On Sunday the (0-1) Edmonton Rush took on the (2-0) Washington Stealth. The Rush came into this game after losing to the Toronto Rock at home 10-9 while the Stealth were rolling and looking to keep their momentum after wins against Rochester and Colorado.
The Rush wasted no time in this game as rookie Mark Matthews struck just 37 seconds into the game in order to give Edmonton a 1-0 lead. The Stealth would respond quickly as just two minutes later Mike Grimes would score to make it 1-1. The two teams would continue to go back and forth in the first period as Corey Small and Chris Corbeil added goals for the Rush while the Stealth received goals from Rhys Duch and Dean Hill to make the score 3-3 after the first quarter.
Edmonton would begin to pull away in the second quarter as Ryan Ward, Jarrett Davis and Brett Mydske found the back of the net for three consecutive goals to give the Rush a 6-3 lead. The Stealth would try to battle back as Athan Ianucci found the back of the net to cut the lead to 6-4. The Rush were un phased though as Zack Greer and Jeff Cornwall scored to give the Rush a 8-4 lead. Washington would add a goal from Brett Bucktooth to make the score 8-5 at half. After being outplayed in the second quarter the Stealth needed to regroup in order to try and make a comeback.
The third quarter began just like the game as Mark Matthews scored from out deep to give the Rush a 9-5 lead. Matthews would strike again shortly after and kick off a run of three straight Edmonton goals to give the Rush a commanding 12-5 lead. The Stealth would pull starting goalie Nick Patterson and put in Neil Tyacke while normal starter Tyler Richards was a mysterious healthy scratch for the second straight game. The goaltending change made no difference as the Rush continued to roll and never looked back. The Rush would dominate the Stealth the rest of the game on their way to a 18-10 win.
The story of the game though was rookie Mark Matthews who had 9 points in the game with 4 goals and 5 assists and has been proving why he was the number one draft pick this year. The Rush showed how dominant their offense can be as they had their foot on the gas pedal all game and never gave the Stealth a chance to inch their way back into the game. The Rush defense and goalie Aaron Bold did a good job of slowing a strong Stealth offense and were key reasons for Edmonton’s win.
The Stealth on the other hand looked out classed as the Rush dominated after the first period. The Stealth defense could not contain Edmonton’s offensive weapons and both goalies struggled in net. These two teams meet again on Friday in Edmonton and it will be interesting if the Stealth will give Tyler Richards the start after being dominated in this game. Expect their game on Friday to be closer as I am sure the Stealth will be motivated to erase this loss from their minds.
