Steady offence and smothering defence in the second half led the Saskatchewan Rush past the Georgia Swarm on Saturday night by a score of 8-7.
The win improves the Rush’s record to 10-3, keeping them in sole possession of second place in the NLL. The Swarm drop to 7-5, in a three-way tie for third.
The Swarm set the tone early, with Jeremy Thompson scoring the first goal of the night on a partial breakaway two minutes into the game. The Rush tied things up almost six-and-a-half minutes later, but Georgia went on a tear after that, scoring three more times in the final minutes of the quarter.
The second quarter went the other way, with Saskatchewan scoring three times versus just a single goal from the Swarm, leaving the Rush behind by just one at half time.
Goalie Frankie Scigliano and the Rush defence elevated their game in the second half. Scigliano shut out the Swarm attack for almost 21 minutes, allowing the Rush to pick up two more goals in the third quarter to tie the game. In the fourth quarter, after Georgia briefly reclaimed the lead, the Rush offence went back to work, scoring twice more to earn the one-goal victory.
Scigliano made 45 saves in the win, including several clutch stops in the second half. Georgia’s Brett Dobson had a solid night as well, stopping 34 shots.
Saskatchewan had four players contribute three points apiece: Clark Walter (1 goal, 2 assists), Ryan Keenan (2 G, 1 A), Jake Boudreau (3 A), and Brock Haley (2 G, 1 A). For the Swarm, Lyle Thompson picked up four assists while Bryan Cole scored twice and added two helpers.
Next up for the Rush is a trip to the east coast to face the Halifax Thunderbirds (7-5) on Friday night. Meanwhile, the Swarm visit the Albany FireWolves (4-9) on Saturday.
