Milligan, Anthony Lanier II return to Riders' lineup
2h ago
Some key players are back for the Riders as they get ready to host the Redblacks on Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Colorado Mammoth stunned the Saskatchewan Rush in an 11-10 overtime win on Friday to advance to the National Lacrosse League (NLL) West Division Final.
After a three-goal third quarter built Saskatchewan a 7-4 lead heading into the final quarter, SaskTel Centre went black as a power outage delayed the start of the fourth quarter and left the 11, 568 people in the building cheering the Rush on in darkness.
While the delay lasted less than 10 minutes, it had a lasting impact on the momentum of the game as Colorado was able to score six goals in the fourth quarter before Joey Cupido picked off a Robert Church pass and raced down the floor for the overtime breakaway winner.
“I think that was the worst thing that could have happened to us,” veteran forward Jeff Shattler said about the outage. “We had everything going on our side and then a power outage… it slowed the game right down.”
Captain Chris Corbeil did his part to rally the troops, but was unable to avoid the fourth quarter that awaited his team.
“I’m trying to motivate the guys and get them fired up and get energy, but when the game is going that way, it’s tough to swing the momentum,” Corbeil said.
With overtime ticking away, Church attempted to send a pass to teammate Mark Matthews as Cupido hounded Saskatchewan’s leading scorer and beat him to the ball.
“I’m not going to pin it on one play,” head coach Derek Keenan said. “We weren’t very good in the fourth quarter and that is kind of what cost us the game.”
“You’d have a hard time convincing me that they’re a better team than us, but tonight they were.”
It’s the first time the Rush have not qualified for the NLL Finals since moving to Saskatchewan.
Prior to Friday, the Rush appeared in every NLL Final since 2015, including three championship trophies in 2015, 2016 and 2018.
The matchup with the Mammoth was also the earliest playoff game for the Rush since 2013 due to a change in playoff formats.
The NLL went away with the first-round bye for the top team in each division and instead allowed eight of the 11 teams to qualify for the playoffs as a way of accommodating the Philadelphia and San Diego expansion franchises.
Shattler didn’t hold back when discussing the changes.
“You finish first and then it comes down to a one-gamer,” he said, suggesting the league move to a best-of-three series throughout the playoffs. “There’s really no advantage, all you go to do is make the playoffs.”
“I think this league is a joke that way.”
Being out of the playoffs so early left a feeling of devastation in the dressing room.
“That part is a little shocking, I’m used to playing ’til early June. I guess I’m going to be home for my wife’s birthday next weekend, so she’ll be happy about that,” Corbeil said.
Things were different for the Rush just six days after beating the Mammoth 13-8 to end the regular season.
Colorado was able to jump out to a 3-1 lead in the first quarter, nabbing their first goal just 15 seconds after the Rush opened the scoring.
The Mammoth would continue the relentless attack in the second quarter, forcing Rush goalie Evan Kirk into plenty of big saves before Church evened the score at 4-4 with a shorthanded goal before halftime.
After the Rush gained a 7-4 lead after three quarters, a wild fourth quarter would take over. The teams traded goals before Colorado rattled off four straight goals to gain a 9-8 lead with 6:40 remaining.
Another exchange of goals put Ben McIntosh into action. He would force overtime after stripping Colorado goaltender Dillon Ward of the ball and slotting it into the net with 40 seconds remaining.
“It’s tough to beat a team four times in a year,” Keenan said. “We’ve had their number for a lot of years and they were probably due.”