Rush Prepared for Home Opener
January 10, 2015 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Edmonton Rush News Release
Edmonton, AB---- The Edmonton Rush begin the home-turf schedule of their 10th anniversary season as they host the Minnesota Swarm on Saturday night.
Both teams will also be looking for their first victory of the 2015 NLL campaign. The Rush put together a strong second-half comeback but fell short in a 9-8 setback last weekend in Buffalo, while the Swarm were stunned for 11 goals in the fourth quarter in falling 20-13 at home against the Colorado Mammoth.
The Rush hold a 6-5 lead over the Swarm in their all-time meetings including a 15-3 thrashing on Minnesota's home floor in the only playoff encounter when they clashed in the 2012 West Division Final.
Edmonton has won four of the last five regular-season matchups as well. Jeremy Thompson notched a hat trick and set a single-game team record with 19 loose balls in anchoring the Rush to a 14-9 victory over the Swarm in the lone 2014 meeting of the teams. Zack Greer, Mark Matthews, and rookie Riley Loewen each scored two goals, while Curtis Knight, Chris Corbeil, Robert Church, Jarrett Davis, and former Swarm Nik Bilic added singles for the Rush.
In 2013, the Rush and Swarm split a weekend home-and-home series with each team winning on the road. At Rexall Place, the Swarm outscored the Rush 7-2 in the second half to take a 13-8 decision, but the Rush returned the favor on the Swarm's home floor at the Xcel Energy Center two days later, jumping out to a commanding 10-1 lead after three quarters before hanging on for a 14-9 verdict.
In the weekend opener, Corey Small led the Rush with a hat trick and two assists, with singles going to Jarrett Davis, Mark Matthews, Ryan Ward, Alex Turner, and Cory Conway, who also chipped in four assists. In the return matchup, the Rush held a 6-0 lead at the half and had a nine-goal cushion heading into the final frame before the Swarm responded with six unanswered goals during a stretch in the fourth.
Zack Greer anchored the Rush attack with a hat trick, including one goal on the power play, to go with two assists. Corey Small also notched a hat trick for the second straight game, and Curtis Knight supplied two goals and two assists. The other Rush goals went to Mark Matthews, Jeremy Thompson, Cory Conway, John Lafontaine, Jarrett Toll, and Chris Corbeil.
In last weekend's season-opening loss in Buffalo, the Rush got five-point efforts from both Robert Church and Mark Matthews (2g, 3a each) plus a hat trick from rookie Ben McIntosh. Corey Small, who missed all of last season with a knee injury, scored Edmonton's other goal.
Rush vs. Swarm - Season-by-Season Glance
2014
14-9 Rush win at Minnesota (Jeremy Thompson scores hat trick plus team record 19 loose balls)
2013
14-8 Rush win at Minnesota (Zack Greer scores hat trick and adds two assists)
13-8 Swarm win at Edmonton (Ryan Benesch racks up seven points including six assists)
2012
*15-3 Rush win at Minnesota (Ryan Ward registers seven-point game including hat trick)
9-8 Rush OT win at Edmonton (Zack Greer notches hat trick)
10-9 Swarm OT win at Minnesota (Ryan Benesch scores game-winner in second-longest NLL game)
*Denotes playoff game
2011
14-13 Rush win at Edmonton (Zack Greer pots five goals including game-winner)
9-8 Swarm win at Minnesota (Ryan Benesch notches five points including four assists)
2010
16-14 Rush win at Edmonton (Ryan Ward scores twice and adds five assists)
13-12 Rush OT win at Minnesota (Brodie Merrill scores three times including game-winner)
2009
9-7 Swarm win at Minnesota (Aaron Wilson scores two goals and added one assist)
2006
7-6 Swarm win at Edmonton (Nick Patterson makes 40 saves in the victory)
HOME-OPENER HISTORY: The Rush are 4-5 all-time in their home openers ...
2014 - 17-6 W vs. Colorado (largest margin of victory in franchise history)
2013 - 10-9 L vs. Toronto
2012 - 13-12 L vs. Colorado
2011 - 15-11 L vs. Calgary
2010 - 11-7 W vs. Buffalo
2009 - 11-10 W vs. Portland
2008 - 14-9 L vs. Toronto
2007 - 13-12 W vs. Philadelphia (first home-turf victory in franchise history)
2006 - 10-9 OTL vs. San Jose (franchise's inaugural game)
DANDY DÃJÃ VU: Edmonton's Ben McIntosh, the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NLL Entry Draft, scored a hat trick in his pro debut against Buffalo. Mark Matthews, the No. 1 pick in the 2012 NLL Entry Draft, scored a hat trick in his pro debut for the Rush and went on to win the NLL Rookie of the Year award.
SPECIAL/NOT-SO SPECIAL: The Rush were 4-for-7 on the power play against Buffalo last weekend with both of Robert Church's goals coming with the man-advantage and Mark Matthews picking up three power-play assists. Edmonton also killed four of five shorthanded situations against the Bandits. Conversely, the Swarm went 0-for-4 on the power play against Colorado and Mammoth connected for two power-play goals and a shocking four shorthanded goals.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Rush goalie Aaron Bold is following up last year's fantastic season with a strong start to 2014. After the season-opener, Bold stand third in the league with a .775 save-percentage ... Former Rush back-up netminder Brodie MacDonald got the start for the Swarm last weekend against Colorado and gave up 19 goals but still mustered 37 saves ... Second-year pro Riley Loewen led the Rush with nine loose balls in the loss to Buffalo ... Ryan Dilks notched three forced turnovers against Buffalo ... Jordan McIntosh scooped 20 loose balls for Minnesota in the loss to Colorado.
2015 Edmonton Rush Season Tickets are now on sale and single game tickets are now on sale. The Rush open the 2015 Season, Saturday, January 10, 2015 against the Minnesota Swarm. For more information, please visit www.edmontonrush.com or phone 780 732-RUSH to speak with a ticket representative and get your tickets to the 10th year of Edmonton Rush lacrosse.
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National Lacrosse League Stories from January 10, 2015
- Josh Sanderson's 14 Points Leads Rock Win - Toronto Rock
- Mammoth Win Home-Opener in Overtime over Roughnecks - Colorado Mammoth
- Roughnecks Drop First Road Game - Calgary Roughnecks
- Black Wolves Dominate Defending Champs 17-7 - New England Black Wolves
- Knighthawks Fall to Black Wolves - Rochester Knighthawks
- Minnesota Swarm Looking for a Momentum Shift against Edmonton - Minnesota Swarm
- Rush Prepared for Home Opener - Edmonton Rush
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