Jaime Lammerding
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
With one minute and two seconds left in regulation time, Austin Shanks notched his second goal of the game to put the Saskatchewan Rush ahead of the host Halifax Thunderbirds 10-9 on Saturday night.
That one-goal lead carried through until the final whistle, giving the Rush the victory and improving them to 3-1 in the National Lacrosse League standings.
The two teams were evenly matched throughout contest, with the biggest gap in scoring coming in the second quarter when the Rush briefly pulled ahead 4-2. Otherwise, the teams went back-and-forth between a tie game and one taking the lead.
Along with Shanks, Zach Manns, Ryan Keenan and Matt Acchione each scored a pair of goals, while Robert Church and Josh Zawada each added one.
Keenan also had four assists in the game, bringing him to a team-leading six points for the evening.
In net, Frank Scigliano made 32 saves on 41 shots for Saskatchewan, while his Halifax counterpart Warren Hill went 44-for-54.
The Rush will be back in action in the new year, when they host the Thunderbirds on Jan. 2 at SaskTel Centre at 7 p.m.
Saskatoon Blades win back-to-back against Regina Pats
The Saskatoon Blades are ending the 2025 portion of their Western Hockey League season on a high after posting pair of wins over the Regina Pats in a home-and-home series on the weekend.
In Regina on Sunday afternoon, Blades’ goaltender Evan Gardner picked up his first shutout of the season, making 28 saves to help the visitors to a 4-0 win. Across the ice, Matthew Hutchinson made 33 saves on 37 shots for the Pats.
Offensively, Tristen Doyle, Cohen Lewko, Hayden Harsanyi and Jack Kachowski scored for Saskatoon.
The night before, despite outshooting the Pats 46-14 in 60 minutes of game time, the Blades still needed overtime to secure a 3-2 win at SaskTel Centre.
In that game, Cooper Williams netted the game winner two minutes and 16 seconds into the extra frame. This after the two teams were 1-1 after the first period and 2-2 at the end of regulation with both teams scoring in the third period.
Gardner went 12-for-14 that night, while Regina’s Marek Schlenker made 46 saves on 49 shots.
The wins improve the Blades to 19-14-2-1 and fifth in the league’s Eastern Conference.
The Blades will look to continue their winning ways as they take on the Brandon Wheat Kings in a home-and-home series to start the new year. The Blades visit Brandon on Jan. 1 and host on Jan. 3.
Wildcats competing at Circle K Classic
The Warman Wildcats are without a win at the Circle K Classic U18 AAA hockey tournament, running from Dec. 27 to Jan. 1 in Calgary.
Taking on Edge School on Sunday, the Wildcats fell 5-2. This comes after they lost the opening game on Saturday in a shootout to the St. Albert Raiders 3-2.
Warman will wrap up pool play on Monday, with a game against the 0-2 Sioux Falls Power.
Also competing at the tournament are the Regina Pat Canadians and the Moose Jaw Warriors.
