NLL Saskatchewan Rush

Lacrosse Day in Saskatchewan #GrowTheGame

Published on February 29, 2020 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Saskatchewan Rush News Release


The Saskatchewan Rush take a three-game winning streak into a home-turf showdown against their cross-Canada rivals the Toronto Rock on Saturday night.

With their 15-10 over Philadelphia last weekend, the Rush remained unbeaten on the road so far this season at 5-0 and also remained atop the NLL's West Division with a two-game lead over Calgary. The Rock lost their second in a row on the road, falling last weekend in Halifax and are tied for second in the North Division with Buffalo, one game behind the Thunderbirds.

The Rush hold a 13-11 record in all-time regular-season action against the Rock, but most importantly, they swept the Rock 2-0 in the best-of-three final giving the Rush their first league championship in 2015.

The Rush and Rock have split their last four meetings with the Rock winning last season's encounter in Toronto 16-13 behind an eight-point game from former Rush Adam Jones. Ben McIntosh, with a hat trick, and Ben McIntosh, with a pair, led the Saskatchewan scoring while Kyle Rubisch, Curtis Knight, Robert Church, Ryan Keenan, Marty Dinsdale, Nick Finlay, Jeremy Thompson, and Jeff Shattler each scoring once.

In 2018, the teams opened the season against each other and the Rush used an 8-3 scoring edge in the second half to cruise to a 17-9 win in Toronto. Jeff Shattler, playing in his first game for Saskatchewan after signing a free-agent deal in the off-season, notched eight points (2 goals, 6 assists) in his debut, while Ben McIntosh fired in five goals. Robert Church, with a hat trick, and two goals apiece for Curtis Knight and Marty Dinsdale added to the Rush attack as did a goal and six assists from Ryan Keenan. Mark Matthews and Adrian Sorichetti also scored for the Rush.

The Rock have not visited Saskatoon since the 2017 season and the Rush came away with a 15-10 victory behind seven-point games from Mark Matthews (4 goals, 3 assists) and Robert Church (2 goals, 5 assists). Ben McIntosh, Matt Hossack, and now current Rock Adam Jones each scored twice for Saskatchewan with Dan Taylor, Ryan Keenan and Curtis Knight getting a goal apiece.

LAST GAME: The Rush earned their fifth straight road win of the season in a 15-10 decision over Philadelphia last Saturday. Ryan Keenan, Ben McIntosh and Jeff Shattler each notched hat tricks with Robert Church adding a pair and Mark Matthews racking up nine points (1 goal, 8 assists). Austin Murphy, with his first career NLL goal, Connor Robinson and Chris Corbeil added goals for the Rush while Evan Kirk totaled 42 saves.

ALTERNA CUP: This will be the Rush's second test in the season-long Alterna Cup derby. The Alterna Cup goes to the Canadian NLL with the best record (winning percentage) in head-to-head matchups against their fellow Canadian clubs. The Rush lead the current standings at 1-0 with Toronto next at 2-1 and then Calgary at 1-1. Halifax sits fourth at 2-2 and Vancouver is at 0-2.

ROAD WARRIORS: The Rush (5-0) and New England Black Wolves (2-0) are the only NLL teams that are undefeated on the road so far this season.

MILESTONE MINUTE: Three Rush players hit career marks last weekend against Philadelphia, highlighted by Robert Church collecting his 300th assist. Ryan Keenan picked up his 200th career point and Matt Hossack grabbed the 100th loose ball of his career.

FAMILIAR FACES: The Rock are without former Rush Adam Jones due to injury, but Dan Dawson has stepped up with 17 goals. Dawson played five regular-season games with the Rush in 2018 after being traded from Rochester. The six-time First Team All-Pro went on to add two goals and nine assists in the Rush's march to their third NLL championship as they beat Rochester 2-1 in the best-of-three final.

Statistically Speaking: After a nine-point outing in Philadelphia, the Rush's Mark Matthews is now tied for 14th in league scoring with 42 points and tied for eighth in assists with 32 ... Ben McIntosh leads the Rush and sits in a tie for 14th in the league with 17 goals ... Toronto's Rob Hellyer leads the NLL with 29 goals and is in eighth in scoring with 47 points ... The Rush have the NLL's fifth-ranked power play at 48.3% (14-for-29). Ben McIntosh is tied for fifth in the league with five power-play goals and Mark Matthews is tied for eighth with nine power-play assists ... The Rush's penalty kill is 13th in the league at 41.9% (18 goals in 31 shorthanded situations) ... Toronto has the third-best penalty kill in the NLL at 61.5% (15 goals in 39 shorthanded situations), but the Rock rank last on the power play at just 31.0% (9-for-29) ... The Rush lead the NLL with 99 caused turnovers and Ryan Dilks continues to lead all players with 22 caused turnovers, two better than Toronto's Brad Kri. The Rush's Mike Messenger is tied for seventh with 13 caused turnovers ... After getting the decisive goal in Philadelphia, the Rush's Jeff Shattler is tied for second in the league with two game-winning goals. Shattler tied the Rush's franchise record with five game-winners in the 2019 season ... 2018-29: Last season, the Rush's Mark Matthews finished in a tie for third in the NLL scoring race with 105 points. Matthews finished tied for seventh in assists (64) and tied for fourth in goals at 41 with teammate Ben McIntosh ... Jeff Shattler of the Rush led the NLL with five game-winning goals ... Saskatchewan ended the season with the top-ranked power play at 57.4%, scoring 31 goals on 54 power-play opportunities ... Rush defenceman Kyle Rubisch was tops in the NLL with 45 caused turnovers.

By the Numbers: The Rush sit third in league attendance with an average of 11,881, behind only Calgary and Buffalo ... The Rush's Kyle Rubisch is tied for 10th in league with 74 loose balls and he is tied for ninth in defenceman scoring with eight points. Toronto's Challen Rogers leads all defencemen with 22 points and Zach Manns is fourth in rookie scoring with 19 points ... The Rush's Ben McIntosh is sixth in the league's Three Star Award voting with 17 points (2 x First Star, 2 x Second Star, 1 x Third Star) ... The Rush are fourth in goals against per game at 9.6 and eighth in goals scored per game at 10.8. Toronto is second in goals against per game at 9.4 and sixth in goals scored per game at 11.4 ... Rush goalie Evan Kirk and Rock counterpart Nick Rose are both second in the league with six wins. Kirk is seventh in goals-against average (9.60) and save-percentage (.803) and Rose is fifth in GAA (9.31) and fourth in SVP (.820) ... So far this season, the Rush are 5-0 when they lead at halftime and 5-0 when they lead after three quarters. They are also 4-1 when they lead after the first quarter ... 2018-19: Saskatchewan won the NLL attendance derby again last season with an average of 13,459 which was 413 better than Buffalo ... The Rush finished the season first in the West with 222 goals. They were third in goals scored per game average with 12.33 and fourth in goals allowed at 11.22 per game ... The Rush ended the regular season with 7-2 record at home and 9-3 versus the West. They were also 9-1 when leading after the first quarter, 10-0 when leading at halftime, 10-0 when leading after three quarters.

Rush vs. Rock - Season-by-Season Glance

2019

16-13 Rock win (Adam Jones collects eight points on four goals and four assists)

2018

17-9 Rush win (Jeff Shattler collects eight points, including six assists, in first game with new team)

2017

15-10 Rush win (Mark Matthews and Robert Church both register seven-point games)

13-11 Rock win (Tom Schreiber notches one goal and four assists)

2016

11-9 Rush win (Curtis Knight scores twice and adds three assists)

13-8 Rush win (Mark Matthews and Robert Church each collect six points)

2015

**11-10 Rush win (Mark Matthews tallies eight points including five goals)

*15-9 Rush win (Mark Matthews, Robert Church & Ben McIntosh all notch six points)

11-9 Rush win (Mark Matthews racks up seven points including five assists)

16-15 OT Rock win (Rob Hellyer caps 10-point game with overtime winner)

*Denotes playoff win - Game 1 of Champion's Cup

**Denotes playoff win - Game 2 of Champion's Cup

2014

13-10 Rush win (Zack Greer scores hat trick in five-point effort)

11-10 Rush win (Cory Conway racks up two goals and three assists)

2013

17-12 Rush win (Mark Matthews and Zack Greer each notch hat tricks)

10-9 Rock win (Garrett Billings leads Toronto attack with six points)

2012

12-11 Rock win (Colin Doyle racks up one goal and seven assists)

12-8 Rock win (Garrett Billings registers one goal and six assists)

2011

13-7 Rock win (Blaine Manning notches one goal and five assists)

18-14 Rush win (Corey Small registers seven points including hat trick)

2010

16-7 Rock win (Blaine Manning pots 10 points on five goals and five assists)

14-13 Rush win (Ryan Powell notches eight points including four goals)

2009

16-12 Rush win (Andy Secore fires in five goals plus three assists)

16-9 Rock win (Lewis Ratcliff scores four goals with three assists)

2008

14-9 Rock win (Josh Sanderson picks up one goal and six assists)

14-9 Rock win (Aaron Wilson registers four goals and one assist)

2007

12-9 Rock win (Aaron Wilson racks up one goal and four assists)

2006

14-8 Rock win (Blaine Manning scores once and chips in 10 assists)

#GrowTheGame

Opponent: Toronto Rock

Arena: SaskTel Centre

Theme: Lax Day in Sask

Presented by: Saskatchewan Lacrosse Association & Subway

Doors Open: 6:00pm

Pre-Game Show: Begins at 7:10pm

Face-Off: 7:30pm

Band: Carbon Copy

Operation Smile Promotion: Bring a toonie for the Change Drive and/or purchase a green ball for the half time ball toss... 1 for $5, 3 for $10

Half Time Show: Minor Lacrosse Scrimmage

Benefiting: Operation Smile

Rush Team Store: Open from 9:00am-6:00pm

TICKETS ARE STILL AVAILABLE!

SHUTTLE FAN SERVICES FOR HOME GAMES

SGI wants to ensure every Rush Fan arrives to and from the game safely.

Saskatoon Transit: The nightly downtown terminal departure times are as follows: 5:45, 6:05, 6:25, 6:45, 7:05, 7:25.

Shoeless Joe's Saskatoon: 303 Cope Lane, Saskatoon. Departs at 6:00 PM for every Rush home game. Call ahead to reserve your table: (306) 954-5637

Outlaws Country Rock Bar: 710 Idylwyld Drive N, Saskatoon, SK

Birmingham's Vodka and Ale House: 810 Circle Drive E #109, Saskatoon, SK

Specklebelly's: 900 Central Avenue, Saskatoon, SK

Bugsy's Bar & Grill: 2355 Preston Ave S, Saskatoon, SK

Bugsy's Bar & Grill: 134 Primrose Dr, Saskatoon, SK S7K 5C6

Riv Bar and Grill: 2033 Avenue B North, Saskatoon, SK

Ramada Hotel Saskatoon: 806 Idylwyld Drive N, Saskatoon, SK

Mr. Mikes: 101 Centennial Dr S, Martensville, SK S0K 2T0

Wendel Clark's Classic Grill & Bar: 125 Circle Dr E, Saskatoon, SK S7K 0T4

Or, book your ride with RIIDE!

RUSH VS ROCK GAME NOTES, presented by Keystone RV Company

Saskatchewan Rush (6-2) vs. Toronto Rock (6-3)

7:30PM (CST), Saturday, February 29, 2020

Co-op Field at SaskTel Centre, Saskatoon, SK

Watch | B/R Live

Listen | 92.9 The Bull

Check out the Saskatchewan Rush Statistics

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National Lacrosse League Stories from February 29, 2020


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