(RAPID CITY, SD) – Fan-favorite Justin Faryna returned to the Rapid City Rush, but Pierre-Luc Mercier provided the only goal for the Rush in a 5-1 loss against the Tulsa Oilers on Friday night. The game marked the first home contest of 2019 for the Rush.
Tulsa jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first period, despite a narrow shot margin of 14-10 in Oilers favor. Ian McNulty began the scoring entries of the game at 10:39 when he deflected an Adam Phillips shot by Rush net-minder Tyler Parks, giving the Oilers a 1-0 advantage (Phillips and Ryan Tesink assisted). Exactly 1:17 later, a crisp passing play in-zone resulted in Tommy Mele scoring his second goal in as many nights, finishing with a top-shelf shot over Parks to make it a 2-0 Oilers lead at 11:58 of the first (Steve Kaunisto and Dylan Bredo assisted). Alex Kromm extended the lead to 3-0 when a bobbled puck behind the net by Parks left the net open, and Kromm barely squeezed it in with 43.4 seconds remaining in the frame.
The Rush improved their play in the second period, but an unlucky play gave momentum to the Oilers and helped expand their sizeable lead. With 4:06 left in the second, Stephen Perfetto led a rush into the Rush zone, but Referee Jeff Parker collided with one of the Rush defenders, handing the Oilers a two-on-one break. Perfetto, in a highly-skilled maneuver, took advantage of the break and tucked the puck behind Parks to make it a 4-0 Oilers lead (Sam Wilbur and Dylan Bredo assisted). Ian McNulty notched his second of the game 1:36 later, finishing a drop pass in the slot area from Tesink with a shot that appeared to deflect off of an object and past Parks, bringing the lead to 5-0 after two periods (Tesink and Drapluk assisted).
The Rush salvaged a goal in the defeat in the third period, and got the contribution from their red-hot power play. With 12:19 left in the game, Pierre-Luc Mercier deflected a Josh Elmes shot past Oilers goalie Devin Williams, to bring the game to a 5-1 final score (Elmes and Riley Weselowski assisted).
Tyler Parks stopped 24 of 29 shots on net, suffering the loss in his third consecutive start (2-5-0-0).
The Rush conclude their series against the Oilers tomorrow night, with puck drop slated for 7:05 p.m. MST at Premier Home Mortgage Ice in Rushmore Plaza Civic Center.
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