Rush Look to Make NLL History
February 25, 2014 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Edmonton Rush News Release
Edmonton, AB----The Edmonton Rush can take a spot in the National Lacrosse League's history books on Friday night against the Toronto Rock as they attempt to match the NLL record for best undefeated start to a season.
At 7-0, the Rush are first overall in the NLL and are one win away from equaling the 8-0 regular-season record set by the 1993 edition of the Buffalo Bandits. Edmonton, which had a bye last weekend, extended their perfect start to the season back on Feb. 15 with a 14-9 road win against the Minnesota Swarm. The Rush have a 2.5 game lead and a game in-hand over second-place Calgary and a 4.5 game lead plus two games in-hand over third-place Colorado in the NLL West Division.
The Rock have not won back-to-back games so far this season, splitting their last home games with a 17-9 loss to Rochester and last weekend's 14-12 verdict over Minnesota.
The last meeting between the Rush and Rock resulted in Edmonton's first-ever win at the Air Canada Centre as they completed a five-game road trip with a 17-12 victory. The win not only pushed the Rush to a franchise-record seventh road victory of the season, it also ended the Rush's four-game losing streak against the Rock.
The Rush got hat tricks from both Mark Matthews and Zack Greer, while Kyle Rubisch and Corey Small each had two goals and two assists. Chris Corbeil, with a pair, Brett Mydske, Ryan Dilks, Curtis Knight, John Lafontaine, and Jeremy Thompson all added singles.
Toronto holds a 10-4 all-time record against Edmonton including a 10-9 road win in the 2013 season-opener. The two teams split their season series with one win apiece in 2009, 2010 and 2011. The Rush have not beaten the Rock at Rexall Place since 2011.
The Rush went into Minnesota two weeks ago, dominating most of the way and holding a commanding 12-4 cushion after three quarters. Jeremy Thompson led the Edmonton attack with a hat trick along with 19 loose balls. Zack Greer returned from injury and had two goals and two assists as did Mark Matthews. Rookie Riley Loewen added two goals with singles going to Curtis Knight, Chris Corbeil, Robert Church, Jarrett Davis, and former Swarm Nic Bilic who was playing his first game against his former club.
Mark Matthews continues to lead the Rush in scoring with 33 points, seven up on Curtis Knight who is tops on the Rush with 15 goals. Matthews is second with 14 goals and leads the team with 19 assists.
Rush vs. Rock - Season-by-Season Glance
2013
17-12 Rush win at Toronto (Mark Matthews and Zack Greer each notch hat tricks)
10-9 Rock win at Edmonton (Garrett Billings leads Toronto attack with six points)
2012
12-11 Rock win at Edmonton (Colin Doyle racks up one goal and seven assists)
12-8 Rock win at Toronto (Garrett Billings registers 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)
Statistically Speaking: Rush goalie Aaron Bold is tied for first with six wins on the year and is tops in the NLL with a 7.97 goals-against average. Bold is also second among NLL goaltenders with a .812 save-percentage ... Rush defender Kyle Rubisch notched nine loose balls and three forced turnovers against Minnesota and now stands third in the NLL with 14 forced turnovers ... Jeremy Thompson leads the Rush and is sixth in the NLL with 70 loose balls, and is currently eighth in the league with 82 faceoff wins. Thompson is also tied with Brett Mydske for second on the team with 12 forced turnovers ... Chris Corbeil is tied for first among NLL defenders with five goals and is sixth in scoring with nine points. Nik Bilic is right behind in seventh spot with eight points ... Edmonton's power play and penalty kill both rank fifth in the NLL. The Rush are 15-for-35 (42.9%) with the man-advantage, and have allowed 13 goals in 29 shorthanded situations (55.2%) ... Toronto's Colin Doyle scored his 500th career goal last weekend against Minnesota ... Garrett Billings of the Rock had nine assists in the win over the Swarm and leads the NLL in both points (58) and assists (42).
By The Numbers: The Rush have given up a league-low 54 goals so far this season ... Last season's road win over Toronto came at the end of a doubleheader weekend that included a win in Rochester. Those victories earned the Rush three weekly awards from the NLL - Corey Small for Offensive Player (6 goals, 5 assists), Curtis Knight for Top Rookie (6 goals, 5 assists), and Aaron Bold for Defensive Player (2 wins, 64 saves) ... The 17 goals scored by the Rush in the road win over Toronto marked the first time Edmonton had scored 17+ goals in a regular-season road game. The Rush's best offensive output in a regular-season home game also came against the Rock in an 18-11 win in 2011 ... Edmonton is 3-0 versus East Division teams so far in 2014 with victories over Philadelphia, Minnesota, and Rochester ... The Rush's Riley Loewen is third and Robert Church is fifth in NLL rookie scoring ... Toronto is 2-0 against the West Division, but 0-3 on the road so far this season.
Tickets are available by calling the Rush office at 780 732-RUSH.
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National Lacrosse League Stories from February 25, 2014
- Vancouver Stealth Announce Roster Moves - Vancouver Stealth
- Rush Look to Make NLL History - Edmonton Rush
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