Despite being down eight men due to COVID-19 protocols, the San Diego Seals came away with a 12-11 win over the Saskatchewan Rush Friday night in Saskatoon.
Because they were shorthanded, San Diego had to start rookie Justin Geddie in goal for his first career game and start. He was nothing short of spectacular. Geddie made 42 saves on 53 shots for his first NLL win.
Robert Church got the scoring going early for the Rush 57 seconds into the game on the power play. That would be the only lead the Rush would hold in the first half.
Austin Staats and Wes Berg would reply and it was 2-1 in favour of the Seals.
Mark Matthews would get the Rush back within one to start the second. Berg and Mac O’Keefe each had shorthanded goals and San Diego was ahead 4-2 at the half.
Scoring, Scoring and More Scoring
There was no shortage of offence in the second half, however, as the Rush outscored the Seals 6-5 in the third quarter.
Ryan Keenan would get the Rush back within one, but Berg would reply 30 seconds later to restore the two-goal cushion.
The guys in green kept grinding and goals from Church and Dan Lintner would tie the game up 5-5.
Dane Dobbie would get on the board at 10:17 in the third on the power play. Make it 6-5 for the Seals.
The Rush would get their first lead since early in the first. Matthews would score at 11:15. Sixteen seconds later, Matt Beers would dive across the crease to beat Geddie.
The Seals went on their own two-goal run with goals from O’Keefe and Staats as San Diego once again went ahead 8-7.
Church would tie it up on the power play, but Jeremy Noble would score on the man-advantage with less than two seconds left in the quarter. Make it 9-8 for the Seals heading into the fourth quarter.
The Rush Can’t Complete Comback
It would take long for the Seals to restore their two-goal lead. Dobbie would get the power play marker 24 seconds into the fourth.
Saskatchewan’s defensemen got in on the scoring. First Ryan Dilks took a long pass from goaltender Adam Shute to score shorthanded. At the 3:47 mark, Mike Messenger would take an odd-angled shot that somehow sneaked by Geddie to tie the game 10-10.
Noble and Staats would score to give San Diego another two-goal lead with just over two minutes left to play. All hope would seem to be lost for the Rush.
There was a faint bit of light as Lintner scored with 39 seconds left with the extra attacker, but there wasn’t enough time to get the equalizer.
Top Scorers
SD
Austin Staats, 3g 3a
Jeremy Noble, 2g 4a
Wes Berg, 3g 2a
Sask
Mark Mathews, 2g 4a
Robert Church, 3g 2a
Ryan Keenan, 1g 3a
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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