The Battle of Alberta is heating up once again, but this time it’s not the Eskimos or the Oilers rushing down the QEII.
For the first time ever, the Edmonton Rush lacrosse team has made the post-season and, as luck would have it, they’ve drawn the Calgary Roughnecks as their first opponent.
“There’s a hatred between us and them,” said Corey Small, a Rush rookie. “We do things our way and they kind of do things their way and it makes for a good game, usually.”
The three games the Rush played against the Roughnecks this season were close, fight-filled affairs and Small said he’s looking forward to the fourth instalment.
“I can’t wait. It’s my first playoff game as a rookie so I’m real excited going into the weekend,” he said. “I’ll have a few butterflies before the game but I’m looking forward to it for sure.”
The last time Jimmy Quinlan played in a playoff game was for the Toronto Rock in 2005. His team won the championship that year.
“I’ve got a pretty good winning percentage in playoff games,” he laughed. “I just haven’t been there very often.”
Quinlan will get his second shot at the post-season this Saturday and the captain already has his game face on, not to mention a playoff beard.
“To be truthful, it’s probably one of the teams we hate the most in the league. I don’t know for what reason, we just don’t really like each other tough,” said the Rush assistant captain.
The Rush’s playoff debut goes this Saturday in Calgary. Catch it live at edmontonrush.com.
