Game at Toronto feels like home for some Rush members

For a team facing their fourth road contest in their first six games of the 2010 season, the Rush are kind of feeling at home this weekend as they prepare for a Friday night game against the Toronto Rock at the Air Canada Centre.

The Rock, who sport a 5-1 mark for tops in the East Division, play host to Edmonton, who arrive in second place in the West with a 3-2 record.

Although the Rush are the visitors in the contest, the game will be a home game of sorts as southern Ontario is where many of Edmonton's players call home.

Ontario continues to be a hotbed for producing top-notch lacrosse talent and NLL stars and the Rush lineup boasts a ton of Ontario-based players, as almost two-thirds of Edmonton's roster and two coaches hail from Canada's most-populated province.

"I'm excited on a personal level," said Rush head coach/GM Derek Keenan. "I haven't been there (Air Canada Centre) since 2004 since I left the team."

Keenan is a former player, assistant coach and general manager of the Rock, spending six seasons with the club. In 1999, he played six games with the Rock before becoming an assistant coach under Les Bartley and winning the NLL Championship. The next four seasons saw the Rock appear in the championship final consecutively -- winning three times -- in 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Keenan was later relieved of his duties as interim general manager in 2004 after the Rock had a 2-4 start to the season, before resurfacing in Anaheim the next season. He later went on to be awarded both the top GM and the Les Bartley Award for coach of the year in 2006 with Portland.

Keenan, who's based in Oshawa, Ont., joined the Rush prior to the 2010 season after a successful run with Portland. He's backed by Rush defensive coach Jeremy Tallevi, who calls London, Ont. home.

Edmonton's transition players Brodie Merrill and Scott Stewart, defender Derek Suddons and forwards Gavin Prout and Dean Hill, among others, are key players for Edmonton that are Ontario-based and will suit up for the black attack in front of many family members and friends against Toronto Friday.

"I'm sure the guys are pretty excited," said Keenan of his 14 players that have ties with the Ontario lax community. "But, you don't want to get too caught up on that and try to do to much."

"It's always nice to be home and getting to play in front of family and friends," said Rush defender Ian Hawksbee, who originally hals from Niagara-on-the-lake, Ont., but now calls Vancouver home. "Obviously, playing at the Air Canada Centre is always a thrill. It's a place where I used to watch the Rock when I was growing up.

"It's pretty special (playing at ACC), but, I try to keep a level head with it," he added. "It will be nice to have high-school and childhood friends and my family at the game, so it's good. It will be fun having people cheering for me there."

Although Hawksbee, along with fellow defender and transplanted Ontarian Rory Glaves (Niagara Fall, Ont.), will fly back to their lacrosse roots this weekend, most Rush players won't have to make the trek west to Edmonton for a game, which can be bonus on the carpet for the club, according to the bench boss.

"Actually, probably a lot of the guys will be more rested this weekend not having to travel," said Keenan, as most Rush players are flown into NLL markets for games.

The rest could help the Rush as Toronto will be a difficult contest for Edmonton.

The Rock have piled up a ton of offense this season with the return of Colin Doyle and the emergence of rookie Garret Billings and the backstopping of netminder Bob Watson has kept the opposition at bay.

"It will be a good test for us for sure," Keenan said. "Because of the talent level here, they're going to get a lot of good looks.

"The first thing is we have to be better in our own end than we were last week," added Keenan, who saw his club's three-game win streak snapped Feb. 5 at Calgary as the Roughnecks defeated the Rush 13-8 to drop Edmonton's record to 3-2 on the season.

"We have to get back to our defensive scheme. We got away from it last weekend," said Hawksbee, the top defender for Edmonton in 2009. "We've got a good matchup with their offensive guys and if we can play to our game plan, we have a real good chance at winning".

Edmonton hopes the home cooking helps, too.

The Rush returns to Edmonton next weekend for a Sunday, Feb. 21 matinee contest at 1:30 p.m. game at Rexall Place in the back-half of the club's home-and-away series against Toronto.