Rush and Mammoth clash in Western Conference Showdown

Rush and Mammoth clash in Western Conference Showdown

Published: Friday, Jan 12th 2018, 6:01pm

by: Stephen Safinuk (@Safimod)

First place in the Western Conference is on the line tomorrow night when the Saskatchewan Rush travel to Colorado to take on the Mammoth. For those without an NLL subscription/Sasktel Max, this game will be the NLL game of the week, which means you can watch it free on Twitter. Having watched a couple games that way last year, I highly suggest it for those who want to catch a little Saskatchewan Rush action. If you haven’t watched a game yet, tune in – you won’t regret it.

The Rush and Mammoth both hold very similar defensive stats, having given up 26 (Mammoth) and 29 (Rush) goals respectively through 3 games, but the biggest difference thus far has been offensively. Even after only scoring 14 versus the Bandits last weekend, the Rush are still averaging 18 goals per game led by a very potent power play (Currently clicking at 68.8%). Ben McIntosh current leads the league in PP goals with 5. They will have to be at their best against a Mammoth team that only has 24 combined penalty minutes through 3 games.

Side note – Evan Kirk is quickly making himself a fan favourite in Saskatchewan, allowing only 29 goals through 3 games. Part of that is certainly due to stellar defensive play by the Rush who allow a league low 46.67 shots per game.

In the end, I think the top end offensive power from Ben McIntosh, Mark Matthews and Robert Church, combined with great defensive play from the Rush will be enough to keep them atop the Western Conference standings.

Prediction:

Rush 19
Mammoth 10

Interested in coming out to a game? Piffles Podcast still has a few seats left on their Rush Bus to Saskatoon on February 24^th. $85 gets you transportation from Regina and back, along with a ticket to the game, plus a chance to win a Saskatchewan Rush jersey, courtesy of the Saskatchewan Rush. We also have some Coney Island giveaways, and hopefully more to follow.