Shanks stings former club as Rush advance to NLL Finals
May 10, 2025Saskatoon, SK – After one of the craziest comebacks in lacrosse history, the Saskatchewan Rush advanced to the finals with a 10-9 overtime win over the Halifax Thunderbirds in the 2025 NLL Playoffs presented by PlayNow.
Robert Church found the back of the net twice in the opening quarter, with Zach Manns and Holden Garlent also lighting the lamp as the home side jumped out to a 4-3 lead on Co-op Field.
In the second quarter, Ryan Keenan gave Saskatchewan a 5-4 lead heading into half.
Mike Messenger scored in the third quarter, but the Thunderbirds tied it up, sending the game into the fourth quarter tied 6-6.
Halifax responded to Austin Shanks’ 7-7 tying goal with two of their own, grabbing a 9-7 lead with a minute left, before chaos ensued. With 44 seconds remaining, Zach Manns put a perfect shot under the bar, cutting the lead down to one. Then, with less than 10 seconds to play, Mike Messenger caused a turnover and Matt Hossack did the unthinkable, tying the game at 9-9 with three seconds to play.
In overtime, the Rush got a powerplay and it was the former Halifax Thunderbird star, Austin Shanks who sent the Saskatchewan Rush to the final with his second goal of the game.
Between the pipes, Frank Scigliano made 45 saves. At the dot, Jake Naso won 12/22 faceoffs against Jake Withers.
Next up, a rematch of the 2016 NLL Championship. Saskatchewan will face Buffalo in a best-of-three series, starting on Friday, May 16th.
Full Schedule:
Game 1 – Friday, May 16th – KeyBank Centre - 5:30PM
Game 2 – Sunday, May 18th – Co-op Field - 6:00PM
Game 3 – Saturday, May 24th – KeyBank Centre - 2:30PM
Tickets for game two in Saskatchewan will go on sale Monday morning at 10AM.