By Colton Swiderski

Sask. Rush on five-game win streak after 8-7 victory

Feb 19, 2017 | 7:00 AM

The Saskatchewan Rush are winners of five straight in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) after a close game which saw the boys in green come away with an 8-7 win.

By the end of the first quarter the Rush were up 3-0 over the visiting Colorado Mammoth.

Less than two minutes into the second quarter, the Rush went ahead 4-0 on a power-play goal by rookie Ryan Keenan. With his assist on the goal, Rush forward Adam Jones reached the 400-point milestone in his NLL career.

But that was the last of the good news for Saskatchewan in the first half as the Mammoth, who were playing without offensive stars Zack Greer, John Grant Jr., and Jeremy Noble, turned up their game and scored four goals in a span of just over two minutes to tie the score.

Saskatchewan’s Adrian Sorichetti and Colorado’s Brent Adams exchanged goals in third, leaving the teams tied 5-5 heading into the fourth.

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Colorado’s Jacob Ruest gave the Mammoth the lead 35 seconds into the fourth quarter.

The lead was the first and only for the Mammoth as the Rush were able to sneak two straight goals by Mammoth goaltender Dillon Ward to regain the lead. Transition player Jeff Cornwall sealed the victory with an empty net goal and the Mammoth added a final goal on a late game push.

When the final buzzer sounded, the Rush found another win and improved their season record to 5-2.

Saskatchewan’s offence fired 53 shots on Ward. Many of them looked to be sure goals, but Ward played a stellar game and kept the contest close throughout.

“That’s the frustrating part of it,” Rush Head Coach and General Manager Derek Keenan said following the game. “We really had a lot of quality looks, but Dillon Ward was outstanding. You’re not going to see a better goaltending performance than that.”

Ward managed 45 saves, including 16 in the third quarter.

The Rush offence was led by Ben McIntosh and Mark Matthews, who each had three points in the game. McIntosh had two goals and one assist while Matthews had one goal and two assists. The third-highest scorer for Saskatchewan was Keenan with one goal and one assist.

In net Aaron Bold stopped 27 out of 34 shots for the Rush as he picked up his fifth win of the season in front of more than 15,000 fans.

The Rush are in action again next weekend, Feb. 25, when they welcome their long-time rivals the Calgary Roughnecks to the SaskTel Centre.

colton.swiderski@jpbg.ca            

On Twitter @coltonswiderski