By Scott Zerr
EdmontonRush.com

Call it shrewd, smart or lucky - maybe a combination of all three.

It doesn't really matter what word best describes the Edmonton Rush's acquisition of Curtis Palidwor. The timing of the trade was perfect.

Snatched up in a deal on Thursday with the New York Titans, Palidwor made his Rush debut on Saturday night and stole the show. He was truly the Superhero on Superheroes Night. The Vancouver native and seven-year NLL veteran made 42 saves in relief of Pat Campbell - a performance in brand-new pads that pushed the Rush to an 11-9 win over the Arizona Sting before a crowd of 10,435 at Rexall Place.

"I didn't even expect to play," chuckled Palidwor after his outstanding debut. "I wanted to come in and give the team some confidence and I thought I was able to do that."

Arizona had all the confidence early, jumping out to a 4-0 lead as the Sting's first four shots beat Rush starter Pat Campbell. Palidwor jumped in and the Rush responded with three straight goals.

A dominant second quarter turned the tide for good. Dan Stroup launched a five-goal outburst for the Rush with a terrific "Air Gait" effort from behind the Sting net. Eight different scorers beat Arizona goalie Rob Blasdell in the first half, including transition tallies by Darren Hillier and Rory Glaves.

With one second left in the first half, Jimmy Quinlan notched his team-leading 11th goal of the season. The eight goals equaled a Rush team record for most goals in the first half - a mark originally set earlier this year against Calgary.

The second half belonged to Palidwor as he stymied the Sting with countless clutch stops, several coming on Arizona power plays that were held goalless on six chances.

"I would say it was pretty good timing for us," said Rush GM/Head Coach Paul Day of the trade for Palidwor.

On top of the great goaltending, there seemed to be a new mindset amongst the Rush - something they picked up during the home-and-home series losses to the Colorado Mammoth.

"I think we had a little bit of a different feeling," noted Day. "That is a championship caliber team in Colorado with 16 guys who come to play every night. I don't think we really had that until tonight (Saturday).

"That was a very good team we lost to in Colorado and I think that carried into this week for us. The guys came prepared, we had very good practices and I think this was one of the first times in two years that we played well for four quarters. This win is definitely something to build on."

Randy Daly scored a power-play goal (the Rush were 1-for-2 with the man-advantage) and chipped in four assists (giving him a team-leading 14 helpers) to lead the Rush offence while Stroup tallied twice and added two assists. Daly's five-point night moved him into second spot in Rush scoring with 18 points, one ahead of Stroup and one back of Chris Gill.

Gill, Chris McElroy, Ryan O'Connor and Jamey Bowen also scored for Edmonton.

The Rush (2-3) will go on the road for just the second time this season when they meet the Sting (4-2) in Arizona. There's more than half of the season remaining, but with a sweep of the Sting and some help from the Mammoth who play Portland and Calgary this weekend, the Rush could suddenly be looking at the possibility of standing second in the NLL's West Division.

RUSH RAMBLINGS: O'Connor's goal was the fourth shorthanded marker of the year for the Rush ... Gill, who is tied for second with Stroup in Rush goal-scoring with 10, perhaps notched the goal of the game in the first quarter as his no-look rocket beat Blasdell as the shot clock expired ... The Sherwood Park Titans and South Edmonton Warriors shared the Rush/GELC PeeWee Tournament title after playing to a 3-3 draw in the championship game held at halftime of the Rush/Sting contest.