Darren Zary
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
It’s the only game left in town right now, but Saskatchewan Rush lacrosse fans will have to wait another week to catch their team on its home turf.
The Rush will open the best-of-three National Lacrosse League semifinal series Saturday in Halifax against the Thunderbirds.
Game 2 and Game 3, if needed, will be played the following weekend, May 10-11, at Saskatoon’s SaskTel Centre.
Saskatchewan is once again in NLL-championship contention, and back in the playoffs, for the first time since 2019.
“We always said that this year — I came around three years ago, and a lot of the guys came the same year as me or the year after — that (in) 2025 we should prime,” says Rush star transition player Jake Boudreau.
“To have it kind of come to fruition — we still have more lacrosse to play — it’s awesome, but the celebration will (come later).
“It feels good. It would have been tough to work hard all year, and lose (the single-elimination quarter-final round). We played with everything we had (against Georgia). We want to enjoy the fruits of our labour — they’re still not ready to be picked yet.”
The Rush are picked as one of the favourites after finishing second overall during the regular season, behind only the reigning NLL-champion Buffalo Bandits, with a 13-5 record. They beat Georgia 13-9 in Saturday’s do-or-die playoff opener.
“We’ve been knocking on the door for the playoffs for a couple of years,” says Rush co-coach and general manager Derek Keenan. “And now the young group, I think they are now in a leadership role. The Boudreaus, the (Ryan) Barnables, the Holden Garlents, the Clark Walters — guys like that are now getting it.
“I think they’re seeing the price the other guys pay, the veteran group who have been here before and have won championships. They see the price that needs to be paid, and the work that has to go into it.
“It’s not easy. It’s hard to win in our league, on any given night … It goes back to the veteran leadership guys, like (goalie) Frank (Scigliano), and our young guys taking over that role now. You see that with them now, how hard they play.”
It’ll be hard to play against the Thunderbirds, who went 11-7 during the regular season and have been a thorn in the Rush side. They’re 5-2 against Saskatchewan all-time.
“They’ve had their way with us since I’ve been in the league,” admits Boudreau. “I think it’s a great opportunity. The path we’re going to take, if we’re going to make it to the championship, it would be good for us to beat them — to prove to ourselves that they’re not better than us, that we can play with them.
“It’s good that we’re playing them. I’m looking forward to it, but it’s going to be really hard. They play us well. They know how to operate around us. We’re going to need to switch some things up.”
Adds Keenan: “They’re very hard. They’re a different team. They thrive on unsettled play. They’re very good at it. They have a very good faceoff player in Jake Withers, and their offence has been absolutely on fire lately. They have two good goalies. So it’s going to be a big challenge for us.”
Scigliano says he’s up for the challenge against the T-Birds.
“They’re a great team, super-fast, super-talented,” he said. “We’re not going to look too far ahead. Obviously it’s a big test. They did take it to us last time, so it’ll be good for us to get in there and show them we’ve changed since that last time we played against each other.”
Keenan says his team will be ready, and most of the players will get into Halifax early to prepare for Saturday’s game.
“(The Thunderbirds have) been a real nemesis for us, but we’re going to do things a little differently,” he said. “We’re going to go in a day earlier and be prepared and get a good practice in. It’ll be a lot better for us, and then we’ll come back (to Saskatoon) the next week. If it goes three, we’re going to have two (games) here. We earned that, with that second-place position.”
dzary@postmedia.com
