Rush vs. Mammoth Game Notes
February 22, 2019 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Saskatchewan Rush News Release
Saskatchewan Rush (4-4) vs. Colorado Mammoth (3-5)
Co-op Field at SaskTel Centre | Saskatoon, SK
Tickets | TicketMaster
Watch | B/R Live
Listen | 92.9 The Bull
Official Pre- & Post- Game Viewing Party | Shoeless Joe's Saskatoon
The Saskatchewan Rush's mid-season run of facing West Division rivals continues on Friday night as they go up against the Colorado Mammoth.
With a 15-13 victory last Saturday in Vancouver, the Rush brought a halt to a three-game losing streak, and into a three-way tie for top spot in the West with Calgary and San Diego. Though they've had their struggles this season, the Mammoth earned a surprising 10-8 win over Georgia last weekend to move up a game up on Vancouver for fourth spot in the West.
The Rush have rolled over the Mammoth in recent matchups, winning eight of the last nine and 15 of the past 18 regular-season games. On top of that, the Rush eliminated the Mammoth with a pair of victories in the 2017 West Division Final. Three wins over Colorado helped the Rush finish the 2018 campaign with a perfect 11-0 mark against their division rivals. The Rush capped things off against the Mammoth with an 11-8 win behind seven-point games from both Robert Church (3 goals, 4 assists) and Mark Matthews (1 goal, 6 assists). Ryan Keenan and Ben McIntosh each scored twice with Curtis Knight, Chris Corbeil, and Jeff Shattler each adding a goal.
Last January, the Rush got a 10-point game from Ben McIntosh (2 goals, 8 assists) on their way to a 17-12 pounding of Colorado. Curtis Knight, Marty Dinsdale, and Robert Church each posted hat tricks in the win with Mike Messenger and Adrian Sorichetti each adding a pair. Ryan Keenan and Mark Matthews, who also chipped in six assists, both scored twice. One month later, the Rush took care of business in Colorado again with a 13-10 victory as Evan Kirk posted 39 saves and Robert Church racked up six points (3 goals, 3 assists). Ryan Keenan had his first four-goal game as a pro in that game, while Marty Dinsdale and Ben McIntosh each scored twice, and Chris Corbeil adding a single. The Rush broke open a 10-10 tie by scoring the game's final three goals with less than 2:30 left in regulation time.
The Rush capped a 3-0 season-series against the Mammoth in 2017 by knocking them out in the West Division Final. Saskatchewan opened up the series by blasting the Mammoth 18-9 in Denver in a game that set franchise playoff records for total goals, along with goals in the one half (14) and goals in one quarter (nine).
Adam Jones scored six goals for Saskatchewan against his former team with former Denver University star Mark Matthews also finishing the game with nine points including two goals. Ben McIntosh, with four goals, Robert Church, with a pair, and singles from Ryan Keenan, Mike Messenger, Tor Reinholdt, and Curtis Knight accounted for the rest of the Rush scoring. Saskatchewan completed the two-game sweep of Colorado by winning Game 2 in Saskatoon 11-10. Mike Messenger evened the game at 10 with 1:27 to go and Ryan Keenan notched the game-winner with 45 seconds left in regulation. Mark Matthews, Ben McIntosh, and Robert Church each scored twice for the Rush with Adam Jones and Marty Dinsdale adding one each.
Robert Church and Mark Matthews both posted hat tricks against Vancouver last Saturday, while Adam Shute notched 30 saves to pick up his second career victory. Both wins have come on the road against Vancouver. Mike Messenger, Ryan Keenan, and Marty Dinsdale each scored twice for Saskatchewan with Jeff Shattler, Ben McIntosh, and Matt MacGrotty, with his first career NLL goal, rounded out the Rush scoring.
FIRST AND FOREMOST: Mark Matthews needs five assists to reach 400 for his career, while fellow Rush Ryan Keenan needs two assists to reach 100 for his young career.
MEMORY LANE: The Rush now sport a 22-17 all-time regular-season record against Colorado, and that's after losing seven straight after joining the NLL in 2006. The Rush have won five straight season-series with the Mammoth. Colorado has not won a season-series with the Rush since 2012 and the two teams were even 1-1 in two games during the 2013 season.
Statistically Speaking: Mark Matthews and Ben McIntosh continue to drive the NLL's top-ranked power play. The Rush lead the NLL at 66.7% (16-for-24) on the man-advantage with Matthews third with 11 power-play assists and McIntosh tied for sixth with five power-play goals ... Colorado's power-play is ranked fifth at 45.7% (16-for-35) and Ryan Benesch is second in power-play assists with 12 ... The Mammoth have the number-two ranked penalty kill at 61.5% while the Rush are 11th at 45.5% ... Mark Matthews leads the Rush and is tied for 10th in league scoring with 47 points. He is tied for 12th in goals (18) and tied for 11th in assists (29) ... The Rush's Ben McIntosh and the Mammoth's Eli McLaughlin are tied for sixth in the league with 20 goals ... The Rush's Jeff Shattler is tied for third in the NLL with two game-winning goals ... Rush transition Jeremy Thompson leads the NLL with 110 loose ball scoops and he is third with 125 faceoff wins ... Colorado's Taylor Stuart (16) and Joey Cupido (15) and Saskatchewan's Kyle Rubisch (13) are amongst the league-leaders in caused turnovers. Rubisch is also tied for 11th in loose balls with 65 ... The Mammoth's Kyle Killen is fifth in rookie scoring with 15 points and he is fourth amongst rookies with nine goals ... 2018 Regular Season: Rush star Mark Matthews completed the regular season in style as he set a new NLL record for assists in a single season with 84, and captured the league scoring title with 116 points, which also broke his own team record for points in a season. Matthews led the NLL with 33 power-play assists and was tied for the league-lead with three game-winning goals ... The Rush's Robert Church finished second in league scoring with 107 points and tied for second in the league with 47 goals, one up on teammate Ben McIntosh. Church also finished sixth with 60 assists ... Saskatchewan finished the regular season with the top-ranked power play at 67.8% (59-for-87). Robert Church, Ben McIntosh and Ryan Keenan all tied for third in the league with 14 power-play goals, and Church also finished second with 27 power-play assists ... Rush goalie Evan Kirk led the league with 12 wins and finished with the second-best goals-against average at 10.82. He also had the fourth-best save-percentage at .777.
By the Numbers: Saskatchewan and Colorado are the NLL's two biggest draws again this season. The Rush are averaging 13,576 fans per game while the Mammoth are at 12,104 ... The Rush are 3-1 against their West Division rivals so far this season, while the Mammoth are 1-3 ... The Rush and Mammoth are two of the league's least-penalized teams. Saskatchewan is at 10.63 PIM per game and Colorado is at a mere 7.63 PIM per game. The Rush's Nik Bilic is fourth in penalty minutes at 22 ... Colorado goalie Dillon Ward is fourth in the league with a 10.96 goals-against average. He is also amongst the league-leaders in Three Star Award voting with 12 points (1 x First Star, 2 x Second Star, 1 x Third Star). Saskatchewan's Mark Matthews is at 11 points (2 x First Star, 1 x Third Star) and Ben McIntosh is at 10 points (2 x First Star) ... The Rush are third in the league with 12.88 goals per game while the Mammoth are 10th at 10.75 goals per game. The Rush stand ninth at 12.50 goals allowed per game with Colorado sitting fourth at 11.25 goals allowed per game ... The Rush have outscored their opposition 24-18 in third-quarter play so far this season. Meanwhile, the Mammoth have been outscored 20-11 in first-quarter play ... So far this season, the Rush are 3-0 when leading at halftime and 4-0 when leading after three quarters. The Rush are 1-3 when trailing after the first quarter ... Colorado is 1-2 when trailing at halftime ... 2018 Regular Season: Saskatchewan won the NLL's attendance derby with an average of 14,639 - 458 better than Buffalo ... The Rush led the NLL with 254 goals scored and just 196 goals allowed. Saskatchewan topped the league with 14.11 goals scored per game and 10.89 goals allowed per game. Rochester finished third in both goals scored per game (13.11) and goals allowed per game (11.67) ... Rush defenceman Kyle Rubisch finished seventh with 25 caused turnovers and 10th with 130 loose balls ... Saskatchewan was the only team in the league with three players in the top 10 of the Three Star Award voting. Robert Church was fifth with 26 points (3 x First Star, 3 x Second Star, 2 x Second Star), Mark Matthews was sixth with 24 points (3 x First Star, 2 x Second Star, 3 x Third Star), and Evan Kirk was eighth with 21 points (3 x First Star, 2 x Second Star).
Rush vs. Mammoth - Season-by-Season Glance
2018
11-8 Rush win (Mark Matthews and Robert Church both notch seven-point games)
17-12 Rush win (Ben McIntosh racks up 10 points on two goals and eight assists)
13-10 Rush win (Ryan Keenan has first four-goal game in NLL)
2017
*11-10 Rush win (Mark Matthews leads with six points including four assists)
*18-9 Rush win (Adam Jones registers nine points featuring six second-half goals)
10-9 Rush win (Ben McIntosh notches hat trick plus one assist)
14-10 Mammoth win (Jamie Noble leads with seven points)
12-11 OT Rush win (Ben McIntosh racks up four goals including the overtime winner)
8-7 Rush win (Ben McIntosh scores two goals)
*Denotes West Division Final playoff game
2016
11-8 Rush win (Ben McIntosh and Curtis Knight each collect hat trick)
11-5 Rush win (Ben McIntosh scores four goals)
9-7 Mammoth win (Dillon Ward totals 47 saves)
12-10 Rush win (Mark Matthews racked up six points including four goals)
2015
13-10 Rush win (Mark Matthews & Marty Dinsdale both with seven-point games)
13-12 Rush win (Mark Matthews notches nine points including four goals)
11-7 Rush win (Mark Matthews & Zack Greer both with four-goal games)
2014
10-8 Mammoth win (John Grant Jr. paces attack with four goals)
12-11 Rush win (Cory Conway registers six points including five assists)
17-6 Rush win (Mark Matthews & Zack Greer each score five goals)
13-10 Rush win (Curtis Knight tallies three goals and three assists)
2013
9-7 Mammoth win (Tye Belanger makes 48 saves)
14-7 Rush win (Mark Matthews tops scoring with five goals)
2012
14-11 Rush win (Zack Greer leads the way with two goals)
11-7 Mammoth win (Adam Jones, John Grant Jr., and Jordan McBride each notch hat tricks)
13-12 Mammoth win (John Grant Jr. leads with five goals and four assists)
2011
13-6 Mammoth win
14-13 Rush win (Scott Evans leads with four goals and two assists)
7-6 Mammoth win (John Grant Jr. notches two goals and two assists)
2010
14-10 Mammoth win (Jamie Shewchuk collects nine points including four goals)
14-13 Rush win (Ryan Ward scores four goals and adds three assists)
13-9 Rush win (Ryan Ward notches hat trick plus four assists)
2009
11-9 Rush win (Ryan Benesch has eight-point game including five assists)
10-9 Rush win (Callum Crawford nets four goals and adds two assists)
10-9 Mammoth win (Jamie Shewchuk scores twice and adds two assists)
2008
14-11 Mammoth win (Dan Carey pots hat trick plus three assists
15-4 Mammoth win (Jamie Shewchuk notches seven points)
13-8 Mammoth win (Jamie Shewchuk produces seven points)
2007
16-9 Mammoth win (Jamie Shewchuk notches hat trick plus two assists)
16-7 Mammoth win (Dan Carey leads with two goals and three assists)
2006
15-10 Mammoth win (Dan Stroup collects six points including hat trick)
13-7 Mammoth win (Ben Prepchuk racks up six points including four assists)
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