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Sask. Rush drop season opener against Georgia

Jan 8, 2017 | 12:05 PM

A goaltender change was just the pick-me-up the Georgia Swarm needed to rally against the National Lacrosse League defending champions the Saskatchewan Rush in their season opener.

The Swarm, who were the second highest scoring team in the NLL in 2016, started their 2017 season with an 18-10 win Saturday, Jan. 7 in Georgia.

Points were quickly on the board with Miles Thompson of the Swarm netting his first of the game on the power play not even two minutes in.

The Rush answered back 13 seconds later with a goal from Mark Matthews, which the Swarm replied with two goals by Kiel Matisz and Ethan O’Connor.  

It was tied at three-a-piece as the seconds ticked down in the opening quarter but when the clock hit zero the Swarm were on top by one thanks to another goal by Thompson with 30 seconds left.

It was all Rush in the second quarter. Curtis Knight, Adam jones, Ryan Keenan and Robert Church all netted points to take the 7-4 lead

After allowing seven goals on 21 shots, the Swarm pulled goaltender Brodie MacDonald and replaced him with off-season free-agent acquisition Mike Poulin.

The goaltender change lit a fire under the Georgia player’s feet as they rallied for seven unanswered goals between the final minutes of the second quarter and the first half of the third.

Jordan MacIntosh, Shayne Jackson, Miles Thompson and Jackson again scored for the Swarm in the second quarter to take an 8-7 lead into the break.

In the third quarter Randy Staats, Lyle Thompson and Bryan Cole scored to increase the lead to 11-7.

The lone third quarter goal for the Rush was scored by Robert Church, his second of the night.

Heading into the final 15 minutes, Staats added another on the power play for the Swarm, bringing it to a 12-8 lead.

In the fourth, now trailing 14-8, Adrian Sorichetti scored a controversial goal for the Rush.

His initial shot hit the post and ricocheted out, but hit goaltender Poulin in the shoulder and bounced back into the net.

The Swarm argued Sorichetti was in the goal crease as well, which would disallow the point, but after looking at the video evidence the officials declared the replay inconclusive enough to overturn the goal.

It didn’t seem to matter for the Swarm though as they racked up two more points in quick succession and finished the game leading 18-10.

Penalties were a huge issue for the Rush, called for 11 infractions with the Swarm capitalizing on five of them.

Poulin, who played just over 38 minutes of the game for the Swarm, allowed three goals on 24 shots, earning him the third star in the three star selection.

For the Rush, Tyler Carlson got the start in place of the suspended Aaron Bold. Carlson allowed 18 goals on 51 shots.

Prior to the game, the four Thompson brothers were recognized by Guinness Book of World Records for the most siblings playing in the same professional game.

Miles Thompson for the Swarm finished the night with four goals and one assist, Lyle Thompson, also with the Swarm, had two goals and six assists while Jerome Thompson finished the night with one goal and one assist.

On the other side, Jeremy Thompson for the Rush had one assist and 15 faceoff wins.

Leading the Rush in scoring was Matthews with three goals and two assists in the loss.

The Rush look to rebound next weekend when they take on the Toronto Rock in week two action. Saskatchewan’s home opener and championship banner raising game is Saturday, Jan. 21 in Saskatoon.

 

Colton Swiderski is a news and sports reporter for meadowlakeNOW, paNOW and battlefordsNOW.com. He can be reached at cswiderski@jpbg.ca or tweet him @coltonswiderski.