Rush vs Stealth Tonight at Crystal Glass Field
January 25, 2013 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Edmonton Rush News Release
Edmonton, AB--The Edmonton Rush can move into first place in the National Lacrosse League's West Division by earning their first home win of the season when they host the Washington Stealth.
The Rush earned their first win of the season with a dominating 18-10 win over the Stealth this past Sunday in Everett, and the victory moved the Rush into a tie with Colorado for second spot in the West, just one-half behind division-leading Washington. Both Edmonton and Colorado have a game in-hand on Washington as well.
With their win in Washington, the Rush have now won five straight and seven of the last eight meetings against the Stealth, and a victory in the return match of this back-to-back weekend set would put them in line to sweep the season series for a second consecutive year. The two teams will complete their season series on Friday, Feb. 15 at Rexall Place.
After a good showing in his NLL debut, rookie sensation Mark Matthews put forth a stellar effort against the Stealth, tying a Rush regular-season team record for points in a game. Matthews netted four goals and added five assists for a nine-point night.
For the second straight game, Matthews opened the scoring, this time with just 29 seconds gone in Washington. He picked things up again at the start of the third quarter with back-to-back goals, and then rounded out the Rush scoring on the power play with 1:59 left in the game. The first overall pick in the 2012 NLL Entry Draft garnered his assists on both of Corey Small's goals, Zack Greer's power-play tally, and fourth-quarter markers by Ryan Ward and Curtis Knight.
Matthews' performance earned him the NLL's Rookie of the Week Award handed out on Wednesday. It is the second week in a row that a Rush player has earned the nod as the league's top first-year player as Curtis Knight picked up the honor in the home-opener.
The Rush used an explosive fourth quarter to pull away from the Stealth last Sunday as they scored six goals over the final 15 minutes including goals 27 seconds apart by Curtis Knight and Brett Mydske.
Corey Small (2 goals, 5 assists) and Ryan Ward (3 goals, 3 assists) helped Matthews pace the Rush attack. Mydske finished with a pair of goals, while singles went to Jarrett Toll, Jeff Cornwall, Chris Corbeil, Jarrett Davis, and Jeremy Thompson.
Aaron Bold continues to prove the Rush will strong netminding as he surrendered just 10 goals for the second straight game and turned aside 33 Stealth shots.
The Rush swept last season's two-game series against Washington beginning with the most lopsided Rush road victory in team history. Corey Small set a new team record by picking up seven assists in the game and finished with nine points as the Rush took a 16-5 verdict.
Edmonton claimed a 10-9 win over Washington at Rexall Place to complete the season sweep. Zack Greer paced the Rush with a four-goal game, following up on his hat trick against the Stealth in the road win.
The Rush are 8-11 in all-time regular-season meetings against the Washington/San Jose franchise, while the Stealth clutch to the lone playoff victory in the teams' histories - an overtime thriller that sent Washington to the 2010 Champion's Cup final.
With his nine-point outing against Washington, Mark Matthews takes over the lead in the Rush scoring derby with seven goals and seven assists for 14 points. Matthews is the top goal-scorer with seven, followed by four each from Ryan Ward and Curtis Knight. Corey Small is tops in assists with nine, ahead of both Matthews and Ward with seven apiece.
Cliff Smith continues to lead the Stealth and the entire NLL in points with 16, while Stealth sniper Rhys Duch is third in points (15) and second in goals (nine).
The Edmonton Rush and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, have partnered together to create the 'BARE THE AWARENESS' Rush Calendar. Going on sale Jan 25th at the Rush home game vs the Washington Stealth, 7pm on Crystal Glass Field at Rexall Place. $20 for a 12-month calendar, all net proceeds going in support of Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. (cash only)
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National Lacrosse League Stories from January 25, 2013
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- Rock Post Comeback Win - Toronto Rock
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- Jersey Auction for UAR Kicks off Saturday - Rochester Knighthawks
- Go 'Freezin' for a Reason' with Mammoth Team in Special Olympics Polar Plunge - Colorado Mammoth
- Rush vs Stealth Tonight at Crystal Glass Field - Edmonton Rush
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