The Saskatchewan Rush kept their first-place hopes alive after a 17-12 win over the Colorado Mammoth on Saturday night in Saskatoon.
With the win, and Buffalo’s loss to Vancouver, Saskatchewan pulls into a tie with the Bandits at 11-4 for first place. However, Buffalo holds the tiebreaker.
Austin Shanks had one of his best outings since coming over to Saskatchewan. He led the team with six goals and four assists for 10 points. Meanwhile, Ryan Lee also had a sock trick for Colorado in the losing effort.
Jake Naso got back into his dominant form on the faceoff dot for Saskatchewan. He finished the game, winning 28 of 34 draws.
The good news for Colorado was that they had Dillon Ward back in net, but he faced a lot of rubber. He stopped 49 of 65 shots. Frank Scigliano was once again stellar for the Rush, stopping 30 of 42 for the win, including a spectacular save early in the fourth quarter.
A Massive Early Lead For The Rush
Shanks got the Rush out to a 2-0 lead with goals at the 2:22 and 3:54 marks. Colorado would cut that lead in half two minutes later with a goal from Ben McDonald.
Brock Haley continued his outstanding rookie campaign. He scored at 9:12 and added another 14 seconds later to make it 4-1.
Zach Manns rounded out the first-quarter scoring with a transition goal at 2:12 on the clock as the Rush led 5-1 at the first break.
Colorado Swings Back Late In The Half
Manns then opened the second-quarter scoring on the power play, 1:22 into the frame. Ryan Keenan followed that up at 2:50.
Keenan scored at 3:12 and completed the natural hat trick just over a minute later. Shanks would finish off what became an eight-goal run between the first and second quarters to put Saskatchewan ahead 10-1.
Lee got the Mammoth back on the board at 6:35, but it didn’t swing momentum much.
Shanks scored at 8:13, followed by Keenan on the power play with 3:40 left on the clock to extend the Rush’s lead to 10.
Colorado started to push back late in the quarter. Lee scored with 2:37 left and added another with 1:44 on the clock. McDonald scored off a Jordan Gilles feed with 1:17 left to make it 12-5.
Keenan rounded out the scoring with his fifth goal of the quarter with 45 seconds on the clock as the Rush led 13-5 at the half.
Second Half Comeback By The Mammoth
Colorado opened the second half scoring with Tyson Gibson burying a feed from Will Malcom at 6:38. Shanks replied right back at 8:05 to make it a 14-6 ball game.
Gibson struck again off a McDonald pass on the power play at 10:27. However, Saskatchewan went on a two-goal run. Church scored with 2:13 remaining on a two-man advantage, and Shanks finished off the power play at 1:49.
The Mammoth finished off the quarter on a two-goal run of their own. Connor Robinson scored with 1:13 left, and Lee found the back of the net with six seconds on the clock to make it 16-9 for the Rush heading into the fourth.
Penalty-Filled Fourth Quarter
The Mammoth inched closer at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Lee scored 4:28 into the frame, followed by Gibson on the power play at 5:35.
Church scored a massive goal for the Rush to kill any momentum Colorado had with a power play marker at 7:45.
Lee rounded out the scoring with 3:01 left, but after that, the Mammoth started the parade to the penalty box.
Mike Messenger was called for an illegal body check with 2:28 on the clock, and the Colorado Mammoth lost their cool. Damon Edwards took a two-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and a 10-minute misconduct, Ward was assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, and the Mammoth bench got a two-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Add to that, Ryan Lee took a slashing call at 1:45 and a 10-minute misconduct with 1:45 on the clock.
In the end, the Saskatchewan Rush were given a penalty shot, which was unsuccessful, but they still came away with a 17-12 victory.
Top Scorers
Saskatchewan Rush
Austin Shanks, 6g 4a
Ryan Keenan, 5g 2a
Robert Church, 2g 5a
Clark Walter, 7a
Colorado Mammoth
Ryan Lee, 6g 1a
Tyson Gibson, 3g 2a
Ben McDonald, 2g 1a
Connor Robinson, 1g 2a
Will Malcom, 3a
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