A six-goal first period helped propel the Saskatchewan Rush to a big 16-9 win over the Stealth in Vancouver on Saturday night.

Curtis Knight had four goals and five points in the win, while Robert Church scored a hat trick and eight points, and Ben McIntosh also picked up a hat trick and four points.

“We had a good strong start, Kirkie (goalie Evan Kirk) made a couple big saves and then our offence got rolling,” Rush GM/head coach Derek Keenan told SaskRush.com. “We dictated the pace and played extremely well in the first half.”

Church and Mark Matthews scored twice each in the opening frame, while Knight and Matthew Dinsdale also found the back of the net to allow the Rush to jump out to the big early lead.

Saskatchewan continued to pepper the Stealth net in the second quarter. McIntosh scored twice in the second; Church completed his hat trick; while Jeff Shattler and Chris Corbeil gave the Rush an 11-3 lead at the halftime break.

McIntosh and Knight scored again in the third quarter, while Matt Hossack helped keep Saskatchewan in front by eight.

Knight scored twice again in the fourth quarter to finish off his big night.

Logan Schuss had two goals and four points for the Stealth in the loss.

Rush goalie Evan Kirk turned away 38-of-47 shots to pick-up the victory, while Saskatchewan peppered Vancouver’s net with 54 shots in the win.

The Rush improve to 8-1 on the year, while moves them three games ahead of the Colorado Mammoth in the Western Division. Saskatchewan is also a perfect 6-0 on the road.

The Rush are off until Saturday when they will head to Rochester to battle the Knighthawks.