RUSH ONLINE JERSEY AUCTION SET TO LAUNCH TOMORROW

(RAPID CITY, SD) – Want to own a piece of CHL history? Here’s your chance Rush fans! The Rapid City Rush is auctioning off their autographed, historic road black jerseys starting tomorrow, June 25th at 8 AM on the team’s eBay store.

This last season, the Rush set two CHL records in December: Most Consecutive Road Wins to Start a Season (12-0-0 on road before first road loss), and Fastest Team to 20 Wins in league history (23 games, 20-3-0), with the team setting both records before Christmas.

“Anytime your team accomplishes something as a group you look back on it with a ton of pride,” said Head Coach and GM Joe Ferras. “With the caliber of the CHL and how difficult it is to win at any level, especially the pro level, what we accomplished winning 20 of the first 23 games was a tremendous experience we as a franchise will never forget.

“When a record has stood for almost 18 years, there is a reason for it,” added Ferras on his team’s accomplishments. “With the travel, the physicality, and the parity in professional hockey, to go into other team’s buildings and win 12 games in a row on the road is a remarkable feat.”

Since the record set by the Fort Worth Fire in the 1996/97 season, only four teams have reached ten consecutive road wins, most recently the Odessa Jackalopes in the 2001/02 season.

In the midst of their historic run, the Rush wore black road jerseys that were not your average hockey sweater. The logos and numbers were sublimated into the jersey, and the only tackle-twill stitching was on the name bar on the back of the jersey. Despite their real jerseys arriving shortly after the season began, the players refused to wear anything else as the streak progressed.

“We got off to a great start, and when it comes down to it we just simply found a way to win games together,” said Rush leading goal-scorer Konrad Reeder. With regards to the jerseys, Konrad added “we got really superstitious in the locker room, and while those weren’t our real jerseys, we weren’t going to change anything. They were lighter than our real jerseys, and we didn’t like them at first, but after you win three or four games in a row you start to like them a bit more. In our case, by the time you hit twelve they become your favorite jerseys.”

“There’s so much that goes into preparing for each year from the business side of the hockey club, ordering your jerseys in advance and such,” said Ferras of the jerseys. “A week before the season started, we were notified by Tyler Fleck (Hardnosed Apparel) that our jerseys wouldn’t arrive in time. He met the team in Wichita before our season-opening game against the Thunder, carrying two sets of jerseys that we had to start the year with. Although it wasn’t under ideal circumstances, our players were consummate professionals and went out and played outstanding in both Wichita and Quad City to start the year with a 2-0-0 record. It’s like the old adage says: ‘Make plans and God laughs’.”

Each auction period will last one week, starting and ending at 8 AM on Wednesdays, and will feature two jerseys, making it an eight-week process featuring sixteen jerseys. This week’s auction features the first two Rush players signed on for the upcoming season: Winston Day Chief and Justin Sawyer. To participate in the auction, go to the Rapid City Rush eBay page (rapidcityrush) and place your bids. The pages will not go live until the start of the auction, which again is scheduled for 8 AM tomorrow, June 25th.

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Interested in season tickets? Call the Rush office at 716-7825 for details, and stay informed on all Rush happenings this summer through the official Rapid City Rush team website, www.RapidCityRush.com, and the Rapid City Rush mobile app, available on iTunes and Google Play.

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