The Saskatchewan Rush are capable of recapturing the Champion’s Cup, and they just proved it.

The Rush flew to Georgia for their first game against the Swarm since Georgia ended their two-year National Lacrosse League championship reign last spring and posted a decisive 13-9 win Saturday. They never trailed and, after breaking a 2-2 tie, they were in control.

“It’s a big psychological win for us,” general manager and coach Derek Keenan said. “We lost the cup final to them last year, didn’t win a game in their building last year, so this was very important.”

Two last-minute Swarm goals reduced the victory margin but did not diminish its relevance, as Saskatchewan improved to 3-0.

“It was a pretty tight game for the most part,” Keenan said. “We got on a roll in the third quarter, stuck to the plan and started to put a few past [goaltender Mike] Poulin. They played really well. It wasn’t easy to get inside and get quality shots. We wore them down a little. Transition goals were big. We scored five or six in transition, and that was the game.”

Evan Kirk again delivered standout goaltending behind a defense that relentlessly pursued the ball. Keenan’s moves to strengthen the back end are working.

“He’s been good,” Keenan said of Kirk. “He made a lot of big saves. Games like that can go either way. Our defense has been more tenacious playing with a lot more grit.”

Robert Church and Jeff Shattler each scored three goals and Mark Matthews continued quarterbacking the offense as if earning another ring is his life’s purpose.

“Our goalie was unreal, our defense played tough, and our offense was going,” Shattler said. “We’re playing really well right now.”

Georgia fell to 1-3.

“It’s about staying positive,” said Shayne Jackson, who scored three goals for the Swarm. “Kirk played unbelievable. As long as we’re getting the chances, I think we’re alright. It’s just about burying them.”

“Five-on-five, we were even with Saskatchewan,” Georgia coach Ed Comeau said. “We got crushed in the transition game.”

“We gave up six goals in the third quarter and four of them were transition. That was the difference,” Comeau continued. “It wasn’t anything we didn’t expect from them. We knew they were going to run and create those opportunities. We have to address how we take care of that and how we turn it around.”

PHOTO BY RYAN MCCULLOGH/NLL

ROCK SET RECORD

Toronto lost its first two games 13-9 in Buffalo and 17-9 at home against Saskatchewan, but the Rock have rebounded with a 20-13 home win over Buffalo and a 24-7 victory in Vancouver thanks to a much-improved offense. Some tinkering did the trick.

“We made some lineup changes, inserted Dan Craig and Kieran McArdle, and switched from a strong right side to a strong left side,” coach Matt Sawyer said. “So far, the results look pretty good.”

Tom Schreiber, who had five goals and seven assists, Rob Hellyer (3g, 9a), Adam Jones (4g, 6a), McArdle (3g, 6a) and Craig (3g, 2a) piled up the points in the latest win Saturday night, when the Rock pelted shellshocked Stealth goalies Tye Belanger and Brodie MacDonald with 79 shots.

Toronto led 10-0 after one quarter and 17-1 at halftime, which meant the Rock eclipsed the previous NLL record for most goals in a half, 16, by the one-year Montreal Express on Nov. 24, 2001, in a 32-17 win in Calgary. The Rock deserved everything they got. Nick Rose played the first three quarters and was superb in the nets and his teammates gathered in 78 loose balls to 48 for the Stealth

WANTED: GOALTENDERS

Vancouver’s 0-4 woes make it abundantly clear that a championship is out of reach when a team lacks consistently reliable goaltending. It’ll be interesting to see where San Diego and Philadelphia, the expansion franchises set to begin play next fall, will find goalies good enough to make them competitive.

Brandon Miller will probably be the best goalie available when an expansion draft is held next summer. Miller is out of Toronto’s lineup indefinitely with what the Rock describe as an upper body injury. Rookie Riley Hutchcraft backed up Nick Rose in the nets in Vancouver on Saturday and, with the result a given, got to play the fourth quarter.

Miller, 38, has come a long way since debuting in the league in 2001 after being the 70th player selected in the 1999 entry draft. In 2013 with Philadelphia, he was runner-up to Rochester’s Matt Vinc in NLL Goalie of the Year voting, and his late-season play last season was a big reason why the Rock nailed down second place in the NLL East.

If Miller can overcome this latest physical setback and opt to continue playing, he might be the first player selected in the expansion draft. I’d love to see him back in Philly for the return of the Wings.

BANDITS PERFECT AT HOME

Buffalo goalie Alex Buque, pulled in his previous start, put on an impressive 44-save show as the Bandits defeated Calgary 13-8 on Saturday. Buffalo evened its record at 2-2, improving to 2-0 at home.

Buque usually responds to disappointment with a solid outing, and he did it again. Four goals from Callum Crawford helped.

The only thing not perfect in Buffalo is attendance. Numbers have dropped significantly.

BREAKAWAY BREAKTHROUGH

Justin Martin scored his first NLL goal on a breakaway to give the Bandits a 5-3 lead in the second quarter. The 22-year-old defenseman is in his second season in Buffalo after being drafted 13th overall in 2016. Martin, who is from Oakville, Ontario, via the University of Guelph, wears 21.

HALL OF FAME

There were no additions to the NLL Hall of Fame in 2017, making it the first year there were no inductees since the Feb. 23, 2006, announcement of charter members Russ Cline, Chris Fritz, Gary Gait, Paul Gait and Les Bartley.

Expect an announcement from the league soon.

Four obvious candidates for induction: John Grant Jr., Colin Doyle, Shawn Williams and Anthony Cosmo.

PLPA REPS

This season marks the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Professional Lacrosse Players’ Association. Player reps for 2018 are: Mitch De Snoo, Buffalo; Dan MacRae and Chad Cummings, Calgary; Dan Coates and Joey Cupido, Colorado; Kiel Matisz and Mike Poulin, Georgia; Kyle Buchanan and David Brock, New England; Dylan Evans, Rochester; Chris Corbeil and Adrian Sorichetti, Saskatchewan; Reid Reinholdt, Toronto; Corey Small and Andrew Suitor, Vancouver.

NUMBERS

Some players are instantly recognizable during games because they always wear the same number.

Dhane Smith wears 92 with the Bandits, and he also wore 92 with the MLL Rochester Rattlers and the MSL Six Nations Chiefs last summer. Kevin Crowley wears 21 with the New England Black Wolves, and he also wore 21 with his Charlotte MLL team and with the WLA New Westminster Salmonbellies last summer.

A lineup might be required to identify some other players.

Brodie Merrill is 37 with the Rock, and he wore 17 with the MLL Boston Cannons and 27 with Six Nations last summer. Kyle Jackson has 47 with the Knighthawks after wearing 49 with the Cannons and 77 with the Chiefs.

TIME TRAVEL

Jan. 6, 2006: The Edmonton Rush played their first game and their home opener, losing 10-9 in overtime to the San Jose Stealth, in front of 11,385 spectators in Rexall Place.

Jan. 10, 2004: The Arizona Sting defeated the Anaheim Storm 19-18 in triple overtime in front of 6,476 spectators at the Arrowhead Pond in the NLL’s first regular-season game in southern California.