‘Championship or bust’: Saskatchewan Rush fighting to return to NLL final

WATCH: As the National Lacrosse League season gets underway, the Saskatchewan Rush have their sights set on returning to the finals.

After a heartbreaking loss in Game 3 of the National Lacrosse League final, the Saskatchewan Rush have returned with their eyes on the prize this season.

“We thought we had the team to do it last year. We brought everyone back and that’s the goal this season. It’s pretty much championship or bust,” Zack Manns, a forward for the Rush said.

The Rush began their season on Saturday with a narrow win against the Calgary Roughnecks, in a final score of 16-13.

“I don’t think we’re going to take any style points for the win. But a win’s a win in the National Lacrosse League. We actually had a really good first half,” Head Coach Derek Keenan said.

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Keenan says he sees similarities between his team’s recent win and their final game last season.

“We have that attitude of rock, chisel, hammer on our team — just keep grinding and good things happen,” Keenan said.

The head coach shared that those games offered important lessons as the team heads into the season.

“It goes right back to the final game last year when, for 30 minutes, we weren’t very good. In particular, we didn’t play our defense consistently; our system consistently for 60 minutes. And the same thing happened the other night against Calgary. We got off it a little bit,” Keenan said.

The Rush has many returning players from last season. Manns says the consistency on his team’s roster will be useful heading into this season.

“We feel good. We have that playoff experience. We returned pretty much everyone on the entire team. So we have some building blocks to build upon now. And we’re excited to play this season,” Manns said.

The team’s head coach echoed the sentiment. He says the athletes have developed very positive relations with one another, which he hopes translates on to the turf.

“They would stay out there [practicing] for hours if I let them. So they really like the hard work part of it ... they’re a real tight knit group, and they all get along really well and respect one another. We have really good leadership, you know, and that starts with being a good teammate,” Keenan said.

While the season has only just begun, the Rush are hoping to build off the momentum from last season, while taking it one game at a time.

“It’s hard to win in this league. We won a lot of games last year, but nothing’s guaranteed this year. So just working hard and winning every game we can,” Manns said.

The Rush are on the road this weekend. They’re scheduled to face off against the Ottawa Black Bears on Friday. Their next home game is set for December 20th, against the Georgia Swarm.

“I think that when the building is full, I think that’s when Saskatoon’s at its best. And I think that the more people that we can get in the building and show what a beautiful game we play, the better,” Manns said.