Rush vs Roughnecks Tonight at Scotiabank Saddledome
March 14, 2014 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Edmonton Rush News Release
Edmonton, AB---The Edmonton Rush take their NLL record for the best-ever start to season into hostile territory as they battle the Calgary Roughnecks tonight.
This will be the second of four meetings in this year's edition of the NLL's Battle of Alberta. The Rush have an early lead in the season series as they blasted the Roughnecks 15-8 at Rexall Place back on Jan. 17. The teams will round out the season series with a home-and-home set on April 12th (at Calgary) and 19th (at Edmonton).
Following their win over Vancouver, and Calgary's 10-9 loss to Colorado, the Rush have a 3.5-game lead plus one game in-hand over the Roughnecks in the NLL's West Division.
The Rush claimed the NLL record for the best-ever start to season last week as they narrowly slipped past the Vancouver Stealth 10-9 on Crystal Glass Field. That victory eclipsed the previous NLL record of 8-0 set by the Buffalo Bandits in 1993. With the Rush moving to 9-0, they can now target the NLL record for longest winning streak in a season which is 12 set by Rochester in 2007.
Edmonton needed a big fourth quarter to extend their unbeaten winning streak against the Stealth, but two key goals from Cory Conway and Robert Church rounding out his first NLL career hat trick did the job for the Rush. Chris Corbeil added two goals for the Rush including his third shorthanded goal of the season, while Jarrett Davis and Mark Matthews each notched a goal and three assists. Curtis Knight had the other goal for the Rush with goalie Aaron Bold registering a season-high 41 saves to pick up his league-leading eighth win of the year.
The Rush's winning streak jumped to three games with their victory over Calgary and also ended their own seven-game home-turf losing streak against the Roughnecks. The Rush had not beaten the Roughnecks in Edmonton since a 14-11 verdict in 2010. Calgary won three of four games against the Rush in 2013, but the margin of victory in those games totaled just five goals. The Roughnecks won a pair of one-goal games, none more heartbreaking than a 12-11 overtime win in the regular-season finale at Rexall Place.
Mark Matthews lead the Rush to the big win earlier this season, racking up seven points including four goals, while Curtis Knight tagged along with four goals including two power-play markers. Chris Corbeil added to the Rush attack with a hat trick that featured two shorthanded goals and rookies Robert Church (two goals) and Riley Loewen (four assists) played big roles on offense. Jarrett Davis and John Lafontaine added goals for the Rush.
The Rush were just as dominant defensively against Calgary as goaltender Aaron Bold supplied 38 saves, Chris Corbeil racked up nine loose balls, and Kyle Rubisch, the two-time NLL Defensive Player of the Year, tallied eight loose balls and two forced turnovers.
Mark Matthews holds down top spot on the Rush in points (41) and assists (24), and is tied for the goal-scoring lead with Curtis Knight at 17. Knight is second on the team with 33 points, and Cory Conway is second in assists with 20.
Rush vs. Roughnecks - Season-by-Season Glance
2014
15-8 Rush win at Edmonton (Mark Matthews tallies seven points including four goals)
2013
12-11 OT Roughnecks win at Edmonton (Shawn Evans caps 10-point game with OT winner)
18-13 Rush win at Calgary (Ryan Ward sets Rush reg. season record with 10 points)
9-8 Roughnecks win at Calgary (Curtis Dickson scores four goals including game-winner)
18-15 Roughnecks win at Edmonton (Jeff Shattler tallies two goals and adds six assists)
2012
*19-11 Rush win at Calgary (Ryan Ward sets Rush record with 11-point game)
9-6 Roughnecks win at Edmonton (Shawn Evans racks up four goals and two assists)
16-9 Roughnecks win at Calgary (Shawn Evans pots five goals including penalty shot tally)
13-10 Roughnecks win at Edmonton (Curtis Dickson with four goals and three assists)
12-8 Roughnecks win at Calgary (Curtis Dickson nets hat trick plus two assists)
*denotes playoff game
2011
19-14 Roughnecks win at Calgary (Jeff Shattler totals nine points with one goal and eight assists)
15-11 Roughnecks win at Edmonton (Dane Dobbie collects three goals and six assists)
12-11 Roughnecks OT win at Calgary (Mike Scherman pots the game-winner)
12-11 Roughnecks win at Edmonton (Jeff Shattler notches hat trick plus five assists)
2010
*11-7 Rush win at Calgary (Ryan Ward notches nine points including eight assists)
13-8 Roughnecks win at Calgary (Josh Sanderson picks up three goals and three assists)
14-13 Roughnecks OT win at Edmonton (Josh Sanderson earns hat trick including game-winner)
14-11 Rush win at Edmonton (Dean Hill notches hat trick and adds one assist)
*denotes playoff game
2009
10-9 Roughnecks OT win at Calgary (Curt Malawsky notches the game-winner)
22-10 Roughnecks win at Edmonton (Dane Dobbie collects 11 points including seven goals)
14-13 Roughnecks win at Edmonton (Tracey Kelusky racks up eight points including four goals)
2008
11-9 Rush win at Edmonton (Jimmy Quinlan pots four goals plus one assist)
18-7 Roughnecks win at Calgary (Kaleb Toth registers nine points including four goals)
12-8 Roughnecks win at Edmonton (Curt Malawsky registers four goals and one assist)
2007
13-12 Roughnecks win at Edmonton (Kaleb Toth and Lewis Ratcliff each with four points)
13-12 Rush win at Calgary (Chris Gill sets club record with six goals)
17-11 Roughnecks win at Edmonton (Tracey Kelusky collects two goals and seven assists)
2006
11-9 Roughnecks win at Calgary (Lewis Ratcliff scores five goals)
12-9 Roughnecks win at Edmonton (Kaleb Toth and Tracey Kelusky each with seven points)
12-11 Rush win at Calgary (Pat Campbell earns player of the game with 54 saves)
16-9 Roughnecks win at Edmonton (Lewis Ratcliff notches four goals and two assists)
Road Warriors: The Rush have the NLL's longest road winning streak so far this season at four games with wins over Colorado, Vancouver, Philadelphia, and Minnesota. But a deeper look at Edmonton's road run has them riding a 10-game unbeaten streak away from Rexall Place. The Rush won six road games in a row to end the 2013 season, and have not lost on the road since a 9-8 setback in Calgary back on Feb. 9, 2013.
Statistically Speaking: Two key members of the Rush's league-leading defense are ranked number one in key categories. Rush goalie Aaron Bold is tops in the NLL in wins (eight) and goals-against average (8.34), while two-time reigning NLL Defender of the Year Kyle Rubisch is tops in the league with 26 forced turnover - eight of those coming against Vancouver last wekeend. Bold is also tied for second in the NLL with an .810 save-percentage, and Rubisch is third on the Rush with 68 loose balls ... The Rush have given up the fewest goals in the NLL (73) and have lowest goals-against per game average (8.1) ... Calgary has scored the most goals per game this season, averaging 13.4 ... Rush captain Chris Corbeil is tied for the league lead with three shorthanded goals on the year, and as a team, the Rush are also tied for second in the NLL with five shorthanded goals ... Corbeil also leads all NLL defenders with seven goals ... Calgary's all-purpose threat Geoff Snider leads the NLL in loose balls (133) and faceoff wins (186) ... Calgary's offense boasts Shawn Evans, who is second in points (65) and first in assists (54), along with Dane Dobbie who is the league's top scorer with 30.
By The Numbers: The Rush's Robert Church and Riley Loewen are amongst the NLL's leaders in rookie scoring. Church is third in points (24), fifth in goals (10) and third in assists (14), while Loewen is fourth in points (23) and goals (11) ... Rush transition Jeremy Thompson is sixth in the NLL in faceoff wins (116 - 56.0%) and sixth in loose balls (95). Thompson earned 12 loose balls against Vancouver last weekend ... Thompson and teammate Brett Mydske are tied for seventh in the NLL with 14 forced turnovers ... Rush defender Jeff Cornwall had a strong outing against the Stealth, picking up eight loose balls plus five forced turnovers. He also earned a couple shifts on offense when Riley Loewen went down with an injury ... The Rush have outscored their opposition 30-19 in first quarters, and 27-17 in third-quarter action this season ... Calgary boasts the NLL's top power play (24-for-39 - 61.5%) and penalty kill (22 goals allowed in 60 shorthanded situations - 63.3%). The Rush rank sixth on the power play (43.9%) and fourth on the penalty kill (55.6%) ... Roughnecks Dane Dobbie and Jeff Shattler are tied for the league lead with eight power-play goals ... This season, Calgary is 5-0 when leading after three quarters but 1-3 when trailing after the first quarter. The Roughnecks are also 2-3 when scoring the game's first goal.
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