The March to May continued from Gas South Arena on Saturday night as the hometown Georgia Swarm took on the Saskatchewan Rush. Saskatchewan came in as arguably the league’s hottest team, while Georgia sat in the top eight and was finding their stride.
This game was a defensive masterpiece by both sides. It’s always fun to watch two of the league’s best clubs do battle, and this one did not disappoint. Georgia held a lead late in the fourth quarter, but it was Saskatchewan who scored two-straight to tie and take the lead back. They rode out their sparkling defense the rest of the way, along with Frank Scigliano being a brick wall between the pipes. That gave us our final from the capital of the South, 8-7 Rush.
The Swarm used the boost from the home crowd to go out in front early as the first quarter was under way. Jeremy Thompson buried the first one for the Swarm but was quickly answered by Matt Hossack. That Rush goal was it in the first, as Georgia’s defense and Brett Dobson were as stout as could be. The Swarm tacked on three more goals to close out the frame, courtesy of Richie Connell, Bryan Cole, and Jordan MacIntosh. 4-1 Swarm after one.
All year long, the Rush have been a team where no deficit seems insurmountable. Thet crept back into this one in the second quarter, as they opened it up with two-straight, one from Clark Walter and the other from Zach Manns. Shayne Jackson got Georgia back in the goal column, but Brock Haley was right there with the answer to cut the deficit back to one. 5-4 Swarm at the break. Believe me when I say that both defenses were in almost perfect form throughout the first half.
“I think we just stick to our gameplan, get the ball low, and cut through the middle hard”, said Cole at the break. “Defensively we just have to keep playing them tough and see if we can extend when we can.”
Saskatchewan wasted little time in the third quarter tying the game up and taking the lead, as those two goals were scored by Haley and Ryan Keenan just 2:17 apart. Cole took his own advice as he buried his second of the night to tie it back up. 6-6 after three. This, quite literally, was anyone’s game.
Another three-goal quarter was what the fourth showed us, and it was Jackson who gave Georgia the lead back. 1:06 later, it was Keenan who tied it right back up. Back-and-forth we went, as the pace was furious, and both teams were desperate for the win. After over seven minutes of up-and-down the floor, Josh Zawada buried the go-ahead goal for Saskatchewan, and for the remaining 4:14, the Rush completely shut Georgia down. All of that gave us our final, 8-7 Rush, who became the first team in the league to get to ten wins.
Players of the game for Saskatchewan were Keenan (2+1), Haley (2+1), and Manns (1+1). Scigliano was a monster all night in net, stopping 45 of 52 in total. For Georgia, Cole (2+2), Jackson (two goals), and Connell (1+1) led the way. Dobson has nothing to hang his head about, as he also had a massive performance, stopping 34 of 42.
“We had to make some adjustments at halftime”, said Scigliano after the game. “We were on our heels a bit and they were dictating the pace. We had a good talk at halftime, we believe in our room.”
Saskatchewan (10-3) keeps on rolling. They look to continue their winning ways in their next game on the road against Halifax (7-5). That game is this Friday at 6pm. Georgia (7-5) still sits in the top eight and looks to get back into the win column. Their next contest is also on the road against Albany (4-9). That one is this Saturday at 7pm.
