YORKTON - Things were not looking good in the home opener for the Saskatchewan Rush.
With the Halifax Thunderbirds in Saskatoon the Rush did not get off to a good start trailing 6-2 at half time.
And then Zach Manns took over for the home side.
After not taking a single shot on goal in the opening half, Manns scored five times in the second half to put the Rush back in the mix, although still down 8-7.
It would be rookie Levi Anderson who potted his first NLL goal to force overtime.
And then it was back to Manns who scored the game-winner to complete his ‘sock trick’ the local term for a lacrosse double hat trick.
In a telephone interview with Yorkton This Week, Manns was modest of his late game heroics.
“I was just kind of playing the game the way it came to me,” he explained.
Interestingly, while six late goals is notable, in terms of the NLL on that night, it paled compared to eight goals by Calgary Roughneck Dane Dobbie – seven straight in a big comeback late, and the eighth in OT for the win.
“Eight goals in-a-row is insane,” said Manns.
Manns said the Rush offence as a whole was not firing early, so like many on the team added “I didn’t get my shots the first couple of quarters.”
As the offence started clocking Mann said he just “happened to that guy” who was potting the goals.
The home field win was the second OT win by the Rush to start the season, showing the team has some resiliency this season that seemed lacking last season.
Manns said he feels it’s a combination of a couple of new players contributing, and of course the team gaining experience.
“Last year we lost a lot of one-goal games,” he said. “You’ve got to win those games if you want to make the playoffs in this league.”
While the Rush found a way to comeback late and win two in extra time, Manns said the team needs to get better starts.
Still, the defence has been stingy starting with netminder Frank Scigliano who stopped 39/47 between the pipes for his second straight win to start the season in the home opener, and has allowed only 17-goals through two.
Manns said Scigliano “has been great for us to start the season.”
At the face-off dot, Jake Naso won 12/21 against Jake Withers, another big key for the Rush.
“That’s the way they (the Thunderbirds) beat us last year,” offered Manns, noting one game when Halifax scored four before the Rush had a shot based on winning face-offs.
“It’s huge momentum when you score and get the ball back,” he said. “Last year we struggled at the ‘X’ (face-off dot). We didn’t really have a face-off guy.”
Naso looks to have filled the role, one Manns said is demanding.
“It’s a very tiring job,” he said, explaining the player is basically in a lose ball battle every face-off, and in a lacrosse game there are going to be 20-plus a game, sometimes 30, or more.
Speaking of loose ball battles defender Jake Boudreau scooped up 21 loose balls setting a new Rush record.
Manns said, much like winning face-offs, picking up loose balls, is all about a team getting crucial ball possessions.
The Rush return to Co-op Field in Saskatoon Dec. 28, when Philadelphia will be in town.
