Two kicks at the can this weekend for the Saskatchewan Rush to clinch a berth in the NLL Finals.
Facing the Halifax Thunderbirds in a best-of-three semi-final series, Saskatchewan won 16-7 in Game 1 last weekend on the road, now back home Saturday for Game 2, and Game 3 on Sunday if needed. The Rush were led by former Thunderbird Austin Shanks who scored six goals, helping provide a nice cushion for goalie Frank Scigliano who made 41 saves in the win.
Returning home to the prairies for Game 2, the Rush and Thunderbirds will pick up their series on Saturday at 7:30 PM from SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon. If the Thunderbirds can even up the series, the two sides will play a little earlier on Sunday at 6:00 PM for the right to move on.
The winner of the series will face the Buffalo Bandits in the league championship series, another best-of-three. The Bandits beat the Vancouver Warriors 2-0 and will be the home team for Game 1 of the finals, set for Friday, May 16.
Rush earn four nominations for league award finalists
In other Rush news, the NLL announced their league award finalists for the year back on Wednesday. Two players and two members of the team's front office earned nominations as you can see below:
- Matt Hossack - Defensive Player of the Year
- Frank Scigliano - Goaltender of the Year
- Derek Keenan - General Manager of the Year
- Jimmy Quinlan - Les Bartley Award (Coach of the Year)
The winners will be announced between May 12-16. Read more about the award nominees HERE.