Rush drop game 2 with 13-8 loss to Knighthawks; NLL title series tied 1-1

With three National Lacrosse League championships to his name, it seems like Matt Vinc is trying to singlehandedly add a fourth to his collection.

The Rochester Knighthawks goaltender made 47 saves as Rochester defeated the Saskatchewan Rush 13-8 on Saturday to draw even in the NLL championship series.

The best-of-three series will be decided next Saturday in Saskatoon, just the second time in the five-year history of the three-game format that a decisive third game will be needed.

"We just have to go out there and limit their runs," Vinc said. "It's a big stage. Hopefully we come out with a big game."

Saskatchewan, which won the first game behind a seven-goal run, couldn't score more than two straight as Vinc increased his league-record playoff save total to 942. The eight goals were the fewest allowed by an NLL team in a championship round since Calgary won 10-7 against Rochester in 2014.

"We made a lot of mistakes," Rush coach Derek Keenan said. "I don't think we executed our shooting plan very well, but [Vinc] was great tonight. We couldn't get a run going."

Josh Currier scored four times, while Graeme Hossack and Cody Jamieson added two each for Rochester, which won its 15th straight home playoff game to extend a league record.

Jeff Shattler scored three goals and Ryan Keenan added two for Saskatchewan, which is looking for its second championship in three years. Evan Kirk made 39 saves for the Rush.

Saskatchewan scored on two of its first three shots to take an early lead. Defence then prevailed on both sides before Currier scored midway through the first quarter. The Knighthawks then scored twice in a 1:06 span late in the frame before Keenan tallied with 3.2 seconds remaining to tie the game at 3-3.

Austin Shanks gave Rochester a 4-3 lead with a short-handed goal 26 seconds into the second quarter, and Currier gave the Knighthawks a two-goal cushion at the 5:08 mark after cutting across from the left side and sneaking a shot past Kirk.

"There was still a lot of lacrosse left and they're too good to put it on one spot, but it was huge," Rochester coach Mike Hasen said. "To get the one short-handed was a good spot for us."

"They played desperate. They earned the win," coach Keenan said. "We didn't play hard enough for the full 60 minutes. We had some guys underperform. Those guys will be better next week, without a doubt."

Vinc stopped 10-of-11 shots in the second period as Rochester outscored the Rush 5-1 in the quarter to hold an 8-4 half-time advantage.

In the third period, Vinc made 12 stops as the Knighthawks extended their lead to 10-5. The Rochester goalie stopped Adrian Sorichetti on a breakaway with about 8:30 remaining, then foiled Mark Matthews on a point-blank shot with just over five minutes to go.

"He took away the far side so I tried to put it short side," Sorichetti said. "It just didn't bounce."

"I was just trying to make one save at a time," Vinc said. "I was fortunate to help out our team. The offence scored some real timely goals to really put us in a good position."

Each team scored three goals in the final quarter, with Brad Gillies scoring into an empty net with 2:20 remaining to put
Rochester up 13-7.

In a coin toss held at halftime, the NLL determined that the San Diego expansion team had their choice of the first choice in either the entry or expansion draft. The Gulls elected to take the first pick in the entry draft, leaving the Philadelphia franchise to lead off the expansion draft. Both drafts will be conducted this summer.