Saskatchewan Rush preparing for NLL finals against Buffalo

It’s a big weekend for the Saskatchewan Rush as the team prepares for the National Lacrosse League finals.

The Rush take on the Buffalo Bandits and will travel to Buffalo, New York on Friday to take on the Bandits for the first game of the best-of-three series.

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Saskatchewan is coming off a thrilling overtime win over the Halifax Thunderbirds that saw the team tie the game up with six seconds left before delivering the final blow in overtime.

In their only meeting this season, the Rush fell to the Bandits 9-7. Now, Saskatchewan is looking to stop the Bandits from winning their third straight NLL finals.

Jake Boudreau, Rush transition player, joined the Green Zone to share his thoughts on the upcoming series. He said his team’s work ethic and athleticism will be a big factor in the series.

“We’re really hard working, and that’s contagious,” he said. “We’re fast, athletic, we get along, and that goes a long way.”

Boudreau said seeing all the hard work pay off when Mike Messenger’s diving play in the fourth quarter led to the tying goal was very motivational.

“We have started to work harder and harder each game,” he said.

“It was inspirational to see some of these guys diving on the floor and making plays just with pure heart.”

Boudreau described it as the best play he’s ever seen, and said it sent a message to the rest of the league.

“With that effort, we barely squeaked out a win in overtime,” he said. “You could give your best effort and lose, so in lacrosse, especially in a series of three, some bounces and luck obviously goes into it.”

As for how the team will prepare for Buffalo, Boudreau said they won’t make too many changes.

“We don’t really play based on the opponent,” he said. “We basically have our systems in place, and it’s the same every single game.”

The Rush are starting the series in Buffalo, but Boudreau said that isn’t something that bothers the team.

“It’s not going to bug us,” he said. “It’s not going to help us, but it’s just kind of something that’s happening in the back.”

But Buffalo could be a challenge for the Rush, and Boudreau pointed out that the Bandits have plenty of work ethic as well.

“They were the hardest-working team that we’ve played this year,” he said. “Their offense has played together for a long time. Their chemistry just looks amazing some nights, so that’s going to be a challenge.”

The Rush last made it to the NLL finals in 2018, when they beat the Rochester Knighthawks.

Game one is set for Friday at 5:30 p.m. local time.

Game two, in Saskatoon, starts at 6 p.m. on Sunday.