The Saskatchewan Rush extended their winning streak to six games in front of a sell out crowd at the SaskTel Centre Saturday night. The 11-9 win over the Calgary Roughnecks also guaranteed a home playoff game.
The Rush swept the four-game season series against the Roughnecks, pushing their record to 10-3.
After Dane Dobbie got on the board with an unassisted goal for Calgary, Saskatchewan punched right back with three unanswered marks. Two power play goals from Robert Church and Riley Loewen and an even strength tally from Mark Matthews got the 14,941 fans out of their seats.
The power play unit had a tremendous outing, scoring on five of seven attempts, while also finding the back of the net short handed for the 14th time this season.
Matthews and Church later deposited their second goals of the game in the second quarter, while Ben McIntosh found the back of the net for the 25th time. Matthews ended his night with a hat trick and three assists, scoring again in the fourth quarter to seal the game. Church also had a big night, ending with five points.
At halftime, the Rush were up 9-5. The Roughnecks wouldn’t go away, scoring three unanswered marks of their own in the third while shutting down Saskatchewan. Dobbie beat Aaron Bold for the second time while Curtis Dickson scored a pair. Dickson now has 50 goals to his name on the campaign.
It was 9-8 going into the final frame, but the Rush held on thanks in part to netminder Bold, who stopped 36 shots.
The Rush are now tied for first place in the West division with the Colorado Mammoth. They move on to play New England this Friday.
