RUSH BLOW BIG LEAD AT SAN DIEGO

For the fifth time this season, the Saskatchewan Rush came up short by the narrowest of margins.

Jeremy Noble’s goal with 1.3 seconds left in regulation time capped a ferocious comeback by the San Diego Seals (8-2) as they erased the Rush’s five-goal lead and earned a 10-9 victory on their home turf Friday night.

Noble snared the rebound off a hot shot from Wes Berg, scooped the ball and went airborne, tucking a shot past Rush goalie Eric Penney. Former Rush star Zack Greer had tied the game 9-9 with only 1:20 left in the fourth quarter before Noble’s goal completed a six-goal run by the Seals that kept Saskatchewan off the board for nearly the entire second half. The Rush have lost three times in regulation by just one goal and suffered a pair of overtime losses as well.

The Rush (3-8) looked as though they were about to take down the NLL’s West Division leaders as they jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the first quarter, highlighted by a pair of goals from Jeff Shattler and a buzz-beater from speedster Jeff Cornwall, who dashed down the floor in the dying moments, bounced off a defender in tight and then fired a shot through the legs of Seals goalie Frank Scigliano.

Mark Matthews pushed the Rush ahead 6-2 early in the second quarter with his second of the night as he came off the bench and found an open spot in the slot before ripping his shot home. After the Seals cut the lead down to two, the Rush responded with back-to-back goals on a five-minute power play. Shatter netted his hat trick as his quick-stick finish followed a brilliant behind-the-back pass from Matthews. The Rush ended the opening half by making it 8-4 as Robert Church’s shot squeaked past Scigliano and just across the goal line.

Church tallied his second power-play goal of the night with a sidearm rocket just over a minute into the third quarter to make it 9-4, but that was all the Rush offence could muster the rest of the way. Dan Lintner had a goal and three assists for the Rush, who also got three helpers from Matthews and Ryan Keenan. Penney made his third straight start for the Rush and made 40 saves. 

The Rush wrap up their three-game road trip with a St. Patrick’s Day encounter against the Calgary Roughnecks before returning to SaskTel Centre next Saturday to face the Rochester Knighthawks. 

(SaskRush.com)