Photo Credit: Dan Brodie
The top two teams in the NLL West Division face off in Calgary Friday night when the Roughnecks (6-4) host the Edmonton Rush (9-0).
Last weekend the Rush set the NLL record for longest regular-season winning streak and they’ll be highly motivated to extend their perfect run against their provincial rivals.
They handily beat the Roughnecks on Jan. 17, winning 15-8 at home. This time around, though, they’ll be playing a Calgary team that is the healthiest they’ve been all year and who have won four of their last five games.
Mark Matthews and Curtis Knight are powering the Edmonton offense. Both have scored 17 times while Matthews leads the team in overall points with 41.
The Rush have really excelled at the other end of the floor, though.
Goalie Aaron Bold leads the league in wins (8) and goals against average (8.34) while defenseman Kyle Rubisch is leading the NLL in forced turnovers with 26.
By contrast, Calgary is once again all about the offense. Defending league MVP Shawn Evans is second in the scoring race with 65 points, Dane Dobbie is leading the league in goals with 30 and Evans, Dobbie and Jeff Shattler (52 PTS) form the only trio of teammates in the top 10 in NLL scoring.
Netminder Mike Poulin has gotten hot in the last month, bringing his goals against average down to a respectable 12.04. If he can continue to make big saves in key situations, he gives the Riggers a chance to win.
