CUTTHROATS BLOW OUT RUSH, TAKE RUBBER MATCH 7-1

(RAPID CITY, SD) – In an extremely significant conclusion to their head-to-head season series, the Denver Cutthroats and Rapid City Rush played one last time in Denver Coliseum. A key two points in the standings were at stake, with two points separating second and fourth in the league standings. The Cutthroats, despite losing nine games in this head to head set, ended the series with a bang: a 7-1 win over the Rush, their worst loss of the season.

Denver would jump out to a third straight 1-0 start after 20 minutes, as Troy Schwab would put the first goal of the night past Keaton Hartigan with less than five minutes to go in the first period. Garrett Bembridge would extend the Denver lead to 2-0 in the second period on the second and final Cutthroats power play of the game halfway through the middle frame. 1:18 seconds later, A.J. Gale would score his third goal in as many nights against the Rush to extend the home side’s advantage to 3-0. One of the few bright spots in the game was Justin Sawyer, who scored his fifth goal of the season 17 seconds later to erase the Denver shutout, and bring the Rush closer in a 3-1 game.

The breaking point for the Rush came on their third power play of the game. Beating Brett Kostolansky in a foot race in his own zone, who somehow managed to get a lucky bounce over Keaton Hartigan on a wrap-around shot, giving the Cutthroats a 4-1 lead after two periods of play. 4:12 into the final period, Daniel Barczuk would split the Rush defense and flip the puck over Hartigan to extend the Denver lead to 5-1. Not finished yet, A.J. Gale would score his second of the night on a laser of a one-timer, padding the Cutthroats lead to 6-1 with 8:09 left in the game. The exclamation point on the impressive Denver offensive came off a tip-in from Daniel Amesbury, scoring just his second goal of the year to help the Cutthroats to a 7-1 win.

Keaton Hartigan made 21 saves on the evening, recording his ninth loss of the season (8-9-0) in his eighteenth appearance. The Rush outshot the Cutthroats 35-28, with former Rush backup goaltender John Griggs posting his second straight 34 save performance against his former club. With his second period goal, Justin Sawyer tied a career high for goals scored in a single season at five. Also reaching a notable career milestone was Scott Brannon, who not only played in his 100th career game as a professional, all with the Rush. The win puts the Cutthroats in a tie for second with the Allen Americans, two points ahead of the now fourth place Rush. The Rush are back in action on Tuesday night, taking on the Wichita Thunder at 7:05 MST.

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 on Wednesday March 19th for the FINAL TIME THIS REGULAR SEASON, 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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