RUSH TROUNCED 13-7 IN VANCOUVER
The Vancouver Warriors used an eight-goal surge in the second quarter to propel them to a 13-7 win over the Saskatchewan Rush at Rogers Centre in Vancouver on Friday night.
Vancouver’s victory snapped the Rush’s nine-game winning streak against the Warriors, and pushed the Warriors (4-3) into the third spot in the NLL’s West Division.
Dan Lintner gave the Rush (2-5) a 1-0 lead 3:37 into the game, and Robert Church pulled the Rush pulled at 2-2 with a long-range shot only 1:19 into the second quarter, but the Warriors took control from there with five of the next six goals.
A run of three goals in a span of just over two minutes made it 5-2 and forced Rush starting netminder Adam Shute to the bench in favor of backup Peter Dubenski. Jeff Shattler’s shot from the wing got one back for the Rush, but former Rush Marty Dinsdale and Kyle Killen tallied back-to-back goals 26 seconds apart to boost Vancouver to a 7-3 advantage.
The Warriors’ second-quarter tear continued when Brandon Goodwin scored on a breakaway following an offensive turnover by the Rush. Only 59 seconds later, Keegan Bal ripped a rocket past on a power play. Less than a minute later, ex-Rush Brett Mydske found a wide-open lane to the net, and the Warriors captain lasered a shot to the top shelf that ended Dubenski’s first action of the season and made it 10-3 before halftime.
Lintner scored on back-to-back strikes early in the third quarter to collect his hat trick and make it 10-5. He opened the second-half scoring, cutting out from behind the Vancouver net and beating Warriors goalie Alex Buque on the short side. Only 31 seconds later, Lintner was the late man off the bench, snared a pass from Church, and tore through the slot before beating Buque high. But the hosts didn’t let the Rush’s momentum swing last long as Logan Schuss earned his hat-trick marker and Dinsdale struck for his second of three on the night to restore a bulging lead for the Warriors.
Mark Matthews got one back for Saskatchewan late in the third and Ryan Keenan added one early on in the fourth, but the Rush couldn’t get past the deficit they faced.
Buque finished with 47 saves for the Warriors, while the Rush duo of Shute and Dubenski combined for 32 stops.
The Rush return to action next week with a home-and-home series against the Colorado Mammoth. They are in Denver for a Sunday matinee on February 20th and then host the Mammoth on Saturday, February 26th.
(SaskRush.com)
