Rush vs. Black Wolves Game Notes
December 14, 2019 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Saskatchewan Rush News Release
Saskatchewan Rush (1-0) vs. New England Black Wolves (1-0)
7:30PM (CST), Saturday, December 14th 2019
Co-op Field at SaskTel Centre, Saskatoon, SK
Watch | B/R Live
Listen | 92.9 The Bull
Saskatoon, SK - The Saskatchewan Rush will open their fifth season in Saskatoon by playing host to one of the nemesis from the NLL's East Division, the New England Black Wolves.
It was a victorious start to the 2019-20 NLL season two weeks ago for the Rush as they downed the Colorado Mammoth 9-8 in Denver behind an eight-point effort forward Robert Church. The Black Wolves began their season last weekend with a 12-8 win in Toronto.
The last time the Rush welcomed the Black Wolves to Saskatchewan was for the 2018 home-opener and they were unkind hosts, setting a franchise record for goals in a game as they blasted the visitors 24-11. Mark Matthews led the Rush assault as he set a team record with 13 points in a single game, including six goals, as the Rush set a franchise record for goals in a game. The Rush were up 10-3 at halftime and then exploded for nine goals in the third quarter to turn the game into a blowout. Ben McIntosh had a nine-point game (5 goals, 4 assists) while Adrian Sorichetti, Ryan Keenan and Robert Church combined for six goals and nine assists. Jeremy Thompson, Jeff Shattler, Ryan Dilks, Chris Corbeil, Jeff Cornwall, Curtis Knight, and Brett Mydske each added singles with Evan Kirk earning his first victory in a Rush jersey as he made 31 saves.
This will be the only meeting of the season between the Rush and Black Wolves and it is just the sixth contest between the two teams with New England holding a 3-2 advantage thanks to a 13-12 victory which opened the 2018-19 season in Connecticut. The Black Wolves ended the regular season fourth in the East at 9-9 and were eliminated in the East Semifinal by a 13-6 loss to Buffalo.
The Rush hosted the Wolves in 2017, but suffered a 13-12 overtime loss when Shawn Evans scored at 3:17 of extra time and now-Rush goalie Evan Kirk made 43 saves in the New England net. The Wolves scored four goals with an extra-attacker in the fourth quarter, three of them coming in last 1:24 of regulation. For the Rush, Robert Church, Mark Matthews, and Curtis Knight each scored twice, with singles going to Mike Messenger, Ryan Keenan, Jeff Cornwall, Jeremy Thompson, Ben McIntosh and Matt Hossack. The Rush's other victory over the Black Wolves came in their final season in Edmonton as they cruised to an 18-9 win in large part thanks to Mark Matthews who had eight points, including six goals.
LAST GAME: Robert Church collected points on every goal except the Rush's last one as Saskatchewan topped the Mammoth. Connor Robinson scored twice for the Rush, including the game-winner, while Ryan Keenan had two goals and four assists. Ben McIntosh and Mark Matthews had the other Rush goal, while Evan Kirk was terrific in net making 34 saves.
WELCOME HOME: This is the Rush's 15th home-opener in franchise history and fifth since taking up residence in Saskatchewan. Their overall record in home-openers is 7-7, but the Rush have won three straight in home-openers at SaskTel Centre. Their only home-turf home-opener loss came in their very first game in Saskatchewan.
RUSH HOME-OPENER HISTORY
2019: 16-12 win vs. San Diego 2018: 24-11 win vs. New England
2017: 16-8 win vs. Rochester 2016: 13-11 loss vs. Vancouver
2015: 14-10 loss vs. Minnesota 2014: 17-6 win vs. Colorado
2013: 10-9 loss vs. Toronto 2012: 13-12 loss vs. Colorado
2011: 15-11 loss vs. Calgary 2010: 11-7 win vs. Buffalo
2009: 11-10 win vs. Portland 2008: 14-9 loss vs. Toronto
2007: 13-12 win vs. Philadelphia 2006: 10-9 OT loss vs. San Jose
MILESTONE MINUTE: Three Rush players are within one of hitting a trio of milestones. Robert Church needs one power-play assist for 100, Marty Dinsdale needs one assist for 100, and Mike Messenger needs one loose ball for 300 ... A couple of Rush players could make a move on the team's all-time leaderboard this season. Returning defenceman Ryan Dilks needs to play in seven games to move past Jimmy Quinlan into fourth spot on the team's game-played list, while Ben McIntosh needs 17 assists this season to move into third spot on the team's list past Curtis Knight.
HELLO AGAIN: After missing all of last season due to firefighter training, defenceman Jeff Cornwall will make his much-welcome return to the Rush lineup. One of the quickest players in the NLL, Cornwall is best remembered for his heroics in the 2016 playoffs, including a highlight-reel breakaway goal with 12 seconds left in regulation time to lift the Rush to an 11-10 in Game 2 against Buffalo and clinch the club's second straight Champion's Cup (now NLL Cup).
HELLO AGAIN, PT. 2: John Lafontaine, who won two championships with the Rush, is now in his third season with New England and is an alternate captain for the Black Wolves.
33 caused turnovers ... The Rush's Matt Hossack finished tied for fifth amongst defencemen with 17 points and tied for fourth with 14 assists ... Rush goalie Adam Shute ended the regular season second in the league with a 10.30 goals-against average. Colorado's Dillon Ward was fourth at 10.84 ... The Mammoth's Kyle Killen finished third in rookie scoring with 49 points and second with 28 goals.
Statistically Speaking: Robert Church's quick start to the season has him currently leading the NLL in points (8) and assists (5) and tied for third in goals with three. Right behind him is Rush teammate Ryan Keenan who is tied for fifth with six points and tied for third in assists with four ... Callum Crawford pushed the Wolves to their win over Toronto this past Saturday with seven points, while goaltender Doug Jamieson made 46 saves ... 2018-29: Last season, the Rush's Mark Matthews finished in a tie for third in the NLL scoring race, knotting Georgia's Lyle Thompson with 105 points. They finished 10 behind scoring champ Dane Dobbie of Calgary. Matthews finished tied for seventh in assists (64) and tied for fourth in goals at 41 with teammate Ben McIntosh ... Jeff Shattler of the Rush led the NLL with five game-winning goals. He also finished the regular season tied for 15th with 34 goals and tied for sixth in shorthanded goals with two ... Saskatchewan ended the season with the top-ranked power play at 57.4%, scoring 31 goals on 54 power-play opportunities. That was the fewest opportunities in the league - 10 less than Georgia ... Mark Matthews finished tied for seventh with nine power-play goals with Ben McIntosh right behind with eight. Matthews also finished tied for sixth with 17 power-play assists ... The Rush drastically improved their penalty kill down the stretch and wound up moving from last to seventh at 52.1% with seven shorthanded goals ... New England ranked ninth on the power play last year and gave up a league-high 12 shorthanded goals. The Black Wolves did have the fourth-best penalty kill at 55.1% ... The Rush's Jeremy Thompson led the NLL with 208 loose-ball scoops and he wound up third in faceoff wins with 263 ... Rush defenceman Kyle Rubisch was tops in the NLL with 45 caused turnovers. Teammates Mike Messenger (fifth, 31), Jeremy Thompson (eighth, 25) and Chris Corbeil (11th, 24) were also amongs the league-leaders.
By the Numbers: The Rush currently boast the NLL's top-ranked power play at 75.0% (3-for-4) while New England's power play went just 2-for-8 (25.0%) against the Rock ... New England gave up the third-most goals in the NLL last season (223) and were a dismal 2-7 on the road ... 2018-19: Saskatchewan won the NLL attendance derby again last season with an average of 13,459 which was 413 better than Buffalo ... The Rush finished the season first in the West with 222 goals. They were third in goals scored per game average with 12.33 and fourth in goals allowed at 11.22 per game. Colorado was one of only two teams in the league this season that scored less than 200 goals ... The Rush ended the regular season with 7-2 record at home and 9-3 versus the West. They were also 9-1 when leading after the first quarter, 10-0 when leading at halftime, 10-0 when leading after three quarters, and 8-3 when they outshoot their opposition ... The Rush's Mark Matthews finished fourth in the league's Three Star Award voting with 28 points (4 x First Star, 2 x Second Star, 2 x Third Star).
RUSH VS. BLACK WOLVES SEASON-BY-SEASON GLANCE

2019
12-11 Black Wolves win (Callum Crawford and Ryan O'Connor each have six-point nights)
2018
24-11 Rush win (Mark Matthews scores team record 13 points including six goals)
2017
13-12 OT Black Wolves win (Kyle Buchanan registers six points including four goals)
2016
14-13 Black Wolves win (Kyle Buchanan scored four goals and adds two assists)
2015
18-9 Rush win (Mark Matthews and Ben McIntosh both rack up eight points)
National Lacrosse League Stories from December 14, 2019
- New England Defeats Saskatchewan 12-8, Moves to 2-0 - New England Black Wolves
- Georgia Swarm Dictate Win against Wings in Ed Comeau's 100th Career Regular Season Win - Georgia Swarm
- Poulin, Swarm Stop Wings in Opener - Philadelphia Wings
- Rush vs. Black Wolves Game Notes - Saskatchewan Rush
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