The Saskatchewan Rush have joined some elite company as they won their third National Lacrosse League Cup in four years on Saturday night.

The Rush knocked off the Rochester Knighthawks, 15-10, in the decisive third game of the NLL Cup Final at a raucous SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon.

The win moved the Rush back to the top of the league after they lost to Georgia in last year's championship final. They are just the third franchise to win three titles in a four-year span.

"This one is that much sweeter," said Rush captain Chris Corbeil, who had a massive game with a hat trick in Game 3. "I really took a lot of ownership for what happened last year, it was a tough time for me, I dropped the ball and didn't give my brothers a chance, so tonight was unbelievably special."

In championship games, you need your leaders to lead the way and that’s exactly what the Rush got on Saturday.

Corbeil had just one point in the playoffs going into Game 3, but scored three times, including two breakaway goals that really got the Rush going; veteran Jeff Shattler scored four huge goals for Saskatchewan; and NLL leading scorer Mark Matthews finished with eight assists in the win.

"We proved that we're the best team this year, worked our bags off, sacrificed every weekend away from our families travelling, away from my kids, but it was all worth it when that buzzer went and we got to raise that cup," said Shattler, who joined the Rush during the offseason after 11 years in Calgary.

Shattler had won just one title during the first 12 years of his NLL career, but he said that he signed in Saskatchewan to specifically win a title.

Head Coach Derek Keenan said that you could see how much Shattler wanted the title, "We targeted Jeff Shattler on Aug. 1 at midnight and he was all-in from the beginning, it took us 24 hours to get a deal done and he was great all year, he fit in all year and his offence took over in the playoffs," he said.

The game had a decisive game feel in the early going as neither team wanted to be the first to make a mistake, which led to the Knighthawks holding a 1-0 lead after one.

The Rush took over in the second quarter as they opened with four straight goals from Shattler, Ben McIntosh, Ryan Keenan and Corbeil to jump out in front. Shattler and Curtis Knight would add two more goals in the frame as the Rush led 6-4 at halftime.

Rochester came out strong to start the third quarter with two goals each from Josh Currier and Cody Jamieson to put the Knighthawks in front 8-7. Saskatchewan controlled the game from there however as Shattler, Corbeil and Matthew Dinsdale scored over the final 3:55 of the third to make it 10-8 after three.

The Knighthawks cut the lead back down to one with three minutes gone in the fourth, but the Rush scored the final four goals to seal the win and the championship.

"We had a little more fuel in the tank than them, in the late third and into the fourth, we really put the hammer down and put up a bunch against a great defensive team and a great goalie," said Keenan. "Our transition game got going, we got contributions across the board on offence and I'm really happy for the guys, when it's that tough it makes it that much sweeter and it wasn't easy."

Goalie Evan Kirk, who was in his first season with the Rush, made 37 saves to win his first NLL Cup. He out-duelled Knighthawks netminder Matt Vinc, who also made 37 saves in Saturday’s final game.

Only Toronto's five titles in seven years and the Knighthawks run of three straight titles from 2012-14 compare to the Rush’s dominance over the past four seasons.

Rush transition Jeremy Thompson tried to put into words what it's been like to be a part of the run.

"It's been unbelievable experience," he said. "These guys have been together for a pretty good while now, we've had a core group that’s stuck together and we've just kept that going."

The Rush went 17-5 overall through the regular season and playoffs.