Rush Open Playoffs
May 2, 2012 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Edmonton Rush News Release
Edmonton, AB---The Edmonton Rush open the 2012 National Lacrosse League playoffs looking to accomplish the same thing they did in 2010 - knock off the high-powered Calgary Roughnecks.
Calgary enters the Champion's Cup playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the West as well as the No. 1 overall seed in the NLL while Edmonton is ranked fourth in the West and eighth overall. The Rush have lost eight straight regular-season games and 13 of the last 15 encounters with the Roughnecks but the Rush hold the lone playoff victory between the clubs which came in the West Semifinal two years ago.
Ryan Ward's nine points and a playoff record performance by goaltender Matt Disher paced the Rush to a stunning 11-7 win over the defending league-champion Roughnecks in the '10 playoffs. Ward, the Rush's leading scorer that season, registered nine assists in the game, while Disher mustered a whopping 60 saves setting an NLL post-season record.
Calgary has thoroughly dominated regular-season play between the clubs and completed a sweep of their games against Edmonton for the second year in a row with a 9-6 win on April 21. Brett Mydske, Tom Johnson, Aaron Wilson, Ryan Ward, Kyle Rubisch, and Shawn Williams scored for the Rush while Aaron Bold racked up 44 saves.
The Roughnecks also took both ends of a weekend home-and-home set on March 9-10, leaving them with an all-time record of 20-4 against Edmonton. The Roughnecks opened the weekend set with a 13-10 win at Rexall Place. The Rush fired their way back into the game with an explosive fourth quarter but they faded down the stretch and were turned aside as Mike Poulin stood tall with 42 saves in the Calgary net. Scott Evans tied the Rush team record for goals in a game with six - lacrosse's double hat trick referred to as a sock trick - with single goals going to Kyle Rubisch, Zack Greer, Tom Johnson, and Aaron Wilson.
The Roughnecks returned to the Saddledome the following night, demolishing the Rush in the fourth quarter to take a 16-9 verdict. Calgary blasted Edmonton 7-0 in the final minutes to run roughshod over a game that was knotted 8-8 at halftime. Zack Greer notched a hat trick for Edmonton while Scott Evans potted a pair of goals. The Rush also got goals from Derek Suddons, Corey Small, Ryan Ward, and Kyle Rubisch.
In the first Battle of Alberta during the 2012 season, the Roughnecks earned a 12-8 win at the Saddledome. Corey Small and Scott Evans each scored twice for Edmonton with singles going to Jarret Toll, Tom Johnson, Ryan Ward, and Zack Greer.
The last Edmonton victory in regular-season play against Calgary came in the 2010 season, and the Rush hold the lone playoff win over the Roughnecks as they bounced the defending league champions out of the 2010 post-season with an 11-7 win in the West Division Semifinal.
Among last season's Roughneck wins over the Rush was a 12-11 victory in Edmonton's first-ever matinee game on February 20. Calgary took an early-season home-and-home series by counts of 15-11 at Rexall Place and then 12-11 in OT back on the Roughnecks' home floor.
The Rush enter the playoffs following an exciting regular-season finale against the Toronto Rock. Trailing 7-3 at halftime, the Rush outscored the Rock 6-2 in the third quarter but Toronto rebounded in the final period to sneak away with a 12-11 victory that clinched first place in the East Division for the Rock.
Shawn Williams led the Rush with three goals, including a shorthanded marker, plus two assists, while Zack Greer fired home two goals, including a power-play tally, and added two helpers. Scott Evans and Ryan also scored on the power play for Edmonton, with singles from Brett Mydske, Aaron Wilson, Corey Small, and Ryan Dilks rounding out the Rush attack.
NLL ironman Shawn Williams, who has played in a league-record 196 consecutive games, finished his first season in Edmonton as the Rush's top scorer with 16 goals and 52 assists for 68 points. Those 52 helpers placed Williams in sixth place in the NLL. Zack Greer ended the regular season as the Rush's top goal-scorer netting 31 goals, eight better than second-best shooter Scott Evans.
Ryan Ward finished the season second in Rush scoring with 57 points, with Corey Small next at 48 points, one up on Scott Evans. Ward and Small each finished third in goals with 19 apiece.
An outstanding sophomore NLL season was wrapped by Kyle Rubisch as the league-leader in forced turnovers with 43. The all-star defender led the Rush and finished sixth in the NLL with 151 loose balls. And Rush goaltender Aaron Bold put a stamp on his first season as a true starter in the league by finishing third in both goals-against average (10.47) and total saves (571).
Rush vs. Roughnecks - Season-by-Season Glance
2012
9-6 Roughnecks win at Edmonton (Shawn Evans scores four goals plus two assists)
16-9 Roughnecks win at Calgary (Shawn Evans pots five goals including penalty shot tally)
13-10 Roughnecks win at Edmonton (Curtis Dickson with four goals and three assists)
12-8 Roughnecks win at Calgary (Curtis Dickson nets hat trick plus two assists)
2011
19-14 Roughnecks win at Calgary (Jeff Shattler totals nine points with one goal and eight assists)
15-11 Roughnecks win at Edmonton (Dane Dobbie collects three goals and six assists)
12-11 Roughnecks OT win at Calgary (Mike Scherman pots the game-winner)
12-11 Roughnecks win at Edmonton (Jeff Shattler notches hat trick plus five assists)
2010
14-11 Rush win at Edmonton (Dean Hill notches hat trick and adds one assist)
13-8 Roughnecks win at Calgary (Josh Sanderson picks up three goals and three assists)
14-13 Roughnecks OT win at Edmonton (Josh Sanderson earns hat trick including game-winner)
*11-7 Rush win at Calgary (Ryan Ward notches nine points including eight assists)
*denotes playoff game
2009
10-9 Roughnecks OT win at Calgary (Curt Malawsky notches the game-winner)
22-10 Roughnecks win at Edmonton (Dane Dobbie collects 11 points including seven goals)
14-13 Roughnecks win at Edmonton (Tracey Kelusky racks up eight points including four goals)
2008
11-9 Rush win at Edmonton (Jimmy Quinlan pots four goals plus one assist)
18-7 Roughnecks win at Calgary (Kaleb Toth registers nine points including four goals)
12-8 Roughnecks win at Edmonton (Curt Malawsky registers four goals and one assist)
2007
13-12 Roughnecks win at Edmonton (Kaleb Toth and Lewis Ratcliff each with four points)
13-12 Rush win at Calgary (Chris Gill sets club record with six goals)
17-11 Roughnecks win at Edmonton (Tracey Kelusky collects two goals and seven assists)
2006
11-9 Roughnecks win at Calgary (Lewis Ratcliff scores five goals)
12-9 Roughnecks win at Edmonton (Kaleb Toth and Tracey Kelusky each with seven points)
12-11 Rush win at Calgary (Pat Campbell earns player of the game with 54 saves)
16-9 Roughnecks win at Edmonton (Lewis Ratcliff notches four goals and two assists)
Rush Honors: The Rush handed out their team awards at the regular-season finale with goaltender Aaron Bold taking the Team MVP award. Bold represented the Rush in the NLL All-Star Game and set club records for minutes played, goals-against average, total saves, and assists by a goaltender ... The Top Defender Award went to Kyle Rubisch while Derek Suddons, who set a career-high for goals in season, was named the Top Transition Player ... Other awards went to Shawn Williams (Top Scorer), Ryan Dilks (Community Service), Jimmy Quinlan (Unsung Hero), and John Lintz (Fans' Choice).
Statistically Speaking: Shawn Williams' first year in Edmonton was a dynamic one as he not only set the NLL's ironman streak, but he also became an illustrious member of the NLL's 1,000-career point club, reaching that plateau in a game against Calgary. Williams is currently sixth on the league's list of all-time games played with 207, while also being seventh in career goals with 395 and fourth in career assists with 573 ... Shawn Williams set the Rush team record for assists in a season with 52 and finished six off Ryan Ward's record for points in a season with 74 ... Aaron Bold shattered the Rush team record for assists in a season by a goaltender, setting a new mark of 14. His three assists last week against Toronto, including a helper on Shawn Williams' shorthanded tally, was one point off the team mark for points in a game by a goalie set by Curtis Palidwor and Pat Campbell ... Forced turnovers was a category the Rush dominated this season. Not only did Kyle Rubisch finish as the league-leader but Jarrett Toll (20), Jeff Cornwall (19), and Brett Mydske (18) were all in the league's top 10 ... Calgary's Shawn Evans ended the regular season fifth in the league with 13 power-play goals but was also the NLL's fourth-most penalized player with 65 penalty minutes ... Roughnecks goalie Mike Poulin tied for the league-lead with 10 victories and was also second in goals-against average at 10.27.
By The Numbers: Ryan Ward and Scott Evans tied for the Rush team lead in power-play goals with six apiece ... Ryan Ward, Shawn Williams and Steve Toll all had a team-high two shorthanded markers for the Rush ... Calgary and Edmonton ended the regular season with the NLL's top-two defenses. The Roughnecks gave up a league-low 170 goals while the Rush surrendered only 175 ... Calgary, though, had the NLL's second-best offense with 216 goals scored, just one behind league-leading Colorado. Edmonton notched a league-worst 167 goals which was also a franchise record ... Edmonton had a 4-7 record against West Division foes this season including 0-4 against the Roughnecks. Calgary went 9-2 vs. the West ... The first and third quarters were Edmonton's best through the regular season. The Rush outscored their opposition 48-36 in the opening frame, and 49-35 in the third period. Edmonton was outgunned 52-35 in second quarters and 51-34 in the fourth ... Rugged Roughneck Geoff Snider was the NLL's top loose ball collector with 232 and he finished second in faceoff wins with 276, second only to his brother Bob with the Washington Stealth ... Calgary has won the NLL Champion's Cup twice - in 2009 and 2004 - which ties them with Colorado and Rochester. Philadelphia and Toronto have won the most titles with six apiece followed by Buffalo with four.
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