The Saskatchewan Rush saved their best for last Saturday night, scoring two goals in the final minute of the fourth quarter to tie the game 9-9 before the former Halifax Thunderbird Austin Shanks scored a power-play goal in overtime to send Saskatchewan to their first N-L-L Finals since 2018.
Robert Church opened the scoring for Saskatchewan five minutes into the game and added another before the end of the quarter. Zac Manns and Holden Garlent added goals late in the first, giving the Rush a 4-1 lead, but Halifax responded with goals from Randy Staats and Thomas Hoggarth scoring his first of four on the evening. Hoggarth tied the game for Halifax in the second quarter with Rush Captain Ryan Keenan finding the back of the net to give Saskatchewan a 5-4 lead going into halftime.
Scoring wouldn’t come easy for either side in the second half, especially in the third quarter with both goaltenders standing tall all night long. Mike Messenger scored on a breakaway, Saskatchewan’s lone goal in the third with Clarke Petterson netting two in between to tie the game 6-6 going into the fourth quarter. The deadlock would be broken with four minutes left thanks to Dawson Theede, but Austin Shanks would have a quick response just a minute later tying the game once more. Thomas Hoggarth fired two quick goals past Frank Scigliano to give Halifax a 9-7 lead and a minute away from extending the series.
The Rush would not go away with Zac Manns bringing the crowd to their feet and Saskatchewan within one with 44 seconds remaining. Then in the last 10 seconds of the game, Mike Messenger made a game-saving dive at a loose ball, which was picked up and fired home by Matt Hossack, tying the game 9-9 and forcing overtime.
Early in overtime, Halifax forward Mike Robinson nailed Bobby Kidd III from behind and was assessed a five-minute penalty for boarding, and a game misconduct for it being his second five-minute penalty of the game. The stage was set for a heroic moment, and it would be the former Thunderbird Austin Shanks firing a shot past Warren Hill, igniting the Rush faithful and sending the Rush to their first N-L-L Finals appearance since 2018. Saskatchewan just outshot Halifax 55-54 while also winning 12-of-22 faceoffs. Saskatchewan went 3-for-5 on the power-play, while Halifax was 1-for-3.
The N-L-L Finals are now set, with the top two teams from the regular season set to meet in a highly anticipated matchup between the Saskatchewan Rush and Buffalo Bandits. Opening game in the best-of-three championship series begins in Buffalo on Friday, May 16th at KeyBank Centre.
Below is audio from postgame media scrum featuring Austin Shanks, Holden Garlent, and Head Coach Jimmy Quinlan…..
