Zach Manns scored at the 1:09 mark, but Cloutier retook the lead at 2:14 with a near carbon-copy of his first goal.
Saskatchewan then took control with a four-goal run. Manns scored on the power play, followed by goals from Josh Zawada, Austin Shanks and Mike Messenger, as the Rush took a 5-2 lead with 3:23 left on the clock.
Las Vegas got one back with 1:18 remaining. Down a man, Adam Poitras scored shorthanded to narrow the lead to 5-3.
Robert Church rounded out the scoring on the power play with 25 seconds left, as the Rush led 6-3 after the first quarter.
Second Quarter
Poitras opened the second-quarter scoring at 1:44, but Ryan Keenan scored his first of the night on the power play at 8:27.
Kyle Killen scored for the Desert Dogs at 9:18 to keep it a two-goal game. However, another power-play marker by Keenan at 10:45 made it 8-5.
A bizarre play followed with 3:27 left on the clock, as Brock Haley’s pass deflected off Brandon Goodwin’s stick and past Kells for Saskatchewan’s ninth goal.
Nick Preston converted off a feed from Connor Kirst with 2:19 left, but Zawada found Church with 29 seconds remaining, giving the Rush a 10-6 lead at the half.
Third Quarter
The goals kept coming in the third quarter, as both teams combined for 13 tallies.
Shanks wasted no time, taking a feed from Keenan just 39 seconds into the second half to make it 11-6. Manns followed at 1:29, prompting the Desert Dogs to turn to Khan in goal.
The change sparked some momentum for Las Vegas. Mitch Jones scored on the power play at 2:01, followed by Chase Fraser at 3:16, narrowing Saskatchewan’s lead to 12-8.
The Rush responded with a two-goal run of their own. Shanks scored at 4:12, followed by Keenan at 6:45, as Saskatchewan went ahead 14-8.
Killen got Las Vegas back on the board at 7:38.
Haley scored at the 8:00 mark off a feed from Shanks, followed by another Shanks goal at 9:31, stretching the Rush lead to 16-9.
Jonathan Donville made it a six-goal game with 1:43 left, but the scoring wasn’t done. Keenan scored 38 seconds later to make it 17-10, and Fraser replied 13 seconds after that to pull the Desert Dogs back within six.
Church rounded out the scoring with an unassisted marker with 26 seconds left, as the Rush held an 18-11 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter
Keenan and Manns scored for the Rush in the first 2:04 of the fourth quarter, as Kells returned to the net for Las Vegas.
Kells settled down between the pipes as the Desert Dogs put together a three-goal run. On transition, Goodwin scored on a one-handed shot at 4:33.
Jones scored off a Fraser feed at 5:23, followed by a highlight-reel goal at 7:31. With one hand on his stick from the wrong side, Fraser beat Scigliano to make it 20-14.
Keenan completed his sock trick with 2:09 remaining, and Cloutier rounded out the scoring with 1:09 left, as the Saskatchewan Rush won their fourth straight game, 21-15.
Top Scorers
Saskatchewan Rush
- Ryan Keenan, 6g 6a
- Robert Church, 3g 7a
- Zach Manns, 4g 5a
- Austin Shanks, 4g 4a
Las Vegas Desert Dogs
- Jonathan Donville, 1g 6a
- Chase Fraser, 2g 5a
- Mitch Jones, 3g 4a
- Chris Cloutier, 3g 2a
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