On Sunday night the Edmonton Rush faced off against the Rochester Knight Hawks. This was big game for both teams as Edmonton is fighting to finish first in the west while the Knight Hawks needed a win in order to secure a playoff berth.
Rochester came out flying as they opened the game with four straight goals with the last being scored by Dan Dawson. With four early goals allowed the Rush decided to pull goalie Aaron Bold and replace him with Brodie MacDonald. The Rush would begin to turn it around as Corey Small and Zack Greer scored on the power play to cut the lead in half. The Rush would also get some help as two Rochester goals were called back upon video review. The Rush would score two more goals before the half to tie the game at 4-4 as the first half concluded.
The Rush would come out on fire in the second half as they lit up Rochester goalie Matt Vinc by scoring six goals in the quarter. The Knight Hawks would not go away though as they scored three goals of their own in the quarter in order to make the score 10-7 at the end of the third. The Rush would keep the pressure on in the fourth as they scored four goals in the frame. The Knight Hawks would score three goals in the frame but it was not enough as they fell 14-10 to the Rush.
The Rush were led by an outstanding effort from Brodie MacDonald off the bench as he made 32 saves and sparked this Rush team. The Rush power play was the other reason for their win as they went 4 for 6 on the man advantage.
Edmonton has now clinched a playoff berth and with a win over Calgary next week they can win the NLL regular season title. While Rochester’s fate is in their own hands as they need to beat Buffalo next weekend to make the playoffs.
