Rush Look to Continue Hot Start
January 16, 2014 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Edmonton Rush News Release
The Edmonton Rush have leapt over hurdles through the first two games of the 2014 National Lacrosse League season.
And they've made those leaps with plenty of room to spare.
Still basking in their road warrior success of 2013, the Rush won their season-opener by rolling over the Colorado Mammoth 13-10 in Denver back on Dec. 28. Then came the Rush's home-opener and they clobbered Colorado 17-6, finally proving could they defend their turf at Rexall Place after last year's dismal home record.
So at 2-0 and leading the NLL's West Division, the Rush square-off with the next team presenting a major hurdle to overcome - the Calgary Roughnecks.
"We've had our struggles against Calgary in our own barn and it's time we get one," said Rush GM/Head Coach Derek Keenan, whose club has lost nine straight home games against the Roughnecks.
The Rush have found very little success against their provincial rival over the years, at one point losing 12 straight regular-season matchups. Yet the Rush have won both playoff meetings with the Roughnecks, taking out Calgary on its home floor in the 2010 and 2012 West Division Semifinal.
What the Rush will hope for is simply a continuation of their hot start to the '14 campaign. After taking out the Mammoth in Denver, the Rush played perhaps the best game in franchise history by thoroughly dominating the Mammoth in the return matchup of the back-to-back series. The offense fired away at will against the beleaguered Colorado goalies as Mark Matthews and Zack Greer both racked up five goals and Matthews finished with nine points while Jarrett Davis put a hat trick and five assists on the scoresheet for an eight-point game.
Rookies Riley Loewen and Robert Church also provided some pop to the Rush attack. Loewen followed his hot outing in Colorado with two more goals plus four assists in the return game, while Church made his pro debut and counted five helpers. At the other end of the floor, Rush goalie Aaron Bold turned a terrific first-quarter performance into a 40-save effort and his defense shut the Mammoth down with 12 forced turnovers.
"We got off to a quick start and we didn't take our foot off the pedal," said Davis, who helped the Rush put together a 6-1 cushion after the first quarter.
"It's too early to get too excited or too down about anything with an 18-game season," added Keenan. "I'm happy with the start but we know that this weekend is going to be really difficult with Calgary. It's always a tough battle and we have to be prepared to be at our best."
The Rush and Roughnecks stack up quite well across the board as both teams have capable goaltending, stingy defenses, and potent offenses. In a game within a game scenario, the Roughnecks have had a decided edge of the years thanks to all-purpose transition standout Geoff Snider.
Snider is unquestionably one of the NLL's all-time great faceoff men, not to mention one of the most-feared fighters in league history. The Rush need to find a way to neutralize what Snider can bring to the table particularly when it comes to ball possession.
"Snider is such a good faceoff man. Our objective is not to get scored on off the faceoff or in transition," noted Keenan.
"(Rush transition) Jeremy Thompson has done a pretty good job for us on faceoffs and a decent job against Snider. Snider can create a great deal of offense off the faceoffs and can really cause some big momentum swings so we have to be on top of that."
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National Lacrosse League Stories from January 16, 2014
- Rock Move Eric Law to Active Roster - Toronto Rock
- Swarm Ready to Return to the Hive this Sunday against Philadelphia - Minnesota Swarm
- Rush Look to Continue Hot Start - Edmonton Rush
- Goodleaf Returns to Active Roster - Rochester Knighthawks
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