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Saskatchewan Rush fans will soon be piling into the Sasktel Centre for the single-elimination quarter-final game.
It’s the first playoff game the Rush have hosted since 2019.
The Rush, who finished the year with 13 wins and 5 losses, finished second in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) standings and take on the seventh seed Georgia Swarm.
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Jimmy Quinlan, Saskatchewan Rush Head Coach, joined The Green Zone to talk about the upcoming playoff game and where his team has improved.
“We had to learn how to win. Look at last year, we weren’t very good in one-goal games,” he said.
“This year we were much better, our group got a little bit older, and then we added a couple pieces in the offseason, both young and old that brought energy and brought composure.”
The format has changed since the Rush last made the playoffs. Previously, the NLL had East vs. West divisions; this time around, there are no divisions and it’s a one-through-eight playoff format.
Quinlan welcomes the change.
“I like it, at the end of the day it can be a bit stressful, but it makes for meaningful games,” he said. “Look at the last three or four years, the last weekend has really decided teams in the playoffs.”
This Saturday’s quarterfinal matchup is a single-elimination game, meaning any mistake could prove to be very costly.
Quinlan said there are a couple of areas the team has to be perfect in.
“We need to limit their time and space; they’ve got a number of good shooters,” he said. “Offensively for us, the key is going to be to get the balls low in the corner and get bodies through the middle.”
Quinlan said he’s anticipating a physical matchup and that his squad is ready to answer the bell when needed.
Now that it’s been a few years since the Rush last made the playoffs, they now have a lot of players getting their first taste of playoff lacrosse. Quinlan said this is where they rely on their veterans like Mike Messenger, Robert Church, Ryan Keenan, Matt Hossack and Frank Scigliano.
“Those guys just seem to calm the (other) guys,” he said. “They kick us when we need it, and it’s really their team, they do an excellent job making sure we’re prepared and leading us.”
The Rush play the Swarm at 7:30 p.m., the winner moves on to a best 2 out of 3 semi-final.
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