RUSH REBOUND BEHIND OFFENSIVE OUTBURST, HANDLE MALLARDS 5-1

(RAPID CITY, SD) – Saturday marked the rubber matchup through three games in the season series for the Quad City Mallards and the Rapid City Rush. After suffering their first shutout loss of the season and their third overall, the Rush rebounded and handled the Mallards by a 5-1 score behind one goal and one assist performances by Konrad Reeder, Scott Wray, and Sean Erickson.

The first period started off the same, much like its Friday night counterpart, but the results were vastly different. It was the Rush who would capitalize first and gain control of the game early. Scoring started off 8:57 into the game, as Scott Brannon would make himself at home in front of the net of Mallards goalie Thomas Heemskerk, deflecting a rebound from a Justin Faryna shot into his net, giving the Rush a 1-0 lead. After a few fights from Bobby Preece and Justin Faryna, the Rush offense was hard at work once again. Sean Erickson would take an errantly bouncing puck coming towards him and rifle it towards the net past Heemskerk, giving the Rush a 2-0 lead with 4:08 left in the first frame, a lead they would carry into the locker room session.

The Rush came into the period with all of the momentum and would capitalize as a result. Sean Erickson, with the Rush maintaining a strong possession in the offensive zone, fired a shot from the point. Konrad Reeder picked up the rebound through traffic, patiently skated through the slot and backhanded a shot past Heemskerk to extend the Rush lead to 3-0 with 11:28 left in the second. The Mallards would fight back though, with Matt Duffy taking advantage of confusion in the Rush defensive zone and sending the puck top shelf past Tim Boron to put the Mallards on the board for a 3-1 score with 4:27 left in the second.

The Rush would finish the dominant performance with another two goal period. Konrad Reeder would lead a two-on-one charge down the ice and rip a shot that went off the post and to the stick of Eric Giosa. Giosa would bury the puck into the open 4”x6” net and give the Rush a 4-1 lead with 14:45 left in the final period. After killing off a five-on-three power play, the Rush would add one more tally on the board. On a pass from Kyle Stroh, Matt Larke would lead another two-on-one break down the ice, find Scott Wray cross ice, and Wray would roof the puck over Heemskerk to give the Rush a 5-1 lead, a score that would hold at the end of 60 minutes.

Tim Boron stopped 25 shots for his fifteenth win of the year in eighteen appearances (15-3-0). The Rush would avoid back-to-back losses for the third time this year. After losses, the Rush have now outscored their opponent 13-3 in three games played. The Rush ended the Mallards ten game point streak, handing them their first regulation loss in eleven games (6-1-4 in that span). The Rush will travel to Denver to take on their archrivals, the Denver Cutthroats, next Friday and Saturday night at 7:05 MST. They will be the last games played before the Christmas break.

Other Rush News:

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

Join Mark Binetti, “Voice of the Rush”, and Head Coach/GM Joe Ferras for “The Rush Hour with Head Coach Joe Ferras”, sponsored by Miller Lite on Monday, December 16th. Show starts at 6 PM BACK AT BOSTON’S RESTAURANT AND SPORTS BAR, and will be broadcast on 100.3 The FOX, the official radio home for 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 GooglePlay

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