Edmonton Rush Game Preview
Published on March 11, 2010 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Edmonton Rush News Release
Edmonton, AB--The Edmonton Rush have two targets in mind when they take on the division rival Colorado Mammoth Saturday night in National Lacrosse League action.
A victory would give the Rush a second road win over the Mammoth this season and a third win in the last four meetings on Colorado's home turf. More importantly, though, a victory over Colorado could move the Rush into a first-place tie atop of the NLL's West Division. Currently, the Washington Stealth (6-3) lead the West but the Rush and Calgary Roughnecks trail by just one-half game. Calgary, winners of four straight, and Washington, which has lost its last three games, meet on Saturday night at the Pengrowth Saddledome.
Edmonton and Calgary lead Minnesota by 1 game in the standings while Colorado has lost four straight and are three games back of the Rush and Roughnecks.
The Rush are riding a two-game winning streak into the Mammoth matchup, and are coming off a bye week which followed their dramatic 12-11 overtime road win against the Rochester Knighthawks. Andy Secore completed the hat trick with the game-winning tally, coming just 20 seconds into extra time. The Rush had a well-balanced attack against the Knighthawks as eight different scorers found the back of the net. Along with Secore's three, Corey Small and Jimmy Quinlan each notched a pair of goals while Scott Stewart, Gavin Prout, Brodie Merrill, Dane Stevens, and Ryan Ward each added singles. Prout and Ward also paced the offense with three assists each. Matt Disher made 37 saves for the Rush between the pipes.
The Rush have suffered some of their most lopsided losses in franchise history to the Mammoth including a disastrous 15-4 setback in 2008. But the Rush rebounded last season to take two of the three meetings with Colorado - the most impressive of which was a hard-earned 11-9 win at the Pepsi Center. Andy Secore helped the Rush cause that night with two goals and two assists.
On the 2010 season's opening weekend, the Rush captured their second road victory against the Mammoth with a 14-13 decision anchored by a franchise-record tying seven-assist game from Gavin Prout, who is Colorado's all-time leading scorer. Ryan Ward connected for four goals and three assists in the win while Andy Secore and Dean Hill each potted three goals. Ryan Powell hit the scoresheet in a big way with one goal and four assists, Jimmy Quinlan found the back of the net twice, and Brodie Merrill scored once and collected five assists. Merrill also scooped up 23 loose balls, which set a Rush single-game record.
The win improved the Rush's all-time record versus the Mammoth to 3-8, with all three victories coming in the teams' past four meetings.
Ryan Ward is the Rush's top shooter on the season, ranking 16th in the league with 16 goals. Ward and Prout are tied atop the Rush leaderboard with 34 points each, eight points up on Brodie Merrill and 10 ahead of Andy Secore. With 15 goals, Secore is second on the Rush behind Ward in goals. Dean Hill and Gavin Prout are next with 10 goals apiece. Prout's 24 assists put him 18th in the league with eight of those helpers coming on the power play (14th in league for PPA).
Ward continues to lead the NLL with three shorthanded goals while Prout and Secore are in the league's top 10 for game-winning goals with two each. Brodie Merrill stands second in the NLL with 99 loose balls.
Edmonton native Jamie Shewchuk leads Colorado in scoring with 32 points on the season. Chris Gill, Chris McKay and Chris Levis are all former Rush members currently in the Mammoth lineup.
Statistically Speaking: With a second consecutive win over an East Division opponent via the OT victory over Rochester, the Rush improved to 7-12 all-time against East foes. Despite their impressive record to date, only two teams have scored fewer goals than the Rush. Edmonton has 87 goals on the season with just Orlando and Colorado having scored fewer. The Mammoth have notched only 81 goals on the year and given up a whopping 108 - the most in the West Division and second-highest total in the league. Corey Small has moved up to seventh in NLL rookie scoring. His four goals and nine assists for 13 points have him just two points back of sixth spot. Dane Stevens, another Rush freshman, has moved to 10th in rookie scoring, having mustered up seven points in just two games. With the OT victory in Rochester, Rush goalie Matt Disher moved into top spot in the NLL with five wins in eight games. Though his goals-against average (12.08) and save-percentage (.765) have him on the outside looking in on the league's top 10, Disher is maintaining a steady workload, ranking third in saves with 293 - only 11 back of Boston's Anthony Cosmo who holds down second spot.
By The Numbers: The Rush are the only unbeaten team on their home floor this season at a perfect 3-0. They are back at Rexall Place March 20 for their first-ever meeting with the Boston Blazers. Colorado, meanwhile, are the only team yet to win on their home floor this season at 0-4. Edmonton's power play is eighth-ranked in the NLL at 35.9% (14-for-39) with Colorado's situated 10th at 28.9% (11-for-38). The Rush have moved up in penalty-killing, now ranked seventh at 55.0% (18 goals in 40 shorthanded situations). Colorado has the league's worst penalty-killing at a measly 47.2% (19 goals in 36 shorthanded situations). Edmonton and Buffalo are tied for second in the NLL with five shorthanded goals while Colorado has given up the second-most shorthanded goals, surrendering seven. The Rush (148) and Mammoth (154) are the two least-penalized teams in the league.
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