FOUR GOAL THIRD HELPS RUSH DEFEAT MAVERICKS, MAINTAIN FIRST PLACE

(RAPID CITY, SD) – Saturday night marked the conclusion of the three game in three night set between the Missouri Mavericks and the Rapid City Rush. The Rush looked to maintain their position in first place in the CHL standings, while also trying to avoid the sweep at home for the first time this season. The Rush would come out firing, and behind a four-goal third period, and ten players inking themselves on the scoresheet, the Rush would handle the Mavericks 7-4.

The first period was yet another mirror image of its predecessors, with goals coming early in the game. For the second time this series, the Mavericks jumped on the board first, as Andrew Courtney capitalized on a Rush turnover and wrapped around the net of Rush net-minder Tim Boron to give the Mavericks a 1-0 lead with 15:43 left in the first. The Rush have scored a goal in the first period before in this series, but never answered one until now. Justin Faryna would take a loose puck in the far corner of the Rush zone and send the puck to the Mavericks goal crease, where a deflection would send it past the goal line of Mavericks goaltender Erno Suomalainen to tie the game with 12:20 left in the first. Evan Vossen of Missouri would elbow Konrad Reeder with less than a minute to go in the first, giving the Rush their second power play of the night. Reeder would respond with a power play goal with just 17.3 seconds left to give the Rush the 2-1 lead heading into the locker room.

The Rush would build off of their first period lead early in the second, riding the momentum to multiple scoring chances. Eventually, Matt Larke would break up the right side and fire a wrister from the far faceoff dot past Suomalainen to extend the Rush lead to 3-1 with 15:44 left in the middle frame. The Mavericks would pressure and eventually cut into the lead, as Colten Hayes and Rob Kleebaum would connect with Evan Vossen to cut into the lead and make the score 3-2 with 7:16 left in the second, a lead and score that would hold into the final period.

The third period housed the fireworks for the game by far. Starting off the 6 goal period was Winston Day Chief, who had space on the near wall and fired a wrist shot that deflected off of Suomalainen’s glove to extend the Rush lead to 4-2 with less than 10 minutes to play in the final period of regulation. Moments later, the Rush would get their sixth power play of the night, and Konrad Reeder would connect with Sean Erickson on the back door to increase the Rush lead to 5-2 for his second goal of the game with 7:50 left in the game. 32 seconds later, Scott Wray would take advantage of a turnover in the Mavericks zone, and hit Justin Faryna on the tape in between the faceoff dots for his second goal as well to give the Rush a 6-2 lead with 7:18 left in regulation. But the Mavericks would make things interesting, and catch the Rush off-guard on a non-icing call just 13 seconds later. In the confusion, Trevor Kell would send one past Tim Boron to halve the deficit at 6-3 with 7:05 left in the game. Then, with a power play and Suomalainen pulled for the extra attacker, the Mavericks would chip further into the lead, making the score 6-4 thanks to Mike Ramsay’s shot late in the man-advantage with 3:08 left in regulation. The Rush would seal the win with captain Scott Wray’s empty-net goal, making the final score 7-4, avoiding the home sweep in conclusion of the three game set.

Tim Boron stopped 22 shots en route to his eighteenth win of the season (18-4) in 22 apearances. With the win, Rapid City remains in first place in the CHL, a spot they have held by themselves since November 9th. The Rush shot 42 times on net, almost eclipsing their total of 50 shots from the past two games combined coming into this game. The Rush had ten players make the scoresheet, with half of them garnering multiple points, including two two goal scorers (Reeder, Faryna). With Konrad Reeder’s power play goal in the first period, the Rush have now successfully scored a power play goal in four consecutive games, clocking in at 22.2% (6/27) in that span. The Rush take on the St. Charles Chill on the road for the second time this season on New Year’s Eve. Puck drop is at 6:05 CST, and the game as always will be on 100.3 The FOX, the official radio home of your Rapid City Rush.

Other Rush News:

Season tickets for the 2013-14 season are available now by calling the Rush office at 716-7825.

Don’t forget to join Mark Binetti, “Voice of the Rush”, and Head Coach/GM Joe Ferras for “The Rush Hour with Coach Ferras”, presented by Miller Lite. The show returns to the air next year on Monday, January13th, and will be held at 6 PM at Boston’s Restaurant and Sports Bar. The show is broadcast on 100.3 The FOX, the official radio home of your Rapid City Rush.

Stay informed on Rush happenings 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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