So much for home-floor advantage in the 2015 NLL Champions Cup finals.

In the three games between the Edmonton Rush and Toronto Rock so far this year, the visitor has emerged the victor – including Saturday's opener of the best-of-three series that saw the Rush win 15-9.

Now, Edmonton will look to finally reverse that trend as the finals make their way to Crystal Glass Field at Northlands on Friday (7:30 p.m., TSN1/4). But if the Rush are to win their inaugural NLL championship, they will have to beat a Rock club that is gunning for an NLL-record seventh title.

“I thought we finished well on our opportunities and I thought Aaron Bold was lights-out for us as well,” Rush head coach and GM Derek Keenan said on the TSN broadcast. “I thought we honestly gave them a little too much.

“They got inside a few times and we've got to be better on the back end.”

Bold stopped 39 of 48 shots in the winning effort, while at the other end of the floor, the Rock changed goalies three times.

“We've got to continue to get our shots, we've got to make him move side to side,” Rock forward Kasey Beirnes told TSN. “That's how we can beat him. If he sees our shot, he's going to stop it, he's a good goalie.”

But things didn't start out well on Saturday for the Rush after an own-goal opened the scoring in the championship series by rebounding off the foot of Rush transition player John LaFontaine.

Toronto took a 2-0 lead after Brock Sorensen scored three minutes in, but wouldn't get another one until a full quarter later.

The Rush offensive juggernaut, which scored a league-leading 241 goals over the regular season, took control of things with a quick succession of six-straight goals.

“We know our defence is going to play well, they just had a flukey goal and then another one in transition,” Rush forward Mark Matthews told TSN. “Five on five, our D's going to stop them and Boldy is playing well.

“We've just got to stick to our systems, which seemed to work there.”

Matthews scored Edmonton's first two goals and by the time Robert Church made it 6-2 for the visitors, Toronto made a goalie change, bringing Nick Rose in for Brandon Miller.

It seemed to spark their offence, as Toronto got back-to-back goals from Kasey Beirnes and Rob Hellyer, before Edmonton regained their four-goal cushion on goals by NLL rookie of the year candidate Ben McIntosh and transition player Jeremy Thompson.

Miller returned to the Rock crease to start the third quarter.

“We're here because of what he's done for us down the stretch,” Rock head coach John Lovell said on the broadcast coming out of halftime.

Toronto's offence responded to the goalie change once again, as Kevin Crowley scored unassisted 1:42 into the second half, before Matthews took a wild shot off the leg. But it didn't stop him from scoring his hat-trick goal on the power play to take a 10-5 lead.

Rock captain Josh Sanderson took advantage of a penalty on Edmonton for too many men with a power-play goal to trail 10-6, before Colin Doyle shrunk the lead to three.

After Church and Crowley both scored their second goals of the game to make it 11-8, Zack Greer took a long-bomb from Matthews in double coverage on the crease lip and put Edmonton up by four heading into the final frame.

Thompson, Greer, and Church scored before Miller made his second exit with Toronto trailing 15-8.

HURT PARADE: Things turned physical after Rock F Kasey Beirnes knocked the ball out of Rush D John Lintz's stick from behind to avoid a break away. Lintz then creamed Beirnes with a legit hit before being knocked down by Rock D Bill Greer ... Rush F Jarrett Davis had to leave momentarily early in the third quarter after taking an unintentional forearm to the head along the boards ... Rush T Adrian Sorichetti was levelled by a nasty shot from behind by Rock F Brett Hickey, who was given two minutes for illegal crosscheck ... Rush F Ben McIntosh appeared to be holding a yard sale for his equipment after taking a shot to the head by Rock F Patrick Merrill.

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Game grades

OFFENCE A

DEFENCE A

TRANSITION B

GOALTENDING B

POWER PLAY B+

PENALTY KILL B

EFFORT A

TOUGHNESS B

THREE STARS:

1. Aaron Bold, EDM

His one bad goal wasn't even his fault.

2. Mark Matthews, EDM

Forced in Edmonton's first two goals to keep them in early.

3. Robert Church, EDM

Like Matthews, also scored a hat trick and six points.

THE WHY ...

Because there are enough players left on the Rush roster from that heartbreaking loss in the 2012 championship who know these opportunities can come few and far between.

BIG HIT

After finding himself all alone in Toronto's zone on the receiving end of a long pass, Rush F Riley Loewen was triple-deckered by Rock players Jesse Gamble, Sandy Chapman and Damon Edwards for the hands-down hit of the game.

BIG EQUALIZER

After a little stick jousting between six-foot-2, 220-pound Rush D Kyle Rubisch and five-foot-seven, 160-pound Rock F Josh Sanderson, Toronto's captain chopped the knee of the three-time reigning NLL defender of the year until they were eye-to-eye. Sanderson got sent to the box after tackling Rubisch to the floor to finish the job as the first half wound down.

NEXT UP: The Champions Cup finals switch to Edmonton for Game 2 on Friday (7:30 p.m., TSN1/4) If necessary, Game 3 will go in Toronto on June 13 (7 p.m., TSN1).