Sask. Rush fall 17-12 in Halifax to open 2023-24 NLL season

Rush open new season in Halifax WATCH: The Saskatchewan Rush are in Halifax to begin a new NLL season Friday night.

The Saskatchewan Rush opened their 2023-24 National Lacrosse League (NLL) regular season with a 17-12 loss in Halifax to the Thunderbirds Friday night.

The Rush found themselves down 9-4 after the first quarter and 11-5 at the mid-way break and were unable to recover in the second half of the contest, but outscored the Thunderbirds 6-3 in the fourth quarter.

Zack Manns scored a hat-trick and added three assists in his Rush debut, the Victoria, B.C, product spent the first three years of his NLL career with the Toronto Rock.

The Rush were outshot 66-46 by the Thunderbirds which saw goaltender Frank Scigilano allow nine goals on 36 shots before Laine Hruska turned away 22 of 30 shots after coming in later in the game.

The Rush will host the Rochester Nighthawks at SaskTel Centre at 7 p.m. on Dec. 9 for their home opener.