The Rush take control of the contest late in the first half.
SASKATOON, SAS. — The Rochester Knighthawks dropped Game 1 of the National Lacrosse League Final, 16-9, to the Saskatchewan Rush Saturday night at SaskTel Centre. The Rush now have a one-game lead in the best-of-three series.
“We have to regroup and get ready for the next game,” said Knighthawks rookie Eric Fannell, who finished with 2 goals and 2 assists. Rochester also received 4-point efforts from Kyle Jackson (1+3) and Joe Resetarits (1+3).
The Knighthawks were led by a 6-point performance from Cody Jamieson, who posted 1 goal and 5 assists. His goal at 4:40 of the second gave the Knighthawks a 4-3 lead, which was their last of the evening. The tally tied him for second place on the team’s all-time goal-scoring list with Mike Accursi with 28.
“We were moving the ball well and moving our feet,” said Jamieson about Rochester’s success early in the game. “When we didn’t do that, they got in passing lanes and picked off passes. They are a really good team, and we have to play at our best to beat them.”
The Rush broke the game open in the middle two quarters as they scored 7 straight to take a 10-4 lead. Rochester, however, would not go away as it pulled within 4 three times in the second half. The Knighthawks flexed their offensive muscles in the third and fourth quarters as they scored 4 of the game’s 6 goals to trim the deficit to 12-8.
Defensively, Matt Vinc faced 64 shots and made 48 saves. The NLL’s all-time playoff saves leader made 15 alone in the first quarter as each team scored twice in the opening 15 minutes.
“‘V’ had a great night for us; they had a lot of quality looks,” said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. “We have to stick to the plan and execute better. We are going to clean up a few things this week at practice and be better Saturday.”
The Knighthawks will host Game 2 on Saturday, June 2 at 8 pm at Connors & Ferris Field at the Blue Cross Arena. It’s an opportunity to even the series in a must-win game, which Rochester has become accustomed to this season.
“It comes down to a do-or-die game. It seems weird because it’s a position we have been in all year,” said Jamieson. “We felt that way eight games into the season (when we were 2-6). We took the mindset that we couldn’t lose another game, and that every game was a must-win. It’s really like that right now; we can’t lose again.”