Friday, February - 7:30 pm at Pengrowth Saddledome

Edmonton, AB -- The Edmonton Rush will ride the first three-game winning streak in franchise history into a clash with the defending National Lacrosse League-champion Calgary Roughnecks.

The Rush extended their winning streak last weekend when they defeated the Roughnecks 14-11 in the first meeting between the clubs in the NLL's version of the Battle of Alberta. With the victory, Edmonton maintained its second-place spot in the NLL's West Division - another first-time mark for the team. The Rush sit 1.5 games behind undefeated league-leaders Washington while the fourth-place Roughnecks are 3.5 games off the pace.

After dropping all three games against Calgary during the 2009 season, the Rush have won two straight over their provincial rivals and improved to 5-11 all-time against the Roughnecks. Three of Edmonton's wins over Calgary have come on the Roughnecks' home turf. While still lagging far behind the Roughnecks in head-to-head encounters, the Rush have picked up some meaningful victories in the matchups including their only win of the 2006 campaign along with Chris Gill's six-goal game during the 2007 season. The Roughnecks, however, have handed the Rush some of their most devastating losses including a 22-10 pasting at Rexall Place last season and an 18-7 win at the Saddledome in 2008.

 It was a well-rounded attack by the Rush against the Roughnecks as eight different shooters hit the back of the Calgary net. Dean Hill paced the Rush with three goals plus one assist while Scott Stewart, Gavin Prout, Andy Secore, and rookie Brett Mydske each potted a pair of goals. Scott Tinning, another first-year pro, notched his first NLL goal, with Ryan Ward and Brodie Merrill also adding singles. Ward helped the Rush offense with five assists while Merrill chipped in a game-high 18 loose balls.

The biggest story from the win over Calgary may have been the play of goaltender Matt Disher. Coming off his career-best season of 2009, Disher is picking up right where he left off and was stellar against the Roughnecks, making 45 saves. With that performance, Disher moved up to second in the league with 157 saves through four games and he stands fifth amongst NLL netminders with a .785 save-percentage.

Ward has been the Rush's most potent offensive threat this season and is currently sixth in the NLL with 11 goals. He leads the Rush with 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists). Merrill and Prout also have 13 assists on the season. Hill is second on the Rush with nine goals, one up on Secore. Merrill has been dominant in all aspects of his game and leads in the NLL with 53 loose balls which puts him on pace for a 200+ loose ball campaign.

It has been a somewhat difficult start to the season for the Roughnecks, who won the NLL Champion's Cup in 2009 and 2004. They opened their campaign with a home-and-home split against the Minnesota Swarm and then dropped a home-turf outing against the Washington Stealth before falling to the Rush last weekend. With his seven-point game against the Rush last Saturday, Josh Sanderson continues to lead the Roughnecks in scoring with 25 points (12 goals, 20 assists).

Statistically Speaking: The Rush have the eighth-ranked power play in the NLL at 33.3% (6-for-18) and also hold down the eighth-place ranking in penalty-killing at 57.1% (nine goals against in 21 shorthanded situations)... It was an up-and-down game for the Rush's special teams units against Calgary as the Roughnecks scored four power-play goals yet the Rush countered with shorthanded goals by Gavin Prout and Ryan Ward. The Rush have counted four shorthanded goals on the year, the second-best total in the league, and they have yet to surrender a shorthanded marker. Ward now leads in the NLL with two shorthanded tallies.

By The Numbers: Although injured in the Calgary game, Pat Jones sits third in the league with 55 faceoff wins (55.6%) ... The Rush entered last week's game as one of the least-penalized teams in the NLL but that took hit behind a season-high 41 minutes in the box ... Rock-steady defender Rory Glaves and enforcer Ryan McNish are the only Rush players not to have registered a point yet this season.