Rush Battle Mammoth with Playoffs on the Line
Published on March 31, 2011 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Edmonton Rush News Release
Edmonton, AB---The Edmonton Rush begin a three-game set against the Colorado Mammoth with a weekend home-and-home series that will go a long way to determining the final playoff positioning in the National Lacrosse League's West Division.
On top of the back-to-back meetings this weekend, the Rush and Mammoth will conclude their three-game season series in a third straight matchup against each other in Edmonton on April 9.
Friday's game is the first meeting between the clubs since the trade deadline deal which sent all-time franchise leading scorer Gavin Prout back to Colorado and brought Mike McLellan and a first-round draft pick to Edmonton.
The rematch on Saturday in Denver is the lone road game remaining on the Rush's schedule as they play four of their final five regular-season games at Rexall Place.
The Rush currently sit fourth in the West and hold down the final playoff spot, but the Mammoth have two games in-hand. Both teams are three games back of second-place Washington and 21/2 games behind third-place Minnesota.
Both the Rush and Mammoth are coming off critical wins last weekend. Edmonton needed a five-goal effort including the game-winner with four seconds remaining from newcomer Zack Greer to post a 14-13 victory over the visiting Minnesota Swarm. The win was the Rush's third in the past four outings against the Swarm. Scott Evans and Ryan Ward each had a pair of goals for Edmonton in the win, with singles going to Brodie Merrill, Mike McLellan, Andy Secore, John Lafontaine, and Kedoh Hill. Merrill chipped in four assists for a five-point night, Ward added three helpers to make it a five-point night for himself as well, and Corey Small supplied three assists to aid in the attack.
Meanwhile in Denver, the Mammoth snapped a 13-game home floor losing streak with a 9-8 decision over the Boston Blazers. Colorado had not won a home game since beating Edmonton 10-9 in the regular-season finale of the 2009 season.
After losing the first seven meetings against Colorado upon joining the NLL, the Rush have since won four of the last six encounters including three of the last four in Denver. The Mammoth still hold a 9-4 overall edge over Edmonton in franchise history, and did beat the Rush in the last matchup, taking a 14-10 verdict at Rexall Place.
Ryan Ward, last year's leading scorer for the Rush, led Edmonton in the two wins over Colorado during the 2010 campaign as he notched seven points in both victories.
The Rush did not earn their first franchise wins over the Mammoth until the 2009 season, when they won back-to-back outings in Denver and Edmonton. Over the course of the Rush's first three years in the NLL, the Mammoth had come away with a perfect 7-0 record including a 15-4 win on their home floor in the 2008 season.
With 12 points in his last two games, Ryan Ward has reemerged as the frontrunner in Rush scoring, leading the way with 45 points - three better than Corey Small. He also leads in the team in assists with 29, topping both Corey Small and Brodie Merrill who each have 27. Ward sits 19th in the league in both assists (29) and power-play assists (nine), and he is tied for second in the NLL with three shorthanded goals.
Scott Evans leads the Rush and is 17th in the NLL with 19 goals. Ryan Ward is next with 16 and Corey Small has 15. Evans's total of seven power-play markers ranks him sixth in the league and the power forward is fourth in the league in penalty minutes with 43.
Brodie Merrill is making a run at a third straight NLL Transition Player of the Year award as he continues to put up good numbers at both ends of the floor. On top of his offensive production, Merrill leads the NLL with 132 loose balls and he is ranked seventh in forced turnovers with 16.
Brett Mydske, who joined Brodie Merrill on the West Division team at the 2011 NLL All-Star Game, second amongst NLL defenders with seven goals, and he is ranked sixth in points with 10.
In addition to Gavin Prout and Mike McLellan, a handful of other players will be reconnecting with their former club when the Rush and Mammoth meet. Faceoff specialist Mac Allen spent the first two years of his NLL career with the Rush, while Jamie Floris was Edmonton's first-round pick in the 2007 NLL Entry Draft. As well, Ian Hawksbee returns to Edmonton for the first time since he was traded from the Rush to Washington earlier this season. Hawksbee was dealt at the trade deadline from the Stealth to Colorado.
Rush vs. Mammoth - Season-by-Season Glance
2010
14-13 Rush win at Colorado (Ryan Ward scores four goals and adds three assists)
13-9 Rush win at Colorado (Ryan Ward notches hat trick plus four assists)
14-10 Mammoth win at Edmonton (Jamie Shewchuk collects nine points including four goals)
2009
11-9 Rush win at Colorado (Ryan Benesch has eight-point night featuring five assists)
10-9 Rush win at Edmonton (Callum Crawford nets four goals and adds two assists)
10-9 Mammoth win at Colorado (Jamie Shewchuk scores twice and adds two assists)
2008
14-11 Mammoth win at Colorado (Dan Carey pots hat trick plus three assists)
15-4 Mammoth win at Colorado (Jamie Shewchuk scores four goals and adds three assists)
13-8 Mammoth win at Edmonton (Jamie Shewchuk has second straight seven-point game)
2007
16-9 Mammoth win at Edmonton (Jamie Shewchuk notches hat trick plus two assists)
16-7 Mammoth win at Colorado (Dan Carey leads with two goals and three assists)
2006
15-10 Mammoth win at Colorado (Dan Stroup collects six points including hat trick)
13-7 Mammoth win at Edmonton (Ben Prepchuk racks up six points including four helpers)
Statistically Speaking: Since joining the Rush in a trade with Minnesota, Zack Greer has been a superb spark for the offence, notching nine goals and five assists for 14 points in three games ... Of the Rush ¬â¢s three wins this season, two game-winning goals have come from the Greer brothers ¬" Bill ¬â¢s with 1:13 remaining against Washington, Zack ¬â¢s with four seconds left against Minnesota ¬Â¦ The Rush are now fifth in the NLL in goals-for with 131, which is also the third-best total in the West Division. However, they have given up a league-high 160 goals-against ¬Â¦ Colorado has managed a league-worst 89 goals-for on the season ¬Â¦ Edmonton ¬â¢s power play has crept up one spot after going 3-for-6 against Minnesota. The Rush are now ninth in the NLL on the power play at 31.2% (20-for-64), but the penalty killing is still ranked last at just 50.0% (27 goals surrendered in 54 shorthanded situations) ¬Â¦ However, the Rush are tied for second in the NLL with seven shorthanded goals scored ¬Â¦ Colorado is ranked sixth with the man-advantage at 39.7% (23-for-58) and fifth in penalty killing at 61.0% (16 goals surrendered in 41 shorthanded situations) ¬Â¦ The Mammoth are having a hard time staying out of the penalty box this season. The club is averaging a league-high 28.3 penalty minutes per game, and have amassed 283 penalty minutes, the second-highest total in the league ¬Â¦ Former Rush Mac Allen leads the NLL in penalty minutes with 51.
By The Numbers: The Rush are 1-6 in road games so far this season, while the Mammoth are 1-5 at home ¬Â¦ Edmonton is 1-4 when scoring the game ¬â¢s opening goal. Colorado is 1-2 when scoring first ¬Â¦ The Rush are 3-6 vs. West Division opposition, and Colorado is 1-5 vs. the West ¬Â¦ A breakdown of scoring stats tell much about the Rush ¬â¢s season. Edmonton has given up a league-high 48 second-quarter goals and a league-high 45 fourth-quarter goals. The Rush are tied for second in the NLL with 38 first-quarter goals but are just 1-4 when leading after the first quarter. The Rush are 2-1 on the year when holding a lead at halftime, and are a dismal 0-7 when trailing at the half ¬Â¦ John Grant, of the NLL ¬â¢s all-time leading scorers, is atop the Mammoth scoring list this season with 51 points. Amongst NLL leaders, Grant is ranked 15th in goals with 20 and 14th in assists with 31 ¬Â¦ Colorado sniper Alex Gajic is eighth in the NLL with six power-play goals ¬Â¦ Mammoth netminder Chris Levis is ranked fourth among league stoppers with a 10.03 goals-against average, and is situated fifth in save-percentage at .784 ¬Â¦ Edmonton goalie Matt Disher is ranked seventh in saves with 382.
National Lacrosse League Stories from March 31, 2011
- Minnesota Swarm Begin Back-To-Back with Calgary this Friday - Minnesota Swarm
- Philadelphia Wings Return to Wells Fargo Center this Saturday - Philadelphia Wings
- Mammoth Set for Home-And-Home Series with Rush - Colorado Mammoth
- Minnesota Swarm to Air Live on KSTC-TV Channel 45 this Saturday - Minnesota Swarm
- Stealth All-Access: Ratcliff & Doyle Among Tonight's Guests at 5:30pm on Fox Sports 1380 - Washington Stealth
- Calgary Sweeps March Player Of The Month Awards - NLL
- Mammoth Announces 'Lacrosse Out Cancer' Online Auction - Colorado Mammoth
- Washington Stealth & Susan G. Komen for the Cure Present "Pink in the Rink" April 9 - Washington Stealth
- Rush Battle Mammoth with Playoffs on the Line - Edmonton Rush
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