Rush to battle Stealth
Published on March 28, 2008 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Edmonton Rush News Release
Edmonton, AB---This is the second of three meetings this season between the Edmonton Rush and the San Jose Stealth. Tonight's game will be broadcast on both The Team 1260 and Shaw TV.
The teams will meet for a final time this season on April 11 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose.
Back on Feb. 23, the Stealth came into Rexall Place and defeated the Rush 11-8 in the first game behind the bench for new Edmonton GM/Head Coach Bob Hamley who had replaced Paul Day earlier in the week. It was also the first game behind the bench for new Rush assistant coaches Jamey Bowen and Chris Stachniak.
Colin Doyle led the Stealth in the victory with four goals and two assists while Luke Wiles supplied two goals and three assists. For the Rush, Mike Accursi and Dan Stroup paced the offence with two goals apiece.
San Jose holds a 4-1 record in the five previous meetings with the Rush. The two teams hooked up in the inaugural game in Rush history and it was a thriller with San Jose pulling out an 11-10 OT victory at Rexall Place. Jamey Bowen scored the first goal in Rush history on this night while fellow Edmonton product Jimmy Quinlan picked up a goal and three assists.
Later in 2006, the Rush traveled to San Jose and despite some big individual performances, Edmonton dropped a 12-11 decision.
The division rivals met two times in 2007 beginning with the Rush's first victory over the Stealth as Dan Stroup and Chris Gill each registered a hat trick in an 11-9 verdict. But the Stealth gained a measure of revenge and dealt the Rush a 9-8 setback in San Jose. Despite the loss, it was a big game for Chris Gill as his first of three goals (and five points) put him into the prestigious 300-career goal club - an elite mark among the NLL's top shooters.
The Rush are coming off a tough road loss in Toronto last weekend as they dropped a 14-9 decision to the Rock, who swept the two-game season series. That loss led to a massive overhaul of the roster for the Rush as the NLL trade deadline hit on Tuesday afternoon.
GM/Head Coach Bob Hamley made three major moves which saw the Rush send leading scorer Mike Accursi to Buffalo, last season's leading scorer Chris Gill to Colorado, and goaltender Matt Disher to Portland. The key in all three deals was the acquisition of high-end draft picks as the trades yielded the Rush three first-round draft picks (one in 2008 and two in 2009) plus one second-round selection (in 2008). Edmonton also landed some immediate help in talented forward Dan Teat from Buffalo along with two promising younger players in defenceman Ian Crashley and goaltender Matt King.
These three trades came on the heels of three other major deals made by Hamley just after his arrival. All three players that were acquired -Mike Hominuck, Lindsay Plunkett, and Brenden Thenhaus - have made a quick impression with their new team.
Hominuck has seven points with the Rush including four goals - one of which was the overtime winner in Edmonton's 10-9 victory over Rochester. Hominuck has 28 points overall after beginning this season with Minnesota. Plunkett has five points with the Rush and has 27 points overall after starting the season in Chicago. Thenhaus has four points with the Rush and is one of several younger players including rookie Steve Hutchins who is expected to have a much larger with the new-look Rush.
Chris McKay, who was acquired by the Rush from Arizona through the 2007 NLL Dispersal Draft, is also expected to make his season debut with the club.
By moving over from Buffalo, Dan Teat has become the Rush's leading scorer with 11 goals and 23 assists for 34 points. Jimmy Quinlan, a two-time representative in the NLL All-Star Game and one of last six remaining players from the original Rush lineup, is second on the team in scoring with 11 goals and 19 assists for 30 points.
Plunkett's 14 goals is tops among Rush shooters with veteran Dan Stroup next at 12. Team Captain Chris McElroy leads the team with 65 loose balls with Ian Hawksbee next at 61.
Curtis Palidwor is tied for seventh among NLL goaltenders with a .765 save-percentage and he is ranked 10th with an 11.84 goals-against average.
Edmonton's power play is ranked 10th in the league at 39.6% (19-for-48) while the penalty-killing sits last in the league at 39.4% (20 goals allowed in 33 shorthanded situations). The Rush have allowed one shorthanded goal and have not scored a shorthanded goal.
San Jose's power play is third in the NLL at a 43.1% clip (25-for-58) while the Stealth penalty-killing is sixth at 58.7% (31 goals allowed in 75 shorthanded situations). The Stealth have scored a league-leading 13 shorthanded goals and have given up five shorthanded markers.
National Lacrosse League Stories from March 28, 2008
- Knighthawks Host First-Place Philadelphia Saturday - Rochester Knighthawks
- Rush to battle Stealth - Edmonton Rush
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