It took until the final buzzer on Sunday night, but the Saskatchewan Rush will get one more opportunity to play together and attempt to claim box lacrosse’s greatest prize.
The Rush defended their home floor in Game 2 of the National Lacrosse League finals, holding on for an 11-10 victory over the Buffalo Bandits to avoid elimination and force a winner-take-all Game 3 of the series.
“We just want to win,” said Rush forward Austin Shanks, who led the way with three goals and five points Sunday. “We don’t care who shoots the ball, who scores the goals, who does what. We all grind for each other and we’re so happy for each other’s success.”
Shanks scored Saskatchewan’s final two goals of the night to give the Rush an 11-9 lead with 3:08 remaining over the Bandits, who would cut the gap to 11-10 when Kyle Buchanan scored with 1:05 left.
The Rush were able to fend off Buffalo’s late charge with goaltender Matt Vinc pulled, including a Holden Garlent blocked shot at the buzzer to secure the win.
When asked what it took to keep their season alive, Shanks said it was the defensive effort in the fourth quarter that stepped up when needed.
“Our goalie and defence, they’ve been the heart of this team and the backbone of this team all year,” Shanks said.
“They made huge stops, they pushed the ball, they bring a ton of energy. They allowed us to get some more opportunities.”
Rush goaltender Frank Scigliano made 40 stops in the win, which has set up a winner-take-all Game 3 against the Bandits to decide the 2025 NLL Cup.
Leading 5-3 midway through the second quarter off a goal from Zach Manns, the Rush would not regain the lead until the fourth quarter, with both sides either tied or within a single goal of each other for most of the night.
“It was a hard game,” Rush co-head coach and general manager Derek Keenan said post-game. “I didn’t think we were at our best at times, but we just hung around long enough for these guys to make some plays in the fourth quarter. I also thought that the goal (Jake) Boudreau got at the end of the half was huge.”
That goal from Boudreau came with just 0.9 seconds left on the clock before halftime, levelling the score at 6-6 for Saskatchewan heading into the break.
Shanks said the goal was a big turning point after three consecutive goals from Buffalo.
“Stopping their runs is massive,” Shanks said. “They can go on runs and stopping them is huge. They were on a bit of a run there and for (Boudreau) to score that in transition, for our defence to get up there going into the locker room just gave us some energy.”
Sunday’s win at home has tied up the best-of-three series after Buffalo earned a 12-10 victory over Saskatchewan on Friday night in Game 1 of the NLL championship.
Very little has separated the two finalists over the pair of games, with the Bandits only outscoring the Rush by a 22-21 margin.
For Keenan, the difference Sunday was their forwards finding that last goal to give them a needed two-goal cushion late.
“If you compare the two games, on Friday night Buffalo made some plays in the fourth quarter when they really needed it and we didn’t,” Keenan said. “That’s really the difference and it’s a very, very fine line. It’s going to be tough in there next week, but we’ll be prepared.”
With the series now shifting back to Buffalo, the Rush have wrapped up their play at SaskTel Centre this season with a perfect 3-0 record at home in the playoffs following Sunday’s win.
Improving to 9-3 overall this year at home, the Rush secured the Game 2 victory in front of a season-high 8,216 fans, which Shanks said gave the team a big boost over Buffalo — something they’ll look to carry over next weekend with a shot at their third NLL championship since moving to Saskatchewan in 2015.
“It’s home floor,” Shanks said. “It’s a pride thing, it’s an energy thing. We just grind, grind, grind for 60 minutes and home or away, we’re going to take that championship next weekend.”
The Rush and Bandits will square off on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. for Game 3 from KeyBank Centre in Buffalo to decide who will be raising the 2025 NLL Cup.