Will Malcom was the OT hero, scoring 1:54 into overtime to give the Panther City Lacrosse Club a 17-16 win over the Saskatchewan Rush on Saturday night in Fort Worth.
The overtime winner was Malcom’s fifth goal of the game.
The win gives Panther City their second straight win and their third win of the season. The guys in purple and black are right back in the thick of things in the West Division.
Panther City jumped out to a 2-0 lead right off the hop with a power play marker by Patrick Dodds at 6:14. Malcom added the second goal 1:12 later.
Saskatchewan would grab the momentum right back with a three-goal run to finish off the first quarter. Mark Matthews and Ryan Keenan led off the scoring for the Rush. With two minutes left in the quarter, Bobby Kidd III took a pass from goaltender Eric Penney and went coast-to-coast for his first NLL goal.
Make the score 3-2 for the Rush after the first quarter.
Rush hold slim margin at the half
It didn’t take Panther City long to tie up the game. Patrick Foley scored 17 seconds into the frame to make it 3-3. The home team added another 1:08 later with a goal from Jordan Trottier.
Matthews would score his second of the game to tie it up once again at 3:21, yet Dean Fairall would restore Panther City’s one-goal margin.
Saskatchewan again took the momentum away with another three-goal run with goals from Josh Currier, Dan Lintner and Mike Messenger. Suddenly, Panther City found themselves down 7-5. Yet, there was no quit in this expansion team.
Nathan Grenon and Cam Milligan would score goals 21 seconds apart and it was tied 7-7. Robert Church would round out the first half scoring with 49 seconds left in the second quarter to give the Rush an 8-7 lead at the half.
Malcom would add a pair of goals and Josh Medeiros would join in the scoring to give Panther City a 10-8 lead early in the third quarter. After Panther City’s 10th goal, Rush head coach Jeff McComb made the decision to make a switch in goal, swapping Penney for Adam Shute to finish off the night.
Church would get the Rush within one goal at 7:03 to make it 10-9, but the spark of the goaltender change was short-lived. Malcom and Currier would exchange goals before Dodds and Fairall would give Panther City a three-goal cushion.
Jeff Cornwall would score right off the face-off seven seconds later to make it 13-11 Panther City with one quarter left to play.
Wild finish as Malcom is the OT hero
Lintner would get his hat trick with two quick goals in the fourth to get the Rush back into the game. Travis Cornwall and Messenger would exchange goals to keep the game tied 14-14.
After having a goal waved off because the shot clock had expired, Phil Caputo got his revenge. He scored twice, including a shorthanded marker to give Panther City a 16-14 lead with only 1:25 left to play.
You’d think the Rush would be out of it down two with just over a minute left to play. However, this is the National Lacrosse League and anything can happen.
Jeremy Thompson took an untimely cross checking penalty with 2:09 left in the game. Despite the shorthanded goal, Matthews would score his hat trick goal on the power play with 36 seconds left in the game.
Still down one, the Rush pulled Shute for the extra attacker and it paid off. Fifteen seconds later Keenan would beat Nick Damude to tie the game with 21 seconds left in the game. Fort Worth was treated to some free lacrosse.
Malcom as the OT hero as his shot fooled Shute in overtime to give Panther City their second straight win.
Top scorers
Saskatchewan
Mark Matthews, 3g 3a
Robert Church, 2g 4a
Ryan Keenan, 2g 2a
Dan Lintner, 3g 1a
Panther City
Will Malcom, 5g 3a
Nathan Grenon, 1g 6a
Cam Milligan, 1g 5a
Dean Fairall, 2g 4a
Shawn Slaght has been a sports reporter across the Canadian prairies for over 10 years and has experience covering everything from junior hockey to World Cup skiing to all levels of lacrosse. He is the Saskatchewan correspondent for All Lacrosse All The Time.
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