Rush Battle Rock with Playoffs Looming

April 26, 2012 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Edmonton Rush News Release


Edmonton, AB---The Edmonton Rush will look to enter the NLL Champion's Cup playoffs on a winning note as they close out the regular season in a showdown against the cross-Canada rival Toronto Rock.

The Rush will enter the Champion's Cup playoffs for only the second time in franchise history and the first since 2010. Edmonton will enter as the fourth seed in the West Division, and the Rush will take on the Calgary Roughnecks in the West Division Semifinal slated for Saturday, May 5 at the Saddledome. In Edmonton's only other playoff appearance, the Rush knocked off the defending champion Roughnecks in the West Semifinal before bowing out to Portland in the West Final.

Edmonton secured the final berth in the West thanks to a road-and-home weekend series split against Colorado and Calgary. Last Friday night, the Rush put together a well-rounded attack getting two goals from Zack Greer, Steve Toll, Tom Johnson, and Corey Small on their way to a 14-11 victory over the Colorado Mammoth in Denver. Adding singles for the Rush were Aaron Wilson, Ryan Dilks, Ryan Ward, Kyle Rubisch, and Jimmy Quinlan, while netminder Aaron Bold turned aside 49 shots.

That win not only locked up the playoff spot for the Rush but ended Edmonton's six-game road losing streak, and gave the Rush a win in four of their last six visits to Colorado.

One night later, however, the Rush suffered their eighth straight regular-season loss to the Calgary Roughnecks as they dropped a 9-6 decision at Rexall Place. Calgary swept the season series for the second straight campaign and has won 13 of the last 15 games against Edmonton. Brett Mydske, Tom Johnson, Aaron Wilson, Ryan Ward, Kyle Rubisch, and Shawn Williams scored for the Rush while Aaron Bold racked up 44 saves.

Toronto has sewn up a spot in the East playoffs, but can still win the Division with a victory over the Rush or a loss by Philadelphia at Rochester. The Rock have secured a least home-field advantage for one of the East Semifinals.

The Rock have won 9 of 12 all-time meetings with Edmonton and Toronto extended itself to a perfect 6-0 mark at the Air Canada Centre against the Rush with a 12-8 victory earlier this month. Edmonton actually led 3-1 early in the second quarter in that game but the Rock responded with nine straight goals including two goals in the final 15 seconds of the first half. The Rush were led by Ryan Ward's hat trick along with two goals from Corey Small plus singles from Derek Suddons, Chris Corbeil, and Scott Evans.

Last season, the Rock, on the strength of a six-goal second quarter, handed the Rush a 13-7 setback in the season-opener for Edmonton. Garrett Billings and Kasey Beirnes each had two goals and two assists for Toronto, while Blaine Manning notched a goal and five assists, and Stephan Leblanc fired in three goals. The Rush rebounded, however, in the regular-season finale last April, netting eight goals in the first quarter en route to an 18-14 victory at Rexall Place. Corey Small led the Rush attack with seven points while Scott Evans registered six. Small, Evans, and Ryan Ward each netted hat tricks and 11 different Rush shooters hit the back of the Toronto net.

Heading into the regular-season finale, Shawn Williams leads the Rush with 63 points and sits sixth in the NLL with 50 assists. Zack Greer is tops on the Rush with 29 goals, followed by Scott Evans at 22, and both Ryan Ward and Corey Small at 18. Ward and Small also sit 1-2 in Rush scoring with 54 and 46 points, respectively.

All-star defender Kyle Rubisch leads the NLL with 37 forced turnovers and he is ranked fourth in loose balls with 144. Alongside Rubisch, the Rush's stellar defense this year is anchored by goaltender Aaron Bold who is third among NLL netminders in both goals-against average (10.37) and saves (540).

Toronto, which boasts the East Division's best offense, is coming off a 16-13 victory over Washington last weekend. The Rock's snipers are led by Garrett Billings who is second in NLL scoring with 106 points and the league-leader in assists with 79.

Rush vs. Rock - Season-by-Season Glance

2012

12-8 Rock win at Toronto (Garrett Billings racks up 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

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

16-12 Rush win at Edmonton (Andy Secore fires in five goals plus 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)

13-11 Rock win at Edmonton (Colin Doyle notches two goals and five assists)

Rush Records: With the regular-season finale upon them, the Rush have a handful of team records still up for grabs:

*Shawn Williams - needs 11 points to equal team record for points in a season (74, Ryan Ward)

*Aaron Bold - currently at 10.37 goals-against average (10.48, Curtis Palidwor)

*Aaron Bold - needs 1 assist to equal team record for assists by goalie in a season (12, Pat Campbell)

*Rush goalie Aaron Bold has already set new team records in two categories. Bold stands at 891 minutes played which pushed him past the old mark set of 808 by Matt Disher in 2010, and Bold's 540 saves eclipsed Disher's previous best of 527 also set in '10.

*Zack Greer also set a new Rush record for shots in a season with 157, slipping by Dan Teat's 155 set in 2009.

Statistically Speaking: Edmonton continues to boast the NLL's best defense with just 163 goals allowed through 15 games. The Rush, however, have the league's least-productive offense with only 156 goals scored ... With 186 goals scored, Toronto has the top-ranked offense in the East Division and tied for third overall in the NLL. The Rock have given up 185 goals - fewest in the East ... Edmonton's penalty-killing took a bit of a beating last Saturday as Calgary notched five power-play goals in the victory. The Rush now stand with a 50.0% penalty-kill and a power-play at a 31.4% clip ... Stephan Hoar is ranked fifth in the NLL with 129 faceoff wins

By The Numbers: The regular-season finale in 2011 against Toronto which the Rush won 18-14 set Edmonton team records for most goals scored in a victory, as well as most goals scored in a first half with 13 ... With their split against Colorado and Calgary last weekend, the Rush end the 2012 campaign with a 4-7 record against West Division foes ... The Rock end the regular season with a 5-4 mark versus their East Division opponents ... Toronto won the first five meetings in franchise history against Edmonton, and Toronto has a narrow 4-3 edge since with team winning their respective home games ... The Rush have outscored their opponents 47-34 in first quarters this seasons but have been outmatched 47-33 in second quarters and 48-32 in fourth quarters ... Jarrett Toll is fourth in the NLL with 20 forced turnovers and he is second on the Rush with 92 loose balls. Brett Mydske and Jeff Cornwall are tied for third on the Rush with 17 forced turnovers apiece ... Rush goalie Aaron Bold is sixth in the NLL with six wins.



National Lacrosse League Stories from April 26, 2012


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