Game Notes: Champions Cup Game 2
June 1, 2015 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Edmonton Rush News Release
The Edmonton Rush can claim their first NLL Champion's Cup as they lead the best-of-three league championship series 1-0 over the Toronto Rock.
Edmonton's series came courtesy of a commanding 15-9 victory over Toronto in Game 1 last Saturday night at the Air Canada Centre. The Rush now return home to Crystal Glass Field at Rexall Place with momentum on their side and the title in sight.
The Rush's victory in Game 1 was unquestionably one of the team's all-time best performances. After giving up the game's first two goals, the Rush rattled off six straight goals and nine of the next 11 as they built up a 9-4 cushion by halftime en route to their fourth straight win on the Rock's home turf.
Robert Church (3 goals, 3 assists), Mark Matthews (3 goals, 3 assists), and Ben McIntosh (2 goals, 4 assists) paced the Rush attack with six points apiece, while Zack Greer and Jeremy Thompson each scored twice. Riley Loewen, Jarrett Davis, and Adrian Sorichetti added a goal each for Edmonton, while goaltender Aaron Bold totaled 39 saves.
The Rush went up 5-2 just before the end of the first quarter when Davis tallied a shorthanded goal off a brilliant long-bomb pass from Bold. Edmonton made it 6-2 early in the second quarter when Loewen stepped away from two Rock defenders and beat Rock goalie Brandon Miller. That goal chased Miller from the net and he was replaced by backup Nick Rose.
Although the veteran-laden Rock squad fought back at times, the Rush thoroughly dominated the rest of the way.
Toronto used the goaltending change to briefly swing momentum and pocket two goals, but the Rush responded with three straight markers. McIntosh, the heavy favorite to win the NLL's Rookie of the Year award, made it 7-4 when he beat Rose with a tricky shot to the short side, and Thompson followed up on Ryan Dilks' breakaway effort for an easy goal into a gaping net. Sorichetti rounded out the first half scoring as he led and finished off a 3-on-1 break for the Rush with a shot to the top corner.
The Rock, with Miller back in net, started to get their game together early in the third quarter and the veteran-laden squad scored four of the next six goals. Again, though, the Rush responded to quell the Rock's momentum, this time with a highlight-reel tally from Greer. Greer, who had 40 goals during the regular season, took a perfect pass from Matthews, the NLL's second-leading scorer during the regular season, at the top of the crease and despite having Toronto defender Sandy Chapman draped all over him, Greer was able to out-maneuver Miller to put the Rush up 12-8 after three quarters.
The Rush went on a tear early in the fourth scoring three straight and chasing Miller from the net for a second time.
Game 2 of the Cup Final will be the fourth meeting of the season between the Rush and Rock, with both teams coming away with victories on their opponent's home turf during the regular season. Toronto captured the first meeting of this season, handing the Rush their first of two straight home-turf overtime losses with a 16-15 win back on Feb. 27th. Mark Matthews (2 goals, 6 assists) and Zack Greer (5 goals, 3 assists) both notched eight points for the Rush, while Robert Church and Ben McIntosh both added two goals. Jarrett Davis and Adrian Sorichetti rounded out the Rush scoring with Aaron Bold supplying 26 saves. The Rock's win snapped a three-game losing streak to the Rush.
The Rush returned the favor by beating the Rock 11-9 in Toronto on March 21st behind a seven-point game from Mark Matthews (2 goals, 5 assists). Edmonton's star of the game, though, was an unlikely source as defender Nik Bilic scored two crucial unassisted back-to-back goals. Bilic's first goal, coming on the power play, tied the game 9-9, and he then fired home the game-winner less than three minutes later. Robert Church (3 goals, 2 assists) added five points for the Rush, and goals from Ryan Dilks, Zack Greer, Jarrett Davis, and Tyler Melnyk completed the Rush scoring.
If Game 3 of the Champion's Cup is necessary, the series will head back to the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on June 13.
Rush vs. Rock - Season-by-Season Glance
2015
*15-9 Rush win at Toronto (Mark Matthews, Robert Church & Ben McIntosh all notch six points)
11-9 Rush win at Toronto (Mark Matthews racks up seven points including five assists)
16-15 OT Rock win at Edmonton (Rob Hellyer caps 10-point game with overtime winner)
*Denotes playoff win - Game 1 of Champion's Cup
2014
13-10 Rush win at Toronto (Zack Greer scores hat trick in five-point effort)
11-10 Rush win at Edmonton (Cory Conway racks up two goals and three assists)
2013
17-12 Rush win at Toronto (Mark Matthews and Zack Greer each notch hat tricks) 10-9 Rock win at Edmonton (Garrett Billings leads Toronto attack with six points)
2012
12-11 Rock win at Edmonton (Colin Doyle racks up one goal and seven assists)
12-8 Rock win at Toronto (Garrett Billings registers one goal and six assists)
2011
13-7 Rock win at Toronto (Blaine Manning notches one goal and five assists)
18-14 Rush win at Edmonton (Corey Small registers seven points including hat trick)
2010
16-7 Rock win at Toronto (Blaine Manning pots 10 points on five goals and five assists)
14-13 Rush win at Edmonton (Ryan Powell notches eight points including four goals)
2009
16-12 Rush win at Edmonton (Andy Secore fires in five goals plus three assists)
16-9 Rock win at Toronto (Lewis Ratcliff scores four goals with three assists)
2008
14-9 Rock win at Edmonton (Josh Sanderson picks up one goal and six assists)
14-9 Rock win at Toronto (Aaron Wilson registers four goals and one assist)
2007
12-9 Rock win at Edmonton (Aaron Wilson racks up one goal and four assists)
2006
14-8 Rock win at Toronto (Blaine Manning scores once and chips in 10 assists)
Rush vs. Rock Head-to-Head in 2015 incl. Game 1 of Champion's Cup
Rush Rock
Mark Matthews - 7 goals, 14 assists Josh Sanderson - 4 goals, 14 assists
Robert Church - 8 goals, 7 assists Rob Hellyer - 6 goals, 9 assists
Zack Greer - 8 goals, 5 assists Brett Hickey - 6 goals, 5 assists
Ben McIntosh - 4 goals, 9 assists Stephan Leblanc - 3 goals, 8 assists
Aaron Bold - 108 saves Brandon Miller - 104 saves
Rush Rolling: Since losing their first seven games at the ACC, the Rush have now won four straight in Toronto including Game 1 of the Cup. And with that win, the Rush have narrowed the gap in the all-time record against the Rock to 11-9 which includes a season sweep of two regular-season games in 2014 ... Game 1's six-goal difference was the largest margin of victory for the Rush over the Rock.
By The Numbers: With his six points in Game 1, the Rush's Mark Matthews has taken over the NLL playoff scoring derby. Matthews leads with 19 points, and is second in goals (8) and tied for second in assists (11). Edmonton's star forward is also tops in both power-play goals (3) and power-play assists (5). Fittingly, Matthews is first in Three-Star Voting with 15 points (3 x First Star). Matthews captured the Three-Star Voting crown during the regular season with 37 points, five better than Buffalo's Ryan Benesch ... Rush goalie Aaron Bold is third in Three-Star Voting with nine points (3 x Second Star). Bold is first amongst his netminding peers with a 9.20 goals-against average, second in save-percentage (.793), and third in total saves (111) ... the Rush's Zack Greer is tied for third in playoff goals with seven and is tied for ninth in scoring with 12 points ... Despite missing Game 1 of the West Final against Calgary, Edmonton's Robert Church is tied for eighth with six goals. Church is also third in the playoffs with three power-play assists, and he is tied with teammate Riley Loewen for second with two power-play goals ... Trade-deadline acquisition Matthew Dinsdale continues to pay big dividends for the Rush. Dinsdale is second on the Rush and tied for sixth in the league with nine assists in the playoffs.
Statistically Speaking: The Rush were 2-for-5 on the power play against the Rock in Game 1, and are now 9-for-16 (56.3%) in the playoffs. Edmonton has killed five of nine shorthanded situations. The Rock were 2-for-3 with the man-advantage in Game 1 and are 6-for-10 (60.0%) during the playoffs ... The Rush outhustled the Rock in terms of loose ball collection by an 80-69 count in Game 1. The Rush also had the edge in faceoffs 16-13 ... Edmonton's Jeremy Thompson, who was all over the floor in Game 1, leads the playoffs with six caused turnovers and is tied for second with 28 loose balls ... Rush captain Chris Corbeil is seventh in loose balls with 20, followed by fellow Edmonton defender John Lintz, who is tied for eighth with 18 ... Rush defenders Kyle Rubisch and Brett Mydske are tied for eighth with four caused turnovers ... After starting 2015 with a 1-3 mark against the NLL's East Division, the Rush have now won four straight against the East. The Rush's final regular-season victory against an Eastern foe came against Minnesota back on April 25th. It turns out that it was their final trip to Minnesota as the Swarm announced relocation last week and will be known as the Georgia Swarm, playing in Gwinnett (suburban Atlanta).
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