Rush looks for first win against Portland
February 29, 2008 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Edmonton Rush News Release
Edmonton, AB---This is the third and final meeting of the 2008 season between the clubs who entered the National Lacrosse League as expansion rivals for the 2006 season.
The LumberJax have already won the season series thanks to a sweep of a home-and-home series in February. Portland took an 11-10 decision at Rexall Place back on Feb. 2 and the LumberJax took care of business again back at home on Feb. 17 with a 14-8 victory.
The Rush have managed just one win in seven previous meetings with the LumberJax.
In the first meeting of this season, Jimmy Quinlan anchored the Rush attack as he pocketed five points on three goals and two assists - a performance that earned him Transition Player of the Week honours from the NLL. Mike Accursi also had a three-goal game for the Rush while Dan Stroup supplied a goal and three assists.
In the rematch two weeks later, the Rush fell behind 7-1 and couldn't recover as they suffered their worst loss of the season. Dan Stroup led the Rush with a four-goal effort while both Mike Accursi and A.J. Shannon chipped in a goal and four assists. That defeat marked the final game for GM/Head Coach Paul Day who, along with assistant coaches A.J. Jomha and Jim Milligan, was relieved of his duties two days later. Day had guided the Rush since the club's inception but despite a massive overhaul of player personnel in the off-season, the Rush were off to a sluggish start and Day's overall record with the team ended at a dismal 7-30.
The teams split last season's two matchups with the Rush taking a 9-8 overtime win - the club's first victory in OT and first over their expansion rivals. Chris Gill led the Rush attack with three goals while Ryan O'Connor notched the game winner.
Portland earned a measure of revenge by taking a 14-10 decision at the Rose Garden. Quinlan paced the Rush with four goals and one assist while Randy Daly added a hat trick.
In the clubs' inaugural season of 2006, the LumberJax swept all three meetings. Portland topped the Rush 15-12 at Rexall Place despite a five-point night from Jamey Bowen. Jason Clark set a Rush record (later equaled by Chris Gill) by registering eight points on three goals and five assists but his effort wasn't enough as the Jax won 14-10 in Portland. The teams wrapped up the '06 season with a second straight meeting at the Rose Garden and Bowen notched another five-point game but the LumberJax picked up an 11-7 win
New GM/Head Coach Bob Hamley took over the Rush last week and, along with assistant coach Jamey Bowen and Chris Stachniak, was behind the bench for the Rush's matchup with the San Jose Stealth at Rexall Place. Despite holding a halftime lead and getting a four-point effort from Mike Accursi, the Rush fell on their home floor 11-8 to remain winless on the year.
Mike Accursi has surged ahead on the Rush scoring chart, leading the club with 27 points on a team-leading 10 goals and a team-leading 17 assists. A.J. Shannon along with veterans Dan Stroup and Chris Gill are all tied for second in team goal-scoring with eight apiece and Jimmy Quinlan sits third with seven goals. Quinlan is second on the Rush with 13 assists, two ahead of both Shannon and Ben Prepchuk.
Stroup leads the Rush with three power-play goals while Accursi and Quinlan are tied with six power-play assists. Chris McElroy is the top loose-ball collector with the Rush at 45 with Ian Hawksbee next at 42. Transition player Cam Bergman, who represented the Rush at the 2006 NLL All-Star Game, returned to the lineup last week and collected nine loose balls.
The Rush have two players amongst the NLL's top 20 in shooting percentage. Captain Chris McElroy in ninth with four goals on just 10 shots (40.0%) and newcomer Kyle Goundrey, a former assistant captain with the Calgary Roughnecks, is tied for 19th with six goals on 19 shots (31.6%).
Matt Disher, who has assumed the starting goaltender spot with the Rush, stands eighth in the NLL with an 11.65 goals-against average and he is 10th in the league in minutes played at just over 216.
Edmonton, which has a league-low 57 goals, sits last in the NLL on the power play at 12-for-33 (36.4%). The Rush's penalty-killing has also snuck to the bottom of the league allowing 14 goals in 23 shorthanded situations (39.1%). The Rush have not scored and have not allowed a shorthanded goal this season.
Portland's power play is tops in the NLL, coasting at a 25-for-43 clip (58.1%), while the LumberJax penalty-killing is 11th in the league having allowed 25 goals in 46 shorthanded situations (45.7%). The Jax have scored one shorthanded goal but are tied for third in the league having given up six shorthanded markers.
Trade Move
In his first move as GM/Head Coach of the Edmonton Rush, Bob Hamley has acquired forward Brenden Thenhaus from the Philadelphia Wings in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2008 National Lacrosse League Entry Draft.
Thenhaus, 21, played in three of the Wings' five games this season, registering one goal and one assist along with 13 loose balls. Both of his points came in a 19-11 win for Philadelphia over the Chicago Shamrox on Jan. 12.
In 2007, Thenhaus spent his rookie season in the NLL with the Buffalo Bandits where he picked up two goals and two assists in four games. He joined the Wings this past December by signing as a free agent.
Recently, the six-foot-two, 210-pounder was chosen second overall by the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks in the 2008 draft for the Major Series Lacrosse - the Ontario-based summer pro league. Last summer in Junior A, Thenhaus finished third in scoring with the Brampton Excelsiors with 10 goals and 26 assists for 36 points in 10 games. While with Brampton, he was a teammate of 2007 Rush draft pick Jordan Coffey.
In 2006 with the Oakville Buzz, Thenhaus, who was an assistant captain with the team, led entire Ontario Junior B League in scoring and then guided the Buzz to the Founders Cup national title.
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National Lacrosse League Stories from February 29, 2008
- Wings Remain Undefeated With 16-12 Win Over New York - Philadelphia Wings
- Titans Lose Tough Battle In Philly Friday Night - Orlando Titans
- Rock Set To Take On Roughnecks This Weekend - Toronto Rock
- Rush looks for first win against Portland - Edmonton Rush
- Wings trade Brendan Thenhaus to Edmonton for second round pick in 2008 draft - Philadelphia Wings
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