Tonight lacrosse invades Ottawa as the defending champion Saskatchewan Rush (Edmonton) will take on the Toronto Rock for an exhibition game at The Arena at TD Place in Ottawa, Ont.
When these teams last met, the Rush completed a two game sweep over Toronto for the Champion’s Cup.
Some of the league’s best lacrosse players will be showcased tonight in the All-Canadian match up to include the Rush’s Aaron Bold, Chris Corbeil, Kyle Rubisch (Defensive Player of the Year), Zack Greer, Mark Matthews, Ben McIntosh (Rookie of the Year), and Jeremy Thompson along with the Rock’s Colin Doyle, Rob Hellyer, Brett Hickey, Stephan Leblanc, Brodie Merrill, Nick Rose, Brandon Miller and Josh Sanderson (Pinty’s Wingman of the Year).
The Rush are obviously one of the favorites this season. Last year the Rush went 13-5 and scored a league high 241 goals while winning the west by four games. They were pushed to the mini-game by Calgary but came out on top to advance to the Champion’s Cup, and we all know how that ended.
For the Rock, they had to battle the entire season, and finally won the east by two games over Rochester. They faced Rochester in the semi-finals and after losing Game 1 the Rock rolled through Game 2, and in the mini-game they crumbled Rochester’s dream of a four in a row.
Prior to the start of the season both teams were hit hard. General Manager of the Rock Terry Sanderson (Coach T) passed away (Nov. 27) from the effects of a heart attack earlier in the month. Also, Head Coach and General Manager Derek Keenan’s wife Wendy lost her battle with cancer. So the 2015 season was dedicated to each of them by their respective teams.
Rush will start their 30th Year of the NLL on Jan. 2 as they visit Calgary.
Rock start their campaign on Jan. 9 as they travel down south to Georgia to face the Swarm in their new home.
