NLL Saskatchewan Rush

RUSH vs. BANDITS

Published on January 21, 2018 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Saskatchewan Rush News Release


With a fourth straight victory last weekend in Colorado, the Saskatchewan Rush will look to keep the second-best start to a season in franchise history going when they take on the Buffalo Bandits.

The Rush topped Colorado 17-12 last Saturday to become the only remaining unbeaten team in the National Lacrosse, while moving to first place overall and into sole possession of top spot in the West Division. Meanwhile, the Bandits surrendered the first win of the season for the Vancouver Stealth (an 11-10 overtime outcome on Buffalo's home turf) and dropped into a three-way tie for third in the East.

Saskatchewan's 4-0 start is second only to the team's record-setting run of 14 consecutive wins at the start of the 2014 season which led to a 16-2 regular-season record. The Rush earned that fourth win behind a 10-point game from Ben McIntosh (2 goals, 8 assists) along with seven points from Mark Matthews (1 goal, 6 assists). Curtis Knight, Robert Church and Marty Dinsdale each posted hat tricks in win with Adrian Sorichetti and Mike Messenger both scoring twice to go with a single from Ryan Keenan.

This is the first of two meetings this season between the Rush and Bandits with Saskatchewan holding a 5-3 lead in all-time regular-season games. They will clash again on March 16 in Buffalo. The two teams met only once last season with the Rush securing a 17-14 home-turf victory. Ryan Keenan notched a hat trick for Saskatchewan as did former Rush Adam Jones. Curtis Knight, Mark Matthews, Adrian Sorichetti, and Ben McIntosh each scored twice with singles going to Mike Messenger, Robert Church, and Marty Dinsdale.

That game was the first since the Rush and Bandits collided in the 2016 Champion's Cup Final with the Rush winning the second straight league title with a stunning two-game sweep in the best-of-three series.

The Rush won Game 1 of the series by taking an 11-9 verdict a week earlier in Buffalo. Saskatchewan got goals from Robert Church, Ben McIntosh, and Zack Greer in the fourth quarter, and then the Rush played strong defence late to halt any threat of a comeback by the Bandits. Church, McIntosh, Greer, and Mark Matthews each scored twice for the Rush with singles going to Adrian Sorichetti, Jarrett Davis, and Jeff Cornwall.

Saskatchewan claimed the Cup in Game 2 which came down to the very last moments with Rush transition Jeff Cornwall scoring the game-winning and series-clinching goal on a breakaway with just two seconds left in regulation time to give Saskatchewan an 11-10 victory before a sold-out crowd of more than 15,100 at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon. Robert Church, Curtis Knight, Mark Matthews, Ben McIntosh, and Zack Greer each scored twice for the Rush while Aaron Bold mustered 47 saves and was named Champion's Cup MVP.

The Rush had won four consecutive regular-season meetings against Buffalo until the Bandits finally found some measure of revenge by winning the lone meeting between the teams in both 2015 and 2016. The 2016 loss was a tough one for the Rush to swallow as the Bandits got an overtime winner from Mitch Jones to take a 19-18 verdict in Saskatoon. That loss spoiled nine-point outings by Rush forwards Robert Church (5 goals, 4 assists) and Mark Matthews (2 goals, 7 assists). Also scoring for the Rush were Ben McIntosh, with four, two each for Nik Bilic, Adrian Sorichetti, and Dan Taylor, and one from Jarrett Davis. Church forced overtime with his fifth of the game coming with 35 seconds remaining.

 

Statistically Speaking: The Rush's Mark Matthews and Ben McIntosh are right amongst the league-leaders in the top offensive categories. Matthews is fourth in points with 28, one up on McIntosh. McIntosh is tied for second with 13 goals, while Matthews is tied for third with 19 assists ... Saskatchewan holds the NLL's top-ranked power play at 70.0% (14-for-20). Ben McIntosh is tied for the league-lead with six power-play goals, while Robert Church (eight) and Mark Matthews (seven) are second and third, respectively, in power-play assists ... The Rush lead the NLL in team shooting percentage at 24.8%. Defenceman Brett Mydske is a perfect two goals on two shots, while Adrian Sorichetti holds a 71.4% rate with five goals on seven shots ... Saskatchewan's Curtis Knight is currently tied for the league-lead with two game-winning goals ... Rush goalie Evan Kirk leads the league with four wins and has the second-best goals-against average at 10.25. Kirk also stands fourth with a save-percentage of .778 ... Jeremy Thompson leads the Rush with 33 loose ball scoops, and is ranked fifth in the NLL in faceoff wins (52-for-101) ... Defenceman Brett Mydske leads the Rush with seven forced turnovers ... Buffalo's Dhane Smith, the 2016 NLL MVP, is tied for fifth with 27 points and tied for third with 19 assists ... 2017: Saskatchewan's Mark Matthews finished second in league scoring last season as he 113 points left him just three behind Georgia's Lyle Thompson. Matthews had 73 assists to lead the league and break his own franchise record. Matthews also finished second behind Thompson in Three Star Award voting with Thompson earning 39 points (6 x First Star, 2 x Second Star and 3 x Third Star) and Matthews totaling 33 points (5 x First Star, 2 x Second Star, 2 x Third Star) ... The Rush's Robert Church cracked the NLL's top-20 scoring last season with 77 points, and for the second straight season, Church led the NLL in power-play goals. After scoring 17 on the man-advantage in 2016, Church notched 21 goals on the power play in last season. Mark Matthews helped the cause along with a league-high 29 power-play assists.

By the Numbers: Saskatchewan's Mark Matthews continues to hold the NLL's game-high lead in goals (six) and points (13) so far this season ... The Rush are tops in the NLL in both goals scored per game (average of 17.75) and goals allowed per game (10.25). They have scored the second-most goals with 71 and surrendered the fewest at just 41. Meanwhile, Buffalo is eighth by allowing an average 13.80 goals per game. The Bandits have given up the second-most goals (69) ... Saskatchewan's Ben McIntosh is tied for second in the Three Star Award voting with 13 points (2 x First Star, 1 x Second Star). Rush goalie Evan Kirk is third with 11 points (1 x First Star, 2 x Second Star) ... While their power-play leads the NLL, the Rush's penalty kill stands fifth at 56.3%. Buffalo is ranked sixth in both power play (46.2%) and penalty kill (55.6%) ... The Bandits are averaging the fourth-highest penalty minutes per game at 16.60. The Rush are seventh with an average of only 9.75 PIM per game ... Buffalo defenceman Nick Weiss is tied for the league-lead with two shorthanded goals and is also tied for second in defenceman scoring with eight points. Fellow Bandits defenceman Steve Priolo also has eight points and is tied for second with 10 forced turnovers ... Josh Byrne of the Bandits leads all NLL rookies with 14 points and nine assists ... The last time the Rush played the Bandits, Saskatchewan chased Buffalo starter Anthony Cosmo to the bench with less than 10 minutes gone after scoring five goals on 13 shots. Cosmo retired after last season and the Bandits brought in former Colorado backup Alexis Buque as their new starter ... The Rush have outscored their opposition 25-8 in third-quarter play so far this season and 20-9 in second-quarter action. The Rush have not trailed at the end of any quarter or halftime so far this season ... Buffalo has been outscored 23-14 in second-quarter play this season. The Bandits are 2-0 this season when leading after three quarters, but 0-3 when behind after three ... 2017: Saskatchewan finished second in NLL attendance last season with an average of 14,921 fans per game, trailing Buffalo by only 227 ... Rush forward Mark Matthews was named to the NLL's First Team All-Pro following last season, while teammate Mike Messenger earned a spot on the All-Rookie Team. Messenger finished tied for fourth in defence scoring last season and led all rookies in penalty minutes ... Last season, the Rush were 8-3 when leading after the first quarter, 7-1 when up a halftime, and 10-1 when ahead after three quarters. The Rush were also 4-1 in one-goal games.

Check out the Saskatchewan Rush Statistics

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National Lacrosse League Stories from January 21, 2018


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