Buffalo Bandits vs. Edmonton Rush

January 28, 2009 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Edmonton Rush News Release


Edmonton, AB--The Edmonton Rush look to take a big step towards the National Lacrosse League's upper echelon as they take on the defending league champion Buffalo Bandits.

The Rush sport a .500 record for the first time since the start of the 2007 season when they began the campaign with a 1-1 mark. A win over the Bandits, who are off to a perfect start to their season, would give the Rush only their second winning record in franchise history - their first since starting the '07 season at 1-0 with a victory over the Philadelphia Wings. The Rush are currently 2 games behind the West Division-leading Calgary Roughnecks and 1.5 games behind the second-place Minnesota Swarm.

Edmonton sports an all-time record of 3-2 on their home floor against opponents currently residing in the NLL's East Division. The Rush hold victories against Philadelphia, Toronto and Rochester, with both losses coming against Toronto.

This is the first meeting in Rush franchise history with the Bandits, who claimed the NLL title last season with a victory in the Champion's Cup final over the Portland LumberJax.

The Rush are coming off a split of their weekend road trip which took them first to Portland where they dropped a 15-10 decision to the LumberJax. Dan Teat, Ryan Benesch and Jason Wulder all had two goals for the Rush, who had slipped past the LumberJax 11-10 one week earlier at Rexall Place.

The Rush rebounded in a big way one night later as they picked up their first franchise victory over the Colorado Mammoth. It was a breakout night for Ryan Benesch, the 2007 NLL Rookie of the Year, as he notched three goals and five assists, while Dan Teat collected three goals and four assists en route to an 11-9 win for the Rush. Jason Wulder and Andy Secore also helped the Rush cause as they picked up four points each, and Chris Levis, playing against his former club in his first start for the Rush, earned the victory with a 43-save effort.

Statistically Speaking: Dan Teat jumped up the leaderboard of the NLL's top shooters, moving into third spot in the league with 12 goals - four behind league-leader Casey Power of New York and two back of Buffalo's Mark Steenhuis ... Teat's 23 points is also tops among the Rush with newcomer Ryan Benesch standing second with seven goals and seven assists for 14 points in three games. Jason Wulder has moved into third spot in team scoring with five goals and eight assists for 13 points in four games.

By the Numbers: As a team, the Rush are third in the league with 320 loose balls including 45 from team-leader Ian Hawksbee ... Edmonton's power play has climbed to ninth at 45.5% (10 goals in 22 man-advantage opportunities). The previously maligned penalty-killing unit has also climbed upwards, moving to seventh in the league at 53.9% (six goals in 13 kills). The Rush have also tallied two shorthanded goals on the season.

Notes: Rush forward Dan Teat has been named Overall Player of the Week. Teat came up strong in both of Edmonton's games in Week 4, tallying a combined five goals, seven assists and nine loose balls. He was especially strong in the Rush's 11-9 victory in Colorado on Saturday night, scoring three goals and notching four assists in the winning effort.



National Lacrosse League Stories from January 28, 2009


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