By Scott Zerr
EdmontonRush.com

The Edmonton Rush couldn't have scripted a better story to launch their second season in the National Lacrosse League.

After eight failed attempts to win on their home floor at Rexall Place in 2006, the Rush desperately needed to find a way to succeed in front of their own fans.

It finally happened.

Randy Daly's goal with 0.7 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter lifted the Rush to a 13-12 victory over the Philadelphia Wings on Saturday night, giving the Rush their first home and second overall win in franchise history.

"Without a doubt the biggest goal I've ever scored," said Daly.

"It's great for us players but more importantly it's great for our fans. We were a 1-15 team last year and we were still getting 10,000 fans to the games at the end of the season. They stuck with us. It was important for us to get this season off to the right start but it's much better for our fans."

Daly's goal was the capper to a wild night that featured Jimmy Quinlan becoming the first Rush player to score five goals in one game and new addition Chris Gill setting a new club record with eight points in a game.

The Wings held a 5-2 edge at halftime and led 9-6 going into the fourth quarter. But the Rush rattled off five straight goals including a terrific individual effort by Jamie Roy and two of Gill's four goals 44 seconds apart to take a 12-10 advantage.

The Wings wouldn't go away easy, though, as Geoff Snider and Kyle Wailes evened the score at 12-12 with 1:49 to go. With sudden-death overtime on the horizon, the Rush had one last possession to work with and although he fell heading to the net, Dan Stroup was able to spot an open Daly just outside the crease and Daly made no mistake with a quick release that send the 9,417 Rush fans into a frenzy.

"We showed that we didn't have any quit and I like that a lot," said the veteran Stroup, who had two goals and three assists in his first game with the Rush.

"There wasn't any extra pressure put on us, but we could feel that there was pressure to get that first win at home. We had to give the fans something to cheer about. It was only the first game but it's a short season and we had to give the fans a treat. It was big for them, the franchise and us."

Rush GM/Head Coach Paul Day was obviously relieved to get the first home-floor victory monkey off the team's back.

"I'm extremely happy. And I still think we can be even better," said Day.

"Right from day 1 of this season when Gill and Stroup and the other veterans came in, they started talking about everyone doing the little things. We were nice and composed.

"The first half, our offence was not very good but our goaltending and defence was excellent. In the third quarter, we told (goalie) Pat Campbell and the defence to get the ball in transition - that we were going to run the floor and tire them out. And we got a big emotional lift when Daryl Welsh stepped up in that fight."

The Rush's first home win sets an even bigger stage for the Jan. 13 game against the visiting Calgary Roughnecks in the '07 season's first edition of the Battle of Alberta.

"There's no better way to build confidence than with a win," said Daly. "We know what Calgary is all about and I don't think we're sounding cocky by saying that Calgary is a team that we feel we can beat. We're a team that needs to play 60 minutes - it all comes down to that for us."

Rush Ramblings
Pat Campbell also set a team record with four assists from the goaltender position. "I really think he could get 30 points this year," said Day. "When we took him in the Expansion Draft, we figured he'd have to make 10 to 15 fewer saves a night because he's athletic enough to get to all those loose balls." ... Ryan O'Connor's playmaking certainly was a key to the Rush offence as he finished with four assists ... The Rush were 4-for-11 on the power play while Philadelphia was 0-for-5.