Rush Stun Roughnecks 19-11 in West Semi-Final
Published on May 6, 2012 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Edmonton Rush News Release
Calgary - After dropping eight consecutive games to their provincial rivals over the last two regular seasons, the Edmonton Rush won when it mattered most as Edmonton routed the Calgary Roughnecks 19-11 in the playoff version of the Battle of Alberta Saturday night in National Lacrosse League action before 11,161 fans at Scotiabank Saddledome.
The top two defensive clubs in the NLL fired up the offense in the all-Alberta West Division semi-final matchup as Ryan Ward paced the Rush with a five goal and six assist effort and Edmonton had contributions from all facets in the balanced scoring attack victory.
A six-goal outburst in the opening quarter by Edmonton gave the Rush the start it needed and the club's highly rated defense held the Roughnecks to only five goals in the second half to secure its second visit to the Divisional Final in three seasons.
Edmonton, who went 6-10 in the regular season, knocked off the top seeded Roughnecks (12-4) for the second time in as many playoff matchups after the Rush bounced Calgary 11-7 in a divisional semi-final win in 2010.
"Timing is everything and we picked the right time to beat them," said Ward, who also had nine points in the post-season win over the Roughnecks two years ago. "We've peaked at the right time and everybody contributed and now it's off to Minnesota."
The Rush now meet the Minnesota Swarm in the West Final next Saturday at Xcel Energy Center and Toronto hosts Rochester in the East Final.
"It's a great feeling," said Rush head coach and general manger Derek Keenan after the win Saturday. "There's been a lot of frustration playing these guys (Calgary) over the past two years, especially dropping eight in a row.
"But, the first thing we addressed after watching the four games against these guys is we got outworked and outrun. We were really good in those areas tonight and we played very good on offense. We shot the ball well and executed and got some strong performances from Ryan Ward and all the offensive guys, really."
After Ward's 11 points, Edmonton had an eight-point night from Corey Small (5G, 3A) and potent outings from Tom Johnson (3G), Aaron Wilson (1G, 5A), Zack Greer (2G, 3A), Shawn Williams (1G, 4A) and singles from John Lafontaine and Jimmy Quinlan. Goaltender Aaron Bold stopped 39-of-50 shots in the win and added three assists.
"When we get contributions from all those guys, which we also saw a few weeks back in a victory over Colorado, a balanced attack really leads to our success," Keenan added. "And let's not forget a strong defensive effort and another excellent performance from Aaron Bold."
"For us to be effective, everybody has to chip in," Ward commented. "When everyone's scoring, teams are dangerous and the opposition can't pin on one guy and that's what happened tonight."
Calgary's Dane Dobbie (3G, 4A), Shawn Evans (2G, 4A), Scott Ranger (4G, 1A) and Jeff Shattler (2G, 3A) provided most of the offense for the Riggers while relief netminder Frank Scigliano was tagged with the loss after spelling Calgary starter Mike Poulin.
The Roughnecks opened the scoring on the power-play 1:21 into the opening quarter before Greer tied the score with a ripper from the 24-foot line at 3:43.
Small put the visitors up 2-1 with a low shot less than two minutes later and Ward continued the run when his shot went through a crowd and past Poulin at 9:02 and then Ward followed that up with a quick-stick from the side of the net for a 4-1 lead just 52-ticks later.
Calgary cut the lead in half before Williams put the Rush ahead 5-2 with a power-play marker at 13:07 and Edmonton's Johnson converted on Codron's pass in transition 49-seconds later to chase Poulin and make it a 6-2 lead going into the second frame.
The Roughnecks' Evans made the score a three goal difference early in the second quarter with the man advantage and Rush captain Quinlan took advantage of a Calgary turnover to restore the four-goal lead at 3:05 with Edmonton up 7-3.
After Calgary's Shattler cut the lead to three goals, Wilson, in transition, doubled the Rush lead to 8-4 and Johnson fired his second of the game, from on top the crease on a delayed call, for a 9-4 lead before the Riggers tallied twice in the last four minutes to trail 9-6 into halftime.
Ranger made it a two-score game early in the third quarter before Edmonton went on a roll when Small connected on a cross-crease pass on the power-play at 2:17 followed by Ward's hat-trick marker 73-ticks later and Johnson continued the Rush run when he notched his third of the game from in tight to make it a 12-7 score.
The clubs traded tallies when Dobbie and then Ward, with his fourth of the game, continued the offensive fireworks and then Ranger notched his fourth marker for a 13-9 Edmonton lead.
After Dobbie made it a three-goal deficit, Edmonton's Lafontaine put a deft shot past Poulin from close-range late in the frame to put the visitors up 14-10 at the end of three quarters.
The scoring slowed down in the fourth stanza until Small sniped his hat-trick goal on the power-play at 9:43 followed by Dobbie's third of the game for a 15-11 Edmonton lead before the floodgates opened with four consecutive Rush tallies in the final four minutes en route to the 19-11 decision.
National Lacrosse League Stories from May 6, 2012
- Minnesota Swarm Playoff Tickets Go on Sale at Ticketmaster.Com Monday - Minnesota Swarm
- Rush Stun Roughnecks 19-11 in West Semi-Final - Edmonton Rush
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