Rush vs. Mammoth Game Notes
Published on April 6, 2019 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Saskatchewan Rush News Release
Saskatchewan Rush (6-6) vs. Vancouver Warriors (4-10)
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Official Away Game Viewing Party | Shoeless Joe's Saskatoon
Having clinched a playoff spot last weekend, the Saskatchewan Rush will look to improve their post-season positioning when the reigning NLL Cup champs take on the Colorado Mammoth in the Mile High City.
The Rush secured a spot in the playoffs with a 12-9 win over Vancouver this past Saturday, putting them a game up on the third-place Calgary Roughnecks with two games in-hand. Saskatchewan remains two games behind West Division-leading San Diego. Meanwhile, Colorado won its third in a row to keep a grip on fourth spot in the West with a 21/2-game lead on Vancouver and just 1/2-game behind Calgary.
This will be the second of three meetings between the Rush and Mammoth this season. They will meet in the regular-season finale on April 27th in Saskatoon. The Rush defeated the Mammoth 9-7 back on February 22nd at SaskTel Centre behind a hat trick from Jeff Shattler and a five-point night for Mark Matthews. Ben McIntosh, Marty Dinsdale, Chris Corbeil, and Brett Mydske also scored for the Rush in that game.
The Rush have won 10 of the last 12 regular-season games against the Mammoth along with a two-game sweep in the 2017 West 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.
SHATTER TIES TEAM RECORD: Jeff Shatter notched his fifth game-winning goal of the season last Saturday against Vancouver, equaling the previous franchise single-season high set in 2014 by Curtis Knight. Shattler also currently leads the NLL in that category.
RUSH SINGLE-SEASON GAME-WINNING GOAL LEADERS
2019 - Jeff Shattler (5) 2018 - Curtis Knight & Ben McIntosh (3)
2017 - Adam Jones (3) 2016 - Zack Greer (4)
2015 - Robert Church & Ben McIntosh (3) 2014 - Curtis Knight (5)
2013 - Zack Greer (3)
MONUMENTAL CLIMB: When the Rush joined the NLL, one of the division rivals that was toughest on them was the Colorado Mammoth. The Rush lost the seven games they played against the Mammoth and went a combined 7-14 in games against Colorado over their first eight years in the NLL. Things have certainly changed since then. The Rush now hold an all-time regular-season record of 22-17 against the Mammoth and have two season-series sweeps to boot - both coming in years that the Rush would go on to win the league title (2018 and 2015).
Statistically Speaking: Rush transition Jeremy Thompson snared 18 loose balls against Vancouver, giving him 171 on the season and moving him into first place in the league. Thompson also sits third in the league with 195 faceoff wins after going 19-for-24 against the Warriors ... Rush defenceman Kyle Rubisch added two caused turnovers against Vancouver keeping him on top of the league with 31 on the year. Teammate Mike Messenger is fourth with 25 caused turnovers ... Mark Matthews of the Rush sits seventh in the NLL with 76 points, one spot ahead of Colorado's Eli McLaughlin who has 73 points. Matthews is ninth in league with 49 assists and McLaughlin is tied for second in goals with 35 ... Rush forward Ben McIntosh is the team-leader and tied for eighth in the league with 29 goals. Mark Matthews and Jeff Shattler are next on the Rush and tied for 10th in league with 28 goals ... The Rush hold down the NLL's top-ranked power play at 65.0% (26-for-40) and Mark Matthews is second in league with 16 power-play assists. Colorado is ranked ninth on the power play at 41.0% with Kyle Killen tied for fifth with eight power-play goals ... The Rush and Mammoth have the NLL's lowest-ranked penalty kills.
Saskatchewan is 11th at 47.1% with shorthanded goals, while Colorado is 10th at 48.7% but just three shorthanded goals ... Saskatchewan's Jeff Shattler is tied for third with two shorthanded goals and Matt Hossack is tied for third with three shorthanded assists ... Rush defenceman Nik Bilic moved into a tie for top spot with a league-high 43 penalty minutes, but the Rush are ranked ninth with an average of 12.08 penalty minutes per game. Colorado is the least-penalized team with just 6.50 PIM per game ... Mammoth goalie Dillon Ward is fourth in the league with a 10.83 goals-against average. Rush goalie Adam Shute has moved into eighth in the league, one spot behind Saskatchewan starter Evan Kirk, with an 11.24 GAA ... 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.
By the Numbers: Saskatchewan and Colorado are duking it out again for the league title in attendance. The Rush are leading the way with 13,323 through seven home games with Colorado at 12,757 heading into their final home game of the regular season ... The Rush are 2-4 on the road so far this season but 6-2 versus West Division opponents ... The Mammoth are just 3-4 at home and 4-5 against the rest of the West ... The Rush are 5-1 when they score first and the Mammoth are 2-3 ... The Rush are 6-1 when leading after the first quarter, 6-0 when leading at halftime and 7-0 when leading after three quarters. They are 0-4 when trailing at halftime ... The Mammoth have been outscored 36-21 in first-quarter play this season and are 3-6 when trailing after one. They are also 1-5 when trailing at halftime ... In team stats, the Rush are tied for second in shooting percentage at 17.1%, third faceoff win percentage at 57.1%, and fourth in total loose balls with 1,010 ... The Rush are second in the league with an average of 12.46 goals per game and are tied for first in the West Division with 162 goals scored. Saskatchewan is sixth in goals allowed at 11.54 average per game ... Colorado leads the NLL with an average of 10.64 goals allowed per game but the Mammoth are 10th in goals scored with 10.71 per game ... The Rush's Mark Matthews (3 x First Star, 3 x Third Star) and the Mammoth's Dillon Ward (2 x First Star, 2 x Second Star, 1 x Third Star) are tied for ninth in Three Star Award voting with 17 points ... 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
2019
9-7 Rush win (Jeff Shattler with the hat trick and Mark Matthews with five points)
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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