Rush Face Important Battle Saturday
March 21, 2012 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Edmonton Rush News Release
Edmonton, AB---The Edmonton Rush will look to snap a three-game losing skid and get ahead of the Washington Stealth in the battle for a playoff spot as they meet their West Division rival for the second time in the 2012 National Lacrosse League season.
The Rush, who have a game in-hand on Washington, are one-half game behind the fourth-place Stealth, who are 2 1/2 games in back of third-place Minnesota. Edmonton is coming off a heartbreaking 16-15 loss at Philadelphia last Saturday, while Washington split last weekend's home-and-home series with league-leading Colorado.
Edmonton's lone road win of the season came in late January when the Rush handed the Stealth a devastating 16-5 loss in Everett. This is the final meeting of the year between the two clubs.
In one of the best road-game performances in club history, the Rush cruised past the Stealth thanks in large part to an 11-goal first half. One week after Shawn Williams established a new Rush club record for points in a game with nine, Corey Small equaled the mark against Washington. Small, who was Edmonton's leading scorer in 2011, picked up a pair of first-half goals and chipped in seven assists.
Also leading the attack for the Rush against the Stealth were Zack Greer, who notched a hat trick for the second straight game, and Shawn Williams who picked up six points on three goals and three assists. Scott Evans also had a six-point game (two goals, four assists), and Tom Johnson, who was playing his first game against his former club, registered a five-point effort (two goals, three assists). Aaron Wilson (two goals, two assists) and Ryan Ward (four assists) had four-point games, and the Rush scoring was rounded by singles from Captain Jimmy Quinlan and Chris Corbeil.
The Rush hold a 6-11 all-time regular-season record against the Washington/San Jose franchise, and the Stealth also clutch to the lone playoff victory in the teams' history - an overtime thriller that sent Washington to the 2010 Champion's Cup final.
Edmonton did take two of three regular-season meetings last season from Washington. The Rush, who opened last season with a dreadful 0-5 start, finally picked up their first victories of the campaign by dropping the Stealth on both ends of a home-and-home weekend series in early February. Opening up at Rexall Place, the Rush notched a 14-12 verdict and then a night later in E
National Lacrosse League Stories from March 21, 2012
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- Rush Face Important Battle Saturday - Edmonton Rush
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