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Saskatchewan Rush

Rush vs Roughnecks Pre-Season Game

December 16, 2016 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Saskatchewan Rush News Release


Calgary Roughnecks vs. Saskatchewan Rush Christmas Showdown Pre-Season Game Friday, December 16th   

Calgary Roughnecks vs. Saskatchewan Rush Christmas Showdown Pre-Season Game Friday, December 16th    With the 2017 National Lacrosse League regular season just three weeks away, the Saskatchewan Rush will take on their heated rival, the Calgary Roughnecks, in the Christmas Showdown at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon.

This will be the first meeting between the teams since the Rush eliminated the Roughnecks in two straight games in the West Division Final of the 2016 playoffs. The Rush moved on to beat the Buffalo Bandits in two straight to win their second consecutive Champion's Cup title.

Saskatchewan's sweep in that series completed a perfect 6-0 record the Rush compiled last season against their long-standing division combatants.

The Rush ended the Roughnecks' season with a 12-9 victory in Game 2 played before a sold-out crowd at SaskTel Centre. Mark Matthews led the Rush offence with two goals and five assists, while goaltender Aaron Bold racked up 39 saves.

In Game 1 of the series, the Rush exploded for eight goals in the fourth quarter to pull away and earn a 16-10 win. The Rush broke open an 8-8 tie with three straight goals to start the final period, and then added three more again after Calgary goal. Ben McIntosh led the Rush offence with four goals as he scored twice in both the second and fourth quarters.

The 2016 regular season marked the first time the Rush earned a season sweep against Calgary as they won all four games including one in overtime.

Calgary hosted the Rush in the first-ever game wearing Saskatchewan on their jerseys and the 2016 season-opener went the Rush's way with a 10-8 victory anchored by three shorthanded goals. Mark Matthews, Robert Church, and Curtis Knight, playing in his first game back since missing the entire 2015 season due to injury, each recorded five points.

When the two teams met in a rematch in Saskatoon four weeks later, the Rush totaled a team-record 14 goals in the first half, including eight in the second quarter, en route to a 19-12 victory. Saskatchewan's offence was virtually a one-man show as Zack Greer racked up seven goals including a team-record six in the second quarter. Greer scored five straight at one point (another franchise high mark), all three coming in less than three minutes with two coming on the power play and another on a penalty shot.

Zack Greer was the hero again in the third meeting of the season as his second goal of the night was the game-winner at 5:04 of overtime to give the Rush a 12-11 win in Calgary.

Saskatchewan completed the sweep by beating Calgary 11-9 in Saskatoon behind a six-point game from Mark Matthews (3 goals, 3 assists).

Despite losing all four regular-season last season, Calgary remains on top of the all-time regular-season record with a 26-14 record.

Rush vs. Roughnecks - Season-by-Season Glance

2016

*12-9 Rush win (Mark Matthews totals seven points including five assists)

*16-10 Rush win (Ben McIntosh fires in four goals)

11-9 Rush win (Mark Matthews racks up six points including hat trick)

12-11 OT Rush win (Robert Church registers six points including hat trick)

19-12 Rush win (Zack Greer sets club record with seven goals including five in a row)

10-8 Rush win (Robert Church and Mark Matthews both registered two goals and three assists) *denotes playoff game

2015

*4-1 Rush win (Jeff Cornwall scored series-winning goal with unassisted marker)

*12-9 Roughnecks win (Shawn Evans recorded seven points including three goals)

*10-8 Rush win (Mark Matthews racked up seven points including a hat trick)

11-9 Rush win (Mark Matthews & Robert Church both with five-point games)

9-8 Roughnecks win (Curtis Dickson pots four goals including game-winner)

2-11 OT Roughnecks win (Daryl Veltman scores four goals including game-winner in OT)

16-8 Rush win (Mark Matthews registers eight points including hat trick)

*denotes playoff game

2014

*2-1 Roughnecks win (Shawn Evans scores both goals in mini-game clincher)

*15-13 Rush win (Mark Matthews notches hat trick)

*12-11 OT Roughnecks win (Curtis Dickson pots four goals plus two assists)

14-13 OT Roughnecks win (Curtis Dickson scores seven goals including game-winner)

15-11 Rush win (Curtis Knight records eight-point game including five goals)

15-7 Rush win (Zack Greer notches first-quarter hat trick)

15-8 Rush win (Mark Matthews tallies seven points including four goals) *denotes playoff game

2013 12-11 OT Roughnecks win (Shawn Evans caps 10-point game with OT winner)

18-13 Rush win (Ryan Ward sets Rush reg. season record with 10 points)

9-8 Roughnecks win (Curtis Dickson scores four goals including game-winner)

18-15 Roughnecks win (Jeff Shattler tallies two goals and adds six assists)

2012 *19-11 Rush win (Ryan Ward sets Rush record with 11-point game)

9-6 Roughnecks win (Shawn Evans racks up four goals and two assists)

16-9 Roughnecks win (Shawn Evans pots five goals including penalty shot tally)

13-10 Roughnecks win (Curtis Dickson with four goals and three assists)

12-8 Roughnecks win (Curtis Dickson nets hat trick plus two assists)

*denotes playoff game

2011

19-14 Roughnecks win (Jeff Shattler totals nine points with one goal and eight assists)

15-11 Roughnecks win (Dane Dobbie collects three goals and six assists)

12-11 OT Roughnecks win (Mike Scherman pots the game-winner)

12-11 Roughnecks win (Jeff Shattler notches hat trick plus five assists)

2010

*11-7 Rush win (Ryan Ward notches nine points including eight assists)

13-8 Roughnecks win (Josh Sanderson picks up three goals and three assists)

14-13 OT Roughnecks win (Josh Sanderson earns hat trick including game-winner)

14-11 Rush win (Dean Hill notches hat trick and adds one assist) *denotes playoff game

2009

10-9 OT Roughnecks win (Curt Malawsky notches the game-winner)

22-10 Roughnecks win (Dane Dobbie collects 11 points including seven goals)

14-13 Roughnecks win (Tracey Kelusky racks up eight points including four goals)

2008

11-9 Rush win (Jimmy Quinlan pots four goals plus one assist)

18-7 Roughnecks win (Kaleb Toth registers nine points including four goals)

12-8 Roughnecks win (Curt Malawsky registers four goals and one assist)

2007

13-12 Roughnecks win (Kaleb Toth and Lewis Ratcliff each with four points)

13-12 Rush win (Chris Gill sets club record with six goals)

17-11 Roughnecks win (Tracey Kelusky collects two goals and seven assists)

2006

11-9 Roughnecks win (Lewis Ratcliff scores five goals)

12-9 Roughnecks win (Kaleb Toth and Tracey Kelusky each with seven points)

12-11 Rush win (Pat Campbell earns player of the game with 54 saves)

16-9 Roughnecks win (Lewis Ratcliff notches four goals and two assists)  

Head-to-Head Rush vs. Roughnecks 2016 Regular Season

a0;  

Mark Matthews - 9 goals, 13 xa0;           

Zack Greer - 13 goals, 5 ;         

Robert Church - 10 goals, 13 ;

Ben McIntosh - 5 goals, 9 ;     

Calgary

Curtis Dickson - 10 goals, 14 assists 

Dane Dobbie - 9 goals, 5 assists

Jeff Shattler - 5 goals, 9 assists

Wesley Berg - 6 goals, 9 assists

Off-Season Overhaul: ... Despite winning their second straight Champion's Cup, the Rush made some notable changes to their lineup during the off-season. Saskatchewan added a pair of second-round draft picks (one in 2017 and one in 2018) in trading Riley Loewen to Calgary and John Lintz to Vancouver. Those two moves came on the heels of the league's summer blockbuster when the Rush acquired Adam Jones plus a second-round pick in 2017 in exchange for Zack Greer and the ninth overall pick in the 2016 draft ...

The Rush did re-sign numerous players during the break. In fact, Saskatchewan was the only team in the NLL that inked all of its restricted and unrestricted free agents. Of note, Curtis Knight, Chris Corbeil, Kyle Rubisch, and Ben McIntosh all signed new three-year deals.

Side Notes: The Rush split their first two pre-season games during a two-day stint in Vancouver. They beat Colorado 16-10 and then fell 12-10 to Vancouver ...

Calgary lost goalie Mike Poulin on the first day of the open window to sign free agents as he moved to the Georgia Swarm.  

Check out the Saskatchewan Rush Statistics

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National Lacrosse League Stories from December 16, 2016


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