Winning a chapter in the Battle of Alberta is a rush like no other Brandon Atherton has ever felt before in his lacrosse career.
For that to happen, his Edmonton Rush had to go into a hostile environment Saturday afternoon at Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary and beat the defending champions of the National Lacrosse League.
That's precisely what the Rush did, beating the Roughnecks 11-7 in a sudden-death West Division semifinal playoff, sending most of the 10,388 spectators home disappointed.
"Edmonton was bound to win the Battle of Alberta sooner or later, and this is our year," said Atherton, the Rush backup goaltender and a Prince George minor lacrosse graduate.
"It was a gritty effort and it speaks volumes to the kind of depth we have in the dressing room. I think that can take us all the way and I'm excited about that."
Calgary outshot the Rush 67-37 but couldn't get the better of goalie Matt Disher enough times to extend their season.
"The game was exciting, the shots on goal didn't really dictate how the game went, we kept them to the outside a lot and they took a lot of outside shots," Atherton said. "We ran the ball up the floor really well, our transition was dynamite and our goaltender Matt Disher stood on his head on more than one occasion. Seven goals on 67 shots (for an 89.5 save percentage), that's out of his mind."
For more, see The Citizen
