The most anticipated game in the National Lacrosse League was exactly as advertised as the two-time defending champion Rochester Knighthawks entered the home turf of the undefeated Edmonton Rush. Aaron Bold and Matt Vinc supplied outstanding goaltending, both defences smothered and made life very uncomfortable for the offences, the intensity and nastiness was at a perfect level and when the guys on offence were able to get the ball by Bold and Vinc, they did it with a tonne of skill and athleticism. Did I mention that Stephen Keogh tied it up with 1:04 left in the fourth quarter while Vinc was on the bench for the extra attacker and Mark Matthews scored to win it in overtime? Yeah, that happened too. It was likely the best lacrosse game that fans in Edmonton have seen from their home town Rush, ever.
Why the Rush won
They got contributions all through the line up. Two of their eight goals came in transition from Cory Conway and Jeff Cornwall, Jeremy Thompson went 12 for 18 on draws, added a goal, collected 8 loose balls, was credited with a forced turnover and annoyed the Knighthawks enough to start a ruckus in the handshake line after the game. To cap things off, Mark Matthews did what Mark Matthews does. He won this beauty on the last shot of the game after being hacked all night, tackled by Mike Kirk and cross checked in the lower back Sid Smith, all while he and Riley Loewen had to play every shift for over half the game after Zack Greer left with an injury in the second quarter.
The OPOG
Dan Dawson (2 G, 2 A, 3 LB, 7 of 9 Shots on Goal)
There is a reason why he is called Dangerous. He was lethal with the ball in his stick all night whether he was dishing deft behind the back passes in the two man game, driving the ball to the net or coming off the bench on the fast break. He used a huge shot fake to get to the net on his second goal before tucking the ball around Bold and his two assists helped jump start his team’s 5-2 run in the second half that was capped off by Keogh’s goal with just over a minute left in the fourth quarter. He was the one guy that the Rush defence couldn’t contain.
The DPOG
Jeff Cornwall (1 G, 1 A, 4 LB)
An honourable mention goes out to Nik Bilic, who pushed the ball up the floor on several occasions including a nice feed to Matthews that Vinc flew post to post on to stop with just over six minutes left in fourth and the Rush up 7-5. Bilic’s most impressive play of the game in the second quarter while the Rush were on a two man advantage. With the Knighthawks breaking down on a 3 on 1, Bilic hustled from off the bench on the long change and made a huge stick check on a chance that could have been a significant momentum boost for Rochester.
Now back to Cornwall. There have been several times this season that Derek Keenan has mentioned that he thinks the Coquitlam Adanacs product is on the verge of big things. The Coach and General Manager’s prediction was on display on Saturday night. For starters, Cornwall threaded a laser from half court to a streaking Conway on Edmonton’s second goal, 21 seconds after Curtis Knight opened the scoring at 2:38 into the game and then he capped off the quarter with a buzzer beater that went bottom post and in on Vinc to put the Rush up 4-2.
Next Game – Brotherly Love?
Edmonton Rush (5-0) at Philadelphia Wings (3-3), Saturday, February 8, 2014. 5:30 pm MT, Well Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA.
The Wings bring the highest scoring offence into the game, on that is averaging 12.83 goals in its first six games and boasts three of the top ten point-getters in the league. After starting 1-3, the Wings have blown the doors of the Minnesota Swarm and Vancouver Stealth in their last two games by scores of 15-8 and 15-9 respectfully.
