Rush vs. Seals Game Notes
Published on April 11, 2019 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Saskatchewan Rush News Release
Saskatchewan Rush (8-6) vs. San Diego Seals (9-6)
Pepsi Centre | Denver, CO
Watch | B/R Live
Listen | 92.9 The Bull
Official Away Game Viewing Party | Shoeless Joe's Saskatoon
Top spot in the NLL's West Division is at stake when the Saskatchewan Rush pay a second visit on the San Diego Seals this Friday.
It is the first of two games this weekend for the Rush as they will return home to SaskTel Centre on Saturday night to host the Philadelphia Wings.
The Rush enter Friday's game just 1/2 game behind the Seals for first in the West, and this game will not only decide the current front-runner in the division but also settle the season-series between the teams which is tied at one win apiece.
Saskatchewan closed the gap on the Seals thanks to a 9-7 road win over the Colorado Mammoth last Friday, while San Diego dropped road games in Georgia (17-10) and New England (17-14). The Rush have a one-game lead over third-place Calgary but also have two games in-hand on the Roughnecks.
The Rush earned their victory over the Mammoth with balanced scoring and clutch goaltending. Ryan Keenan, Robert Church, and Mark Matthews each scored twice for the Rush with singles going to Ben McIntosh, Jeff Shattler and Scott Campbell. At the other end, Adam Shute notched his third win of the season as he made 25 saves, including three breakaways for the Mammoth.
This is the second trip to San Diego in three weeks for the Rush after coming up just short 13-12 in their first visit to play the Seals. Ben McIntosh posted a six-point (3 goals, 3 assists) night for the Rush, Jeff Shattler added a pair of goals, and singles went to Curtis Knight, Chris Corbeil, Robert Church, Ryan Keenan, and Mark Matthews.
The Rush and Seals met for their first-ever encounter in Saskatchewan's home-opener back in January with the Rush pulling out a 16-12 win behind a nine-point effort from Ben McIntosh (5 goals, 4 assists). Jeff Shattler added four goals for the Rush, Mark Matthews put up five points (2 goals, 3 assists) and Marty Dinsdale notched six points (1 goal, 5 assists). Ryan Keenan, Jordi Jones-Smith, Curtis Knight, and Connor Robinson each scored once for Saskatchewan.
SHATTLER TIES TEAM RECORD: Jeff Shatter notched his fifth game-winning goal of the season March 30th 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)
TWO 'FER WEEKEND: This is the Rush's only two-game weekend of the 2019 season, thanks to the revamped schedule coming out after the start to the year was delayed. The Rush will head home on Saturday for their first-ever meeting against the "new" Philadelphia Wings. The Wings were previously part of the NLL before that original franchise became the New England Black Wolves. This edition of the Wings is led by Paul Day, who was the first-ever GM/head coach in Rush history.
Thanks to his strong outing last Friday in Colorado, Rush goalie Adam Shute has moved into third place amongst NLL netminders with a 10.45 goals-against average. Injured Rush goalie Evan Kirk is in sixth at 11.19 ... With four points against Colorado, Rush forward Mark Matthews remains seventh in league scoring with 80 points. He and teammate Ben McIntosh are tied for 11th in the league with 30 goals and Matthews is also tied for 11th in assists with 50 ... Former Rush Dan Dawson leads the Seals and is 10th in the league with 76 points. Dawson is also tied for ninth with 52 assists with teammate Garrett Billings in fifth with 56 helpers ... Rush transition Jeremy Thompson leads the NLL with 182 loose ball scoops and he sits fourth in faceoff wins with 207, five up on San Diego's Brandon Clelland ... Rush defenceman Kyle Rubisch is tops in the NLL with 34 caused turnovers, while teammate Mike Messenger is fourth with 27. Messenger also sits tied for seventh with a 35.0 shooting percentage (7 goals on 20 shots) ... The Rush Statistically Speaking: continue to boast the NLL's top-ranked power play at 59.1% (26-for-44) and Mark Matthews is tied for fifth with 16 power-play assists ... The Seals are ranked sixth on the power play at 46.5% but they have given up a league-high 11 shorthanded goals. Garrett Billings and Dan Dawson are tied for second with 17 power-play assists and Austin Staats is tied for fifth with eight power-play goals ... The Rush climbed out of the basement on the penalty kill and are now 10th in the league at 49.1% with six shorthanded goals. The Rush's Jeff Shattler is tied for third with two shorthanded goals and defenceman Matt Hossack is tied for fourth with two shorthanded assists ... The Seals are ranked fifth on the penalty kill at 54.7% ... San Diego's Austin Staats leads NLL rookies in points (61), goals (32) and assists (29) ... Saskatchewan's Matt Hossack is tied for eighth in defenceman scoring with 11 points ... 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.
The Rush are 7-2 vs. the rest of the West Division so far this season and they are 3-4 in road games ... The Seals are 7-3 vs. the West and 5-1 at home ... The Rush are third in the NLL with an average of 12.21 goals scored per game and they are fourth with an average of 11.21 goals allowed per game ... The Seals are fifth with an average of 12.07 goals scored but eighth with an average of 11.87 goals allowed ... The Rush are 0-3 in one-goal games so far this season but 3-0 in two-goal games ... The Rush By the Numbers: are 7-1 on the year when leading after the first quarter, 7-0 when leading at halftime, and 8-0 when leading after three quarters ... The Seals are 8-1 when leading at halftime and 6-0 when leading after three. They are 0-4 when trailing after one and 0-5 when trailing at halftime ... The Rush's Mark Matthews has moved into fifth in the league's Three Star Award voting with 22 points (3 x First Star, 2 x Second Star, 1 x Third Star), one point up on San Diego's Austin Staats (3 x First Star, 2 x Second Star) ... The Rush are fifth as a team with 1,089 loose balls but every team ahead of them in the category has played at least one more game. The Rush and Seals are tied for fifth in team shooting percentage at 16.6, and the Rush are third in team faceoff percentage at 57.8 ... 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. Seals - Season-by-Season Glance
2019
13-12 Seals win (Garrett Billings racks up one goals and nine assists)
16-12 Rush win (Ben McIntosh registers nine points on five goals and four assists)
National Lacrosse League Stories from April 11, 2019
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- Black Wolves Head to Toronto: 6 Thing to Know - New England Black Wolves
- Rush vs. Seals Game Notes - Saskatchewan Rush
- NLL Introduces Two New Broadcast Initiatives Ahead of Playoffs - NLL
- Bandits Fan Appreciation Night Set for April 20 - Buffalo Bandits
- Knighthawks Hit the Road to Face the Mammoth - Rochester Knighthawks
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