It’s down to the regular-season finale to determine top spot in the NLL’s West Division with the Saskatchewan having the inside track.
The Rush can clinch first in the division and guarantee home-turf advantage throughout the West playoffs with a win over the visiting Colorado Mammoth on Saturday night.
The Rush are coming off a loss last weekend in Calgary, but can still wind up with their sixth consecutive regular season of more than 10 wins. A victory over Colorado would give the Rush a second straight season-series sweep of the Mammoth and their third overall (2018 and 2015). The Rush have won the season-series against Colorado six years in a row. The Mammoth suffered their third loss in a row last Saturday in falling to San Diego, but still clinched fourth in the West with Vancouver’s loss to Rochester.
Saskatchewan has beaten Colorado twice this season both by identical 9-7 scores. Most recently, the Rush beat the Mammoth in Denver back on April 6th behind two goals each from Ryan Keenan, Mark Matthews and Robert Church along with singles from Scott Campbell, Jeff Shattler and Ben McIntosh. The Rush also defeated the Mammoth 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 11 of the last 13 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). 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. 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).
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)
MILESTONE MINUTE: With a goal last weekend against Calgary, the Rush’s Robert Church needs just one more goal to reach 200 in regular-season play. In the same game, Rush captain Chris Corbeil reached 1,000 loose ball scoops for his NLL career, and Brett Mydske reached 200 penalty minutes for his career.
Statistically Speaking: Mark Matthews became the NLL’s second player to register five straight 100-point seasons, reaching triple-digits last weekend and currently tied for third in league scoring. Matthews is also tied for fifth in goals (38) and tied for third in assists (62) … The Rush’s Ben McIntosh is tied for third in the NLL with 41 goals … Saskatchewan continues to have the NLL’s top power play at 56.9% (29-for-51) despite having 13 fewer power-play opportunities than Georgia which has the second-ranked power play at 53.1%. Ben McIntosh is tied for ninth with eight power-play goals and Mark Matthews is tied for fifth with 17 power-play assists … The Rush’s penalty kill is 10th at 48.5% with seven shorthanded goals … Colorado has the ninth-best power play at 38.4% (30-for-75) with Kyle Killen tied for fourth with 10 power-play goals. The Mammoth’s penalty kill is ranked sixth at 54.0% but they have a league-low three shorthanded goals … Jeff Shattler of the Rush leads the NLL with five game-winning goals … The Rush’s Jeremy Thompson leads the NLL with 201 loose ball scoops and he is in third with 251 faceoff wins … Rush defenceman Kyle Rubisch is tops in the league with 39 caused turnovers while teammate Mike Messenger is tied for fourth with 30 alongside Colorado’s Joey Cupido. Jeremy Thompson is tied for seventh with 25 and Rush captain Chris Corbeil is tied for 10th with 23 … The Rush’s Matt Hossack is tied for fifth amongst defencemen with 15 points and he is tied for fourth with 12 assists … Rush goalie Adam Shute is third in the league with a 10.30 goals-against average while the Mammoth’s Dillon Ward is right behind in fourth at 10.75 … Kyle Killen of Colorado is third in rookie scoring with 49 points and second with 28 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 … 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 leads the NLL attendance race with an average of 13,408 - 62 better than Buffalo with Colorado in third at 12,815 … The Rush are one of the hottest teams in the NLL with a 7-3 record through their last 10 games … The Rush are 6-2 at home and 8-3 versus the West this season. Colorado is 3-5 on the road and 4-7 versus the West.
(Sask Rush PR/Brandon Urban)
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