Zach Manns scored six goals, including the overtime winner, as the Saskatchewan Rush beat the Halifax Thunderbirds 9-8 in the home opener.
After a slow start that saw the Rush trailing 6-2 at halftime, the tides turned on Co-op Field inside SaskTel Centre on Saturday night.
Newcomers Austin Shanks and Brock Haley had the first two tallies for the Rush before the game flipped on its head.
After not taking a single shot on goal in the opening half, Zach Manns scored five times in the second half to bring life to the Saskatchewan faithful.
Down 8-7 in the fourth quarter, Levi Anderson, making his NLL debut, scored his first career goal to force overtime.
In the extra frame, each team threw punches, and after a gruelling seven minutes, Zach Manns capped off the sock trip with his sixth goal of the game.
Frank Scigliano stopped 39/47 between the pipes for his second straight win. At the faceoff dot, Jake Naso won 12/21 against Jake Withers. Defender Jake Boudreau scooped up 21 loose balls, while Matt Hossack caused four turnovers out the back gate.
Next, the Rush will travel to Rochester to face the Knighthawks on Saturday, December 21st. The faceoff from Blue Cross Arena will be at 6:00 p.m. Saskatchewan time.
Saskatchewan is back home on December 28th for Sask Vegas night when the Philadelphia Wings are in town! Tickets can be found here.
