A Washington Stealth Fan Blog
This project is maintained by tfitch
This Sunday’s matchup between the Edmonton Rush (0-4) at the Portland Lumberjax (1-5) will be a rematch of their game on February 2, 2008 in Edmonton. In their first meeting, the Lumberjax beat the Rush 11 to 10, which was the Rush’s closest game.
Goalie Debacle…. err Debate
Both Portland and Edmonton have had goalie issues this year so, it is unclear which goalie for each team will start, which could be a key to who wins the game. Dallas Eliuk (Portland) suffered a hamstring injury in the Lumberjax’s last game. On the season, Eliuk has a goals against average of 12.55 and .719 save percentage. Matt King (Portland) has stepped in to both relieve and start for Eliuk when needed, with a goals against average of 12.76 and .760 save percentage. Curtis Palidwor (Edmonton) has a goals against average of 16.04 and a save percentage of .701. Matt Disher has a goals against average of 10.99 and a save percentage of .758. Going off the stats, which isn’t the only thing to this game, Disher has clearly played better than Palidwor this season. I am looking for the starting goalies to be King for the Lumberjax and Disher for the Rush.
Team Offense is the Key
The Portland Lumberjax offense has yet to live up to their potential this year. With the addition of Dan Dawson and Derek Malawsky from the Sting, the Jax looked to be an offensive powerhouse. Hopefully the Jax will get their offense on track this Sunday. For that to happen the talented offensive players will need to be allowed to play their game and they will need to do so together as a team. I do want to recognize the Jax offense for being the most effective man-up offensive team in the league.
The Edmonton Rush offense has been anemic, putting in only 41 goals in four games. The Rush offense is best described as veteran, but lacks a “superstar” to take the lead. Look for Mike Accursi to step forward to lead the offense in this game that the Rush need to win. Accursi currently leads the Rush in assists and is tied with teammates for leading goal scorer. As such, Brodie Merrill will likely be covering Accursi.
Defense, Defense, Defense
Defense has been the anchor for the Portland Lumberjax. They consistently play an aggressive style of team defense. The team will need to limit their team penalties so they are not caught in the man down situation.
The Edmonton Rush held the Jax offense in check during their first match-up and will likely do the same in their second meeting. Look for the defense to key on Dan Dawson, who has 11 goals and 12 assists. If the Rush can contain Derek Malawsky (12 goals and 9 assists) and Ryan Powell (9 goals and 16 assists), they should be able to hold the Lumberjax to less than 10 goals.
Transition
The transition game favors the Lumberjax who have a roster full of young players who can run & gun. The veteran Rush offense will need to get off the floor in a hurry to allow some of the younger Rush defenders, like Ian Hawksby, to slow down the Jax transition.
Portland had two tough losses last week against two undefeated teams. They played well, but may be emotionally drained after getting themselves up for last weekend. I predict the Jax will look past the Rush this weekend and Edmonton will have their first win.