ALLEN BLANKS RUSH BEHIND BARIBEAU’S 26 SAVES

(RAPID CITY, SD) – Dereck Baribeau stopped all 26 shots he saw in regulation to help power the Allen Americans to a 4-0 win over the Rapid City Rush on Friday night. Both teams traded shutouts in the week, with the Rush winning 1-0 on Wednesday morning and the Americans claiming a 4-0 win tonight, setting the table for a rubber match tomorrow night in this week’s three-game set.

Allen struck twice in the first frame and took a 2-0 lead into the locker room after 20 minutes. Jordan Topping started off the scoring entries after the Rush couldn’t get the puck out of their zone. The puck was worked down towards the Rush net and then to Topping backdoor. Topping fired it by Rush net-minder Merrick Madsen and gave the Americans a 1-0 lead with 6:04 left in the first period (Alex Guptill and Stepan Falkovsky assisted). Exactly 68 seconds later, Allen Captain Jared VanWormer fired the puck towards traffic in front of the Rush net, and followed the play skating behind the net. He collected a rebound on the backdoor and flipped it in by Madsen to double Allen’s lead to 2-0 with 4:56 left in the first (Olivier Archambault and Josh Lammon assisted).

Allen added another pair of goals within the first five minutes of the second period, including a tally in the opening seconds of the frame. After a shot bounced awkwardly off of the glass and behind Madsen in his crease, ECHL leading scorer Tyler Sheehy poked the puck into the net to give the Americans a 3-0 lead just 18 seconds into the second (Spencer Asuchak and Brett Pollock assisted). Moments later, at 3:30 of the second, Alex Breton of Allen was awarded a penalty shot, but missed Madsen’s net wide trying to backhand tuck the puck. However, 22 seconds after the missed penalty shot, Alex Guptill completed a three-on-one break into the Rush zone and buried his shot by Madsen, expanding the Americans lead to 4-0 at 3:52 of the second (Josh Brittain and Josh Lammon assisted). The fourth goal prompted the removal of Madsen from the game, with Gordon Defiel taking his place in relief. Defiel shut the door for the rest of the game, but the Rush couldn’t mount a comeback, falling by a 4-0 final on Dereck Baribeau’s 26-save shutout, the second shutout loss suffered by the Rush this season.

Merrick Madsen suffered the loss, stopping 16 of 20 shots in 23:52 of his start (2-4-0-0). Gordon Defiel finished the remaining 36:08 of the game and stopped all 19 shots he saw in relief.

The Rush conclude their three-game series against the ECHL’s 1st Place Allen Americans with a rubber match tomorrow night on Saturday, February 15th. Puck drop is slated for 7:05 p.m. MDT at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Ice Arena. Tomorrow is our annual “First Responders Night”, saluting all of those in the Black Hills that protect our community. First Responders with a valid ID can purchase tickets for $15 for tomorrow night’s contest at the Rush office or Rushmore Plaza Civic Center box office.

Tickets for all remaining Rush games are on sale now! Visit www.rapidcityrush.com to purchase yours today!

############