Rush Playing for 1st Overall in NLL
February 25, 2015 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Edmonton Rush News Release
Edmonton, AB---The Edmonton Rush will look to extend their four-game winning streak and stay atop the National Lacrosse League's West Division, but they have a tough task ahead of them as they host the league-leading Toronto Rock Friday night.
After starting the season with two losses, the Rush have rattled off four consecutive wins including a sweep of a home-and-home series with Colorado on Feb. 13th and 15th. With those victories, Edmonton moved ahead of Colorado into top spot in the West by one-half game over the Mammoth, plus the Rush have a game in-hand on the entire division. Meanwhile, the Rock utilized a furious comeback featuring an 8-2 run in the second half to eventually topple the New England Black Wolves 13-12 in overtime last weekend to move two games up on Rochester in the East.
The Rush will once again look to hold tight against one of the NLL's most-potent offensive attacks as they are coming off a stellar defensive effort against Colorado that could bode well against Toronto. Edmonton held the lethal Colorado charge to just 14 goals in the two recent wins, and like the Mammoth, the Rock boast several top shooters including Josh Sanderson, who leads the NLL with 52 points, and Brett Hickey, who is second in goals with 22.
Edmonton opened its recent action with an 11-7 win in Denver. In a rare turn of events for the Rush, the usually team-oriented offensive was anchored by just four players as Zack Greer and Mark Matthews each potted four goals, Robert Church added a pair, and Ben McIntosh supplied the other marker. Greer notched three assists to finish with seven points, while McIntosh chipped in three helpers.
In an afternoon matinee back in Edmonton, Zack Greer again paced the attack as he connected for six points including a hat trick as the Rush pounded the Mammoth 13-7. Mark Matthews notched five points with a hat trick and two assists, Robert Church collected six points on two goals and four assists, and Ben McIntosh added two goals, both coming on the power play, and two assists. Jarrett Davis, Ryan Dilks, and Nic Bilic rounded out Edmonton's offense, while Aaron Bold posted 39 saves for the win.
The Rush have won three straight against Toronto, using two victories last year to help add on to their record-setting winning streak which ultimately reached 14-0. Last February, Cory Conway compiled two goals and three assists as the Rush defeated the Rock 11-10 at Rexall Place. Mark Matthews and Riley Loewen, with two each, Brett Mydske, Curtis Knight, Jarrett Davis, and Jeremy Thompson accounted for the rest of the Rush scoring.
At the end of March 2014, the Rush ended a two-game East Division road trip weekend with a 13-10 win at the Air Canada Centre behind a hat trick from Zack Greer and 38 saves from Aaron Bold. Robert Church scored twice on the power play for Edmonton, and the Rush got goals from Chris Corbeil, with a pair, Jarrett Davis, Mark Matthews, Nic Bilic, Cory Conway, Ryan Dilks, and Jeremy Thompson.
Through six games this season, Mark Matthews is the front-runner in the Rush scoring derby to with 36 points, and he is tied for fifth in the NLL with 20 goals. Ben McIntosh and Zack Greer are next in Rush scoring with 29 and 28 points, respectively, and both players are tied for second on the team with 14 goals.
Rush vs. Rock - Season-by-Season Glance
2014
13-10 Rush win at Toronto (Zack Greer scores hat trick in five-point effort)
11-10 Rush win at Edmonton (Cory Conway racks up two goals and three assists)
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
16-12 Rush win at Edmonton (Andy Secore fires in five goals plus three assists)
16-9 Rock win at Toronto (Lewis Ratcliff scores four goals with 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)
Momentum Shift: Toronto holds an all-time record of 10-6 against Edmonton but there's been a shift in power towards the West. The Rock won the first five meetings between the teams before the Rush finally won a game. The Rush didn't win in Toronto until 2013 and have now won two straight at the ACC. In fact after losing three straight to the Rock during the 2012 and 2013 seasons, the Rush have now won three straight over Toronto during the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
Statistically Speaking: In pro wrestling terms it's a handicap match as the Rock feature a rarity in the NLL - a true 1-2 punch in net versus the Rush's standalone star, Aaron Bold. The Edmonton goalie leads the league with an 8.67 goals-against average and a .800 save-percentage along with four victories. Toronto counters with Nick Rose (second, 9.45 GAA and .798 SVP, third with three wins) and Brandon Miller (third, 9.68 GAA and .968 SVP, tied for first with four wins) ... Edmonton's penalty kill leads the NLL at 75.0% (21 kills in 28 shorthanded situations) but the Rush's power play is ranked seventh at 42.9% (15-for-35) despite going 4-for-6 with the man-advantage in the 13-7 win over Colorado ... Toronto is ranked second on both the power play (54.6%) and penalty kill (69.1%) ... Ryan Dilks and league record-holder Kyle Rubisch are tied for eighth in the league with 12 caused turnovers. Jarrett Davis, Nic Bilic, and John Lintz are all next on the Rush with nine each ... Rush captain Chris Corbeil is eighth amongst NLL defenders with seven points so far this season ... The Rock boast a league-high eight shorthanded goals, three coming from Stephan Leblanc ... Toronto's Josh Sanderson is tops in the NLL with 44 assists and 13 power-play assists
By The Numbers: Mark Matthews leads the NLL with 21 points in Three Star Voting (3 x First Star, 2 x Second Star) ... Toronto has scored a league-high 107 goals while Edmonton has the league lead in goals against with only 54 ... Rookie Ben McIntosh and Rush teammate Robert Church are tied for eighth in NLL with five power-play goals, while Mark Matthews is tied for fifth with nine power-play assists ... Jeremy Thompson leads the Rush and is 12th in the NLL with 47 loose balls. Kyle Rubisch is next on the Rush with 37 ... The Rush have outscored their opponents 18-10 in first-quarter action and 22-14 in fourth-quarter play so far this season ... The Rush are 4-1 when leading after three quarters and 4-1 when they outshoot the opposition ... The Rush are the least-penalized team in the league with 90 PIM, while Toronto defender Billy Howstrawser has racked up 50 PIM all to himself ... Former Rush star Brodie Merrill leads Toronto and is fourth in the league with 15 caused turnovers and fifth in the league with 69 loose balls
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National Lacrosse League Stories from February 25, 2015
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- Rush Playing for 1st Overall in NLL - Edmonton Rush
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