GAME PREVIEW: RUSH vs MAVERICKS 1/10/2014

Where We Left Off: Three Down – Tuesday night marked the return of hockey to the Black Hills in the 2014 calendar year. The Rapid City Rush took on the Tulsa Oilers for the first time this season, pitting the best defense in the CHL against the best offense in the CHL, respectively. The score, and boxscore for that matter, do not tell the whole story of the contest, as it was an extremely tight game played by both sides. Rush rookie goaltender Keaton Hartigan would earn his fifth professional start in just his sixth appearance and play admirably in the effort. Goals would start to come midway into the second period, after the first twenty minutes proved to be scoreless between these two clubs. On a bounce with incoming traffic towards Hartigan’s net, Drew Fisher would get the Oilers on the board, as he tipped in a rebound to give the visitors a 1-0 lead heading into the third. The Rush would have a multitude of scoring chances, but would be unable to solve Oilers goaltender Shane Madolora for the remainder of the game. Ben Gordon would add a power play goal to the Tulsa lead with less than five minutes left in regulation, followed by an empty net goal scored by Michel Beausoleil to seal the 3-0 shutout win for the Oilers over the Rush.

Two Eggs – On Tuesday night, the Rush lost for the second time by means of a shutout to the Tulsa Oilers by a 3-0 score (Quad City earned the first shutout over the Rush in December by a 2-0 score). The Rush have out-shot both opponents in their shutout losses, having thrown 38 pieces of rubber against Tulsa’s Shane Madolora and 48 against Ty Rimmer of the Mallards, meaning 86 shots have been taken in shutout losses this year. The last time the Rush faced a shutout, they outscored their opponent 5-1 in the very next game (Quad City on 12/14).

Buzz-Kill – The Rush penalty kill has unfortunately been a weak point as of late for the first place club in the CHL. Ranking last of the ten teams at 75.8%, the Rush penalty kill unit has allowed a power play goal in now nine straight games, going 67.7% in that span (21 kills on 31 opportunities). In that time, they have only given up more than one power play goal twice.

We’ve Danced Before – The Missouri Mavericks are the first of two teams to have defeated the Rush more than once this season (the Allen Americans swept the Rush last weekend in Texas). The Mavericks ended the Rush’s record winning streak to start the CHL season at 10 games, followed by defeating them twice after Christmas Day last month. Both teams have played five times against each other this year, with the Mavericks having taken three of those games out of a possible eight for the season series.

Skid Marks – Coming into this series, both teams are riding minimal losing streaks. The Mavericks are carrying a two-game losing streak into tonight’s matchup, having lost two games in a row at home against the Brampton Beast. The Rush, on the other hand, are on a season-high three game losing streak coming into tonight’s matchup, having lost twice to the defending CHL champion Allen Americans and once to the Tulsa Oilers

NUMBER CRUNCH: vs the Mavericks – Having played against each other five times, there are bound to be some interesting numbers between the Rush and the Mavericks. Let’s review some eye-popping figures:

· 35 – the power play percentage for the Mavericks in the series. The Mavericks have clocked in at 35% in the series, having scored 7 power play goals in 20 man-advantages against the Rush. The Rush penalty kill not only counters with 65% on the man-down unit, but has only converted 18% of its man-advantages (6/32).

· 0 – the goal differential between both teams in the series. Each team has scored 18 goals in the five game set to date. The Rush have scored the most in a game at 7 goals, coming in the most recent game of this series. The Mavericks have not scored more than 4 goals, a total of which they have reached in the last three games of the set.

· 8 – the number of goals each team has scored in the third period. Crunch time has played a factor in the final period of regulation when both of these teams go head-to-head. In their most recent three game set, the Mavericks took a tie into the third period twice, only to score the game-Winning%20Goals in the third period.

· 3 – the number of games in which the Rush have surpassed 40+ shots on goal. Coach Ferras of the Rush has constantly stressed getting pucks on net, and the Rush are 2-1-0 in those games, having won the first and last meetings of this series with 46 and 42 shots. When shooting less than 40 times (or 30 for that matter), the Rush are 0-2-0, shooting a combined total of 50 shots in those games.