With the NLL season now in the record books, thoughts now turn to awards season. Although there is likely one clear leader for the Most Valuable Player award, there are some other worthy candidates to consider as well. Mark Matthews—Edmonton Rush Matthews was a beast for the Rush in 2015, leading them to the best record in the West Division during the regular season and then helping the Rush earn…
Matthew Dinsdale was acquired by the Edmonton Rush from their arch-rivals, the Calgary Roughnecks, at the trade deadline in exchange for a third round draft pick later this year. Little did either team know that Dinsdale would go on to score the Champion’s Cup winning goal in Game 2 of the finals, sealing the Rush’s first ever title. That goal capped what turned out to be the best season…
The Edmonton Rush won the Champion’s Cup this weekend, their first title in their 10-year history. And so ends the 2015 NLL season. So let’s now have a look back at the season that was, and some of the highlights along the way. The season got off to an unexpected start in the first two weeks of the schedule when the three-time defending champion Rochester Knighthawks lost two straight,…
Following a decisive 15-9 win over the Toronto Rock in Game 1 of the Champion’s Cup, the Edmonton Rush return home to host the second contest of the best-of-three series. The Rock took a quick 2-0 in Game 1, but the Rush responded by scoring the next six goals and they never looked back, holding at least a two-goal lead the rest of the way. The net result is that…
Back in 2002, the Calgary Roughnecks began their franchise history by setting an NLL record. For goals against. The Montreal Express, another expansion team that year, scored 32 goals in the rout. On the upside, the Roughnecks managed to iron the kinks out pretty quickly after that and went on to win their third game. They would go on to an unimpressive 4-14 record in their inaugural year, but since…
The Edmonton Rush struggled at times, but got it right when it mattered most to advance to the Champion’s Cup. After losing Game 2 of their West Division Final to the Calgary Roughnecks by a 12-9 score, they easily won the tie-breaking mini-game 4-1. The win puts the Rush into the NLL finals for the second time in their 10-year existence as a team, the first time coming four years…
From my perspective as an NLL fanatic the opening volley of the Division Finals was nothing short of spectacular. Both Game Ones were decided in the final three minutes of play, both featured hard hits, spectacular goals, spectacular saves, everything a sports fan could want. The Edmonton Rush withstood a big comeback from the Calgary Roughnecks to win 10-8…
The Calgary Roughnecks travel up the road to Edmonton to face the Edmonton Rush in Game 1 of the West Division Finals on Friday night, beginning a rematch of the 2014 Division Finals. Last year the Roughnecks upset the odds-on favourite Rush, splitting the two full games and then convincingly winning the tie-breaking mini-game. This year Edmonton is once again the favourite, but Calgary is looking to once again win…
After finishing in second place in the NLL West Division the Colorado Mammoth’s season came to an end last weekend with an 11-6 loss to the Calgary Roughnecks in the first round of the playoffs. Following two years where the Mammoth finished below .500, their 9-9 record was certainly an improvement, but the early exit from the postseason has to be considered disappointing. Colorado got off to a torrid start,…
The Calgary Roughnecks (7-11) travel to Denver on Saturday night to face the Colorado Mammoth (9-9) in the first round of the 2015 NLL playoffs. The two teams faced each other three times during the regular season, with the Mammoth winning twice. Calgary’s lone win also started a late-season hot streak that saw them win four of their last five games to squeak into the postseason. The Mammoth had more…