Rush vs. Knighthawks Game Notes
Published on March 24, 2018 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Saskatchewan Rush News Release
Saskatchewan Rush (11-2) vs. Rochester Knighthawks (6-7)
7:30PM (CST), March 24th 2018
SaskTel Centre, Saskatoon SK
Watch: NLL TV
Listen: 98 COOL
Official Pre and Post-Game Party: Shoeless Joe's
After last week's revenge-minded win over the Buffalo Bandits, the Saskatchewan have just one team left on their hit list and that's the Rochester Knighthawks.
The Knighthawks are the only team the Rush have not beaten so far in the 2018 NLL season. The Rush got on even terms with Buffalo last weekend with a 16-10 win which erased the advantage the Bandits held after claiming an overtime win in Saskatchewan back in January. Rochester handed Saskatchewan its only other loss of the season by ending the Rush's four-game winning streak with a 16-11 victory back on February 17.
Saskatchewan brings a three-game winning streak into this game against the Knighthawks and the Rush continue to sit atop the NLL's overall standings as well as the West Division with a 1.5-game lead over the Colorado Mammoth. After a 14-13 loss in Calgary last weekend, the Knighthawks are in a three-way tie for third in the East with Buffalo and Georgia - just one-half game behind second-place Toronto.
Robert Church led the Rush against the Bandits as he notched a sock trick with six goals in the game, scoring twice in the first, second and fourth quarters. Church, who has scored 10 goals over the past two games, finished with eight points, one back of Mark Matthews who registered a goal and eight assists giving him 17 assists in the past two games. Marty Dinsdale had a hat trick for the Rush while Jeff Shattler, Ben McIntosh, and Ryan Keenan each scored twice.
Rochester's victory over Saskatchewan snapped the Rush's nine-game regular-season winning streak against the K-Hawks and also snapped the Rush's six-game winning streak on the road. The Knighthawks had not beaten the Rush in any meeting since the 2012 Champion's Cup Final. Ben McIntosh's hat-trick goal got the Rush close at 12-11 but the Knighthawks quelled the rally and scored the game's final four goals. Mark Matthews also had a hat trick for the Rush, while Jeremy Thompson, Mike Messenger, Robert Church, Ryan Dilks, and Ryan Keenan each scored once.
Saskatchewan handed Rochester two lopsided beatdowns last season, beginning with a 16-8 victory in the Rush's home-opener. The Rush went 6-for-8 on the power play in that game and got an 11-point effort out of Mark Matthews (4 goals, 7 assists). Robert Church and Ben McIntosh each posted hat tricks with singles going to Chris Corbeil, Ryan Dilks, Ryan Keenan, and Marty Dinsdale.
Three weeks later, the Rush blasted the K-Hawks 21-12 in Rochester as Robert Church collected 11 points (4 goals, 7 assists) and Mark Matthews had a 10-point night (4 goals, 6 assists). Curtis Knight, Adam Jones, Marty Dinsdale and Ben McIntosh each scored twice with Mike Messenger, Chris Corbeil, Ryan Dilks, Adrian Sorichetti and Matt Hossack each adding a goal.
Back in the 2015 season, the Rush blew out the Knighthawks 16-3 which marked the Rush's largest margin of victory over an opponent. The Rush got out of the blocks fast and led 11-1 at halftime and cruised the rest of the way. In 2014, two wins over the Knighthawks helped the Rush establish their record-setting 14-0 start. The Rush captured an 8-7 overtime win and then earned a 15-11 victory on the road. After winning in Rochester, the Rush traveled to Toronto the next day and beat the Rock setting a new NLL record for most consecutive road wins.
Statistically Speaking: The Rush's Robert Church and Mark Matthews are both riding two-game rolls. Church has 10 goals in his past two while Matthews has added up 17 assists. Matthews leads the NLL with 82 points with Church tied for second with 77 points. Ben McIntosh of the Rush is also in the top 10 with 60 points ... Robert Church and Ben McIntosh are 1-2 in the NLL with 34 and 33 goals, respectively ... Mark Matthews is first in the NLL with 58 assists with Robert Church tied for fifth with 43 helpers ... It's been a breakout year for Rochester's Joe Resitarits as he is fourth in scoring with 72 points and fourth with 46 assists. Teammate Cody Jamieson is tied for sixth with 67 points and Kyle Jackson of the K-Hawks is tied for sixth with 29 goals ... Saskatchewan continues to boast the NLL's top-ranked power play. The Rush are at 74.1% (43-for-58). Robert Church and Ben McIntosh are tied for second in the league with 11 power-play goals while Ryan Keenan is tied for fifth with nine power-play goals. Mark Matthews is tops in the NLL with 22 power-play assists, Robert Church is tied for second with 16 and Ryan Keenan is tied for eighth with 11 ... Rochester's power play is ranked second at 61.2% (30-for-49) with Cody Jamieson tied with Robert Church at 16 power-play assists ... Saskatchewan's penalty kill is ranked fifth at 49.0% and the Rush have scored seven shorthanded goals. Rochester has a league-high eight shorthanded goals with the penalty kill ranked third at 50.0% ... Rush captain Chris Corbeil is tied for the league-lead with two shorthanded goals and fellow defenceman Ryan Dilks along with Ben McIntosh are tied for the lead with two shorthanded assists ... Two of the NLL's best goaltenders are going head-to-head in this one. The Rush's Evan Kirk leads the NLL with 10 wins and the 2016 NLL Goaltender of the Year is second with a 10.64 goals-against average and third in minutes played (688). Four-time Goaltender of the Year Matt Vinc of Rochester is second in minutes played (701) and total saves (473). Kirk and Vinc are both tied for fourth with a .782 save-percentage ... The Rush's Curtis Knight is tied for NLL lead with three game-winning goals with teammates Mark Matthews and Ben McIntosh right behind with two apiece ... Rush transition Jeremy Thompson is second in the league with 112 loose balls and tied for second with 167 faceoff wins ... Rush defenceman Kyle Rubisch is tied for fourth with 22 caused turnovers and seven with 107 loose balls ... As a team the Rush lead the NLL with a 20.7% shooting percentage. Individually, Adrian Sorichetti is second at 43.8%, Chris Corbeil is third at 41.7%, and Jeremy Thompson is tied for fourth at 40.0% ... Rochester defenceman Graeme Hossack, whose brother Matt is with the Rush, is tied for the league-lead with 25 caused turnovers ... 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 ... 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.
By the Numbers: Saskatchewan's Mark Matthews and Robert Church now co-hold the NLL's game-high lead in goals so far this season (six) ... The Rush's Ben McIntosh has scored in 13 straight games, while teammates Mark Matthews, Robert Church, and Ryan Keenan have picked up assists in 13 straight ... The Rush's Robert Church has moved into third place in the league's Three Star Award voting so far this season. He now has 19 points (3 x First Star, 1 x Second Star, 1 x Third Star). Rush goalie Evan Kirk is tied for fifth at 16 points (2 x First Star, 2 x Second Star) with Ben McIntosh (1 x First Star, 2 x Second Star, 2 x Third Star) and Mark Matthews (2 x First Star, 1 x Second Star) tied for ninth at 13 points ... Saskatchewan leads the NLL averaging 14.77 goals scored per game and the Rush are second in goals allowed per game at 10.69. Rochester is third in goals scored at 13.23 and fourth is goals allowed at 11.62 ... Saskatchewan is tops in the NLL with an average attendance of 14,511 - roughly 1,200 better than Colorado ... The Rush are 4-1 at home this season while the Knighthawks are 2-4 on the road. The Rush are 4-2 against East Division foes this season and Rochester is 2-1 versus West rivals ... Rochester has two of the NLL's top rookies with Austin Shanks and Eric Fannell ranked second and third, respectively, in points, goals and assists ... The Rush have outscored their opposition 50-21 in first-quarter play and 54-34 in second-quarter play this season, but they've been outscored 45-38 in fourth quarters ... The Rush are 11-1 when leading at halftime and 10-1 when leading after three quarters this season. Saskatchewan is also 9-0 when outshooting the opponent ... Rochester is 6-0 when leading at halftime and after three quarters, but 0-3 when trailing at halftime and 0-7 when trailing after three ... 2017: 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.
Milestone Watch: The Rush's Kyle Rubisch, who is the NLL's single-season and all-time leader in caused (forced) turnovers, needs six more to reach 300 for his career.
Rush vs. Knighthawks -Season-by-Season Glance
2018
16-11 Knighthawks win (Cody Jamieson registers seven points including a hat trick)
2017
21-12 Rush win (Robert Church and Mark Matthews combine for eight goals and 13 assists)
16-8 Rush win (Mark Matthews notches 11 points including four goals)
2016
13-9 Rush win (Zack Greer scored five goals and Mark Matthews notched seven points)
11-8 Rush win (Mark Matthews and Ben McIntosh both with two goals and two assists)
2015
16-3 Rush win (Mark Matthews and Robert Church both register seven points)
2014
15-11 Rush win (Mark Matthews and Curtis Knight each with six-point games)
8-7 OT Rush win (Mark Matthews scores overtime winner)
2013
14-10 Rush win (Zack Greer racks up four goals and four assists)
11-9 Rush win (Zack Greer paces Rush attack with four goals)
2012
*9-6 Knighthawks win (Cody Jamieson racks up eight points including four goals)
*denotes playoff game - Champion's Cup Final
2011
13-9 Knighthawks win (Mike Accursi scores four goals against former club)
2010
12-11 Rush OT win (Andy Secore completes hat trick with game-winner)
2008
10-9 Rush OT win (Jimmy Quinlan scores twice and adds three assists)
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