Despite a strange week for the National Lacrosse League, there are games to be played. The Toronto Rock will face the Edmonton Rush tonight from the Air Canada Centre in game one of the Champions Cup finals.
Both teams were the top seed in their respective conferences. Despite arena issues in the western conference finals, the Edmonton Rush won game one of the semis and then a mini game against Calgary to advance. Toronto lost the first game of their series, at Rochester, before winning game two and the mini game.
The Rush were in the Champions Cup three years ago where they fell to the Knighthawks during their threepeat. The series is the first ever all Canadian championship, and it is the first year the league returns to its three game series format.
The Rush have had somewhat of a tumultuous week. Their owner, Bruce Urban, has been rather vocal that this could be the team’s last season due to arena issues. In fact, game two of the series is on a Friday in Edmonton due to a concert the Saturday after.
Toronto had the best record in the league during the regular season going 14-4. They faced their share of adversity, however, as they traded Garrett Billings and were without Colin Doyle and Rob Hellyer for spurts.
The goaltending matchup in this series is huge. Aaron Bold has been stellar for the Rush since he became their starter, leading the league in goals against average. Toronto boasts Brandon Miller, looking for his first title after he stepped up to win the two last games of the Rochester series. Nick Rose, their other goalie, and Miller were third and fourth respectively in goals against average.
The series itself will be a matchup of wills. Edmonton’s defense, led by Chris Corbiel and Kyle Rubisch, is elite. Meanwhile, the Toronto offense is also spectacular behind the league’s sixth leading scorer Josh Sanderson, Kevin Crowley, and breakout player Brett Hickey.
The Rush have Robert Church back on offense who missed game one of last series but returned for game two. They are also led by Mark Matthews, who was second in the NLL in points.
This series is what lacrosse fans wanted to see. The two heavy weights open up the championship tonight at 7pm from Toronto.
