Rush vs. Wings Game Notes
April 13, 2019 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Saskatchewan Rush News Release
Saskatchewan Rush (9-6) vs. Philadelphia Wings (3-12)
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After moving into first place in the NLL's West Division last night, the Saskatchewan Rush will look to start building some room for themselves as they host the Philadelphia Wings.
The Rush beat the San Diego Seals 14-8 last night in California to overtake the Seals and move one-half game up in the race for top spot in the division. Saskatchewan also has a one-game lead over the third-place Calgary Roughnecks. After beating the Seals, the Rush are now in the midst of their third three-game winning streak of the season.
The Wings, who were eliminated from playoff contention last weekend, will be out to play spoilers in their first of two games this weekend. Philadelphia plays in Vancouver tomorrow afternoon.
Ben McIntosh led a furious offensive onslaught by the Rush in the second half of last night's game. McIntosh scored four of his six goals in the third quarter as the Rush exploded for seven goals in the frame, tying a league-high this season. The Rush added four more in the fourth quarter to pull away.
Mark Matthews and Marty Dinsdale each scored twice for Saskatchewan with Matthews adding four assists. Goals by Brett Mydske, Mike Messenger, Curtis Knight, and Ryan Keenan rounded out the Rush scoring while Jeff Shattler chipped in five assists and Adam Shute posted 39 saves.
This is the lone meeting between the Rush and Wings this season, and it is the first time the two clubs have played each other since 2014. The Wings franchise moved to New England the following season and became the Black Wolves, but the Wings were reborn this year as an NLL expansion franchise.
The Rush are 3-2 all-time against the original Wings and have won two of the last three meetings. Their last head-to-head encounter came in 2014 when the Rush jumped out to a three-goal lead after the first quarter and went on to win 8-6 on the road. Robert Church scored twice for the Rush in that came as he and the rest of the Rush shooters faced Evan Kirk in the Philadelphia net. Kirk later moved with the Wings to New England and joined Saskatchewan last season via a trade.
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)
MEMORY LANE: Things often come full circle in this league. Paul Day was the very first GM/head coach in the Rush franchise history and now holds those rolls with the Philadelphia Wings. The Rush lost all of their home games in their very first season of existence in 2006, but finally won on their home turf in the 2007 home-opener against the Wings. The Rush joined the NLL in 2006 alongside fellow expansion franchise, the Portland Lumberjax, who were led by coach and GM Derek Keenan.
Statistically Speaking: With his sock trick (six goals) last night, Ben McIntosh of the Rush has moved into a tie for fourth in the league with 36 goals ... The Rush's Mark Matthews is now tied for sixth in league scoring with 86 points and he is tied for 10th with 54 assists ... Jeff Shattler of the Rush continues to lead the NLL with five game-winning goals ... Thanks to his 39-save performance last night in Sana Diego, Rush goalie Adam Shute has taken over the league-lead with a 10.06 goals-against average ... The Rush continue to have the NLL's best power play, now at 57.5% (27-for-47). Mark Matthews is tied for third with 17 power-play assists ... Saskatchewan is ranked 10th on the penalty kill at 50.0% with six shorthanded goals. Jeff Shattler is tied for third with two shorthanded goals and Matt Hossack is tied for fifth with two shorthanded assists ... The Wings are ranked 11th on the power play at just 36.9% (24-for-65) but they are sixth on the penalty kill at 54.8% with five shorthanded goals ... Rush defenceman Kyle Rubisch leads the NLL with 35 caused turnovers. Teammate Mike Messenger is sixth with 27 CT's and Jeremy Thompson has moved into a tie for eighth with 23 ... The Rush's Matt Hossack is tied for sixth in defenceman scoring with 13 points and he is tied for fifth amongst defencemen with 10 assists. Steph Charbonneau of the Wings is fourth in defenceman scoring with 16 points ... Philadelphia's Matt Rambo is fourth in rookie scoring with 37 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 ... 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: The Rush-Wings matchup will feature two of the NLL's best faceoff men. Philly rookie Trevor Baptiste leads the NLL with 286 faceoff wins and he is tied for sixth with 134 loose ball scoops. The Rush's Jeremy Thompson is fourth in faceoff wins with 223 and is second in the NLL with 184 loose balls. The Wings lead the league with a team faceoff win percentage of 65.8 while Saskatchewan is third at 58.0 ... The Rush are 5-2 at home and 1-4 versus East Division teams so far this season. The Wings are 0-6 on the road and 0-3 versus West Division teams ... Saskatchewan leads the NLL attendance derby with an average of 13,323 per game, while the return of the Wings franchise has Philadelphia in fifth with an average of 10,905 ... The Rush are third in both goals scored average per game (12.33) and goals allowed average per game (11.00). The Wings are sixth in goals scored average (11.73) and last in goals allowed per game average (13.13) ... The Rush are 7-1 when leading after the first quarter, 8-0 when leading at halftime, and 9-0 when leading after three quarters ... The Wings are 1-7 when trailing after the first and 0-10 when trailing at halftime ... The Rush are 8-3 when they outshoot the opposition ... Mark Matthews of the Rush has moved into fifth spot in the league's Three Star Award race with 22 points (3 x First Star, 2 x Second Star, 1 x Third Star). Teammate Ben McIntosh has earned 15 points (3 x First Star), one behind Philadelphia's Kevin Crowley (4 x Second Star, 4 x Third Star) ... Philadelphia is the second-most penalized team in the NLL averaging 16.33 PIM per game along with a league-high nine major penalties. Liam Patten of the Wings leads the league with 53 PIM. Saskatchewan is ninth with 10.87 PIM per game ... The Rush's Mike Messenger is sixth in shooting percentage at 38.1% (8 goals on 21 shots) ... 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 ... 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. Wings - Season-by-Season Glance
2014
8-6 Rush win (Jeremy Thompson with one goal and 15 loose balls)
2012
16-15 Wings win (Mark Hominuck and Dan Dawson combine for five goals and 18 assists)
12-10 Rush win (Zack Greer and Ryan Ward each post four points)
2009
19-14 Wings win (Merrick Thompson pots six goals)
2007
13-12 Rush win (Jimmy Quinlan collects five goals)
National Lacrosse League Stories from April 13, 2019
- Rush Roar Past Wings with Huge Fourth-Quarter Comeback - Saskatchewan Rush
- Rush vs. Wings Game Notes - Saskatchewan Rush
- Knighthawks a 'Mile High' After Winning OT Thriller - Rochester Knighthawks
- Seals Fall to Rush on Emotional Cancer Awareness Night - San Diego Seals
- McIntosh's Sock Trick Torches Seals as Rush Move into First Place - Saskatchewan Rush
- Georgia Swarm Win Streak Snapped in Tough Loss to Roughnecks - Georgia Swarm
- Roughnecks Defeat Swarm in Thriller - Calgary Roughnecks
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