There was only one game this past weekend but it was an exciting game, particularly the crazy ending. The finals are now set and will feature the Buffalo Bandits hosting the Saskatchewan Rush in a rematch of the 2016 finals. The Rush won that series in two straight but both teams are very different now. The 2025 Finals will be a great series.

HFX @ SSK, Game 2

Similar to game 1, the Rush led through most of the game but didn’t really dominate. Halifax was down by three in the first but then clawed back to tie it up in the second and twice in the third but never grabbed the lead until almost twelve minutes into the fourth. And then all hell broke loose, but we’ll get back to that.

It was a back and forth game but very slowly. From 8:06 of the second quarter to 12:03 of the fourth (a span of 34 minutes), there were six goals, and each goal was more than ten minutes after that team’s previous goal – the Rush goal at 12:03 of the fourth was their first in over 23 minutes. In the fourth quarter, there was no scoring until 11:37 – and suddenly there were six goals in 3½ minutes, each scored less than a minute after the previous one.

Both goalies were excellent, and defences too. Mike Messenger was everywhere, and look at the Rush D guys that got points in this game: Hossack, Boudreau, Barnable, Messenger, Garlent, and Kidd. That tells you how well the transition was working. Meanwhile, all of the points on Halifax were from forwards, indicating that their transition was not working (or at least not scoring) quite as well.

Of course the biggest story of this game was the ending. The Thunderbirds scored with a little over three minutes left to take a lead, which the Rush wiped out 26 seconds later. Thomas Hoggarth scored for Halifax 24 seconds after that and less than a minute later, he scored again to give the Thunderbirds a two goal lead with about a minute and a half left. But the ’Birds had just scored two goals in 57 seconds, and there was no reason to think the Rush couldn’t do that as well. Zach Manns scored 52 seconds after Hoggarth’s second to get the Rush within one with 44 seconds left. Then in a bit of a weird play, Mike Messenger hit Ryan Terefenko with a great stick check to force a turnover. Ryan Barnable grabbed the loose ball and passed it up to Matt Hossack near the net. After looking for someone to pass to, he decided there wasn’t anyone so he should just shoot it himself. He shot a bouncer by Warren Hill and tied the game with six seconds left, causing mayhem in the stands and on the floor.

Ryan Keenan celebrates

The attendance at this game was only about 5,800 (see below), but they were as loud as Banditland when that ball went in, and then again when the automatic review came back with “The call on the floor is confirmed. Good goal”. We went to overtime and after a couple of scoring chances at both ends, Thunderbird rookie Mike Robinson took a boarding penalty. It wasn’t emotional or retaliatory or stupid or anything, just careless. The Rush went on the power play and only ten seconds later, Austin Shanks punched the Rush’s ticket to the finals by scoring on his former team.

The Thunderbirds trailed for most of the game but managed to tie it up a couple of times. At no point were they even close to being out of it. But then they got some life in the fourth and suddenly they were on the verge of winning and forcing game three. Then the craziness happened and in less than three minutes of playing time, they went from “about to win” to “done for the season”.

Halifax fans didn’t just have their hearts broken. Their hearts were ripped out of their chests, stomped on, and set on fire.

Meanwhile the Rush fans (at least the ones who didn’t leave when they were down by two with a minute left) were treated to an exciting ending and now get to watch their team in the finals for the first time since 2018. This is particularly impressive since this is only the second time the Rush have made the playoffs since 2018.

Not Awesome

Halifax discipline

This is not the first time I’ve talked about this, and I’ve heard others talk about it too. The Thunderbirds really need to do something about their discipline issues. Taking dumb and unnecessary penalties is something every team has to deal with but this season, it’s Halifax more than most. They have 109 PIM in three games in the 2025 playoffs, more than double any other team.

It’s great to have passionate players but when they let their emotions get the better of them and take dumb penalties (Tyson Bell), or are just careless and take unnecessary penalties (Mike Robinson), that’s detrimental to the team. In a potential season-ending game, that’s unforgivable.

Attendance in SSK, again

Speaking of things I’ve written about before, I wrote about this a couple of weeks ago when the Rush only managed 5,434 to their quarterfinal game. They did get more at their semi-final game on Saturday but only an extra 395 people. Since I wrote about it before, I won’t say much more than this: under 6,000 for a potential series-ending semi-final game in a place that used to pull in 14k regularly is pretty lame.

Integrity

Not awesome: Questioning an award-winning writer’s journalistic integrity because you misunderstood something.
Even worse: Doing it publicly instead of privately.
Worse still: Not apologizing or even responding when called on it.

Adam Levi’s departure

2024 Tom Borrelli award-winning journalist, podcast host, and nugget-finder Adam Levi announced on Monday morning that he will be stepping away from covering lacrosse. Adam is one of the best and most prolific people covering this league, and nobody works harder than he does at getting not just the stats but the stories behind them. This is not just a league of numbers but a league of people who have stories that deserve to be told, and Adam is one of the best at doing that. Adam’s departure is a huge loss for the NLL community – listing this under “Not Awesome” is the understatement of the year. I wish nothing but the best for Adam going forward and if he decides to return to the NLL space, he should be welcomed back with open arms.