LUCK OF THE IRISH: RUSH WIN SHOOTOUT ON ST. PATRICKS DAY

(RAPID CITY, SD) – In their final showdown of the regular season, the Rapid City Rush and the Quad City Mallards engaged in a tight battle throughout. Filled with tying goals and an eventual shootout, the Rush would claim their third win all-time on St. Patrick’s Day in four bouts, thanks to Winston Day Chief’s shootout-winner and Tim Boron’s perfect showing in the extra round.

The Mallards put themselves on the board first, marking the fourth consecutive game in which the Rush have started off trailing 1-0. Former Rush forward Jeff Lee would come into the Rush zone wide and throw a centering pass through traffic, connecting with Thomas Frazee on the back door. Frazee would send the puck in Tim Boron’s net, giving the Mallards a 1-0 lead just 4:21 into the game. The Rush would receive a power play in the frame, but would be unable to even the score, carrying their deficit into the second period.

Just under the halfway point of the middle act of the performance, the Rush would equalize the score. Ben Power would truck his way through defenders after a forced turnover on the blue line and dish the puck to Jared Brown. Brown would unload a laser-like shot, threading the needle between Ty Rimmer’s blocker and right leg pad to tie the game at 1-1 7:21 into the second, a tie that would carry over to the final period of regulation.

For the second night in a row, the Rush would strike while the iron was hot just under two minutes into the third. A bouncing puck would come in front of Rimmer’s net, and Rush captain Jesse Schultz would stick with the play, and pop the bouncing puck right over a sprawling Rimmer to give the Rush their first lead of the game at 2-1. Moments later, however, the Mallards would even things up. Vladimir Nikiforov would take a pass from Gergo Nagy through the neutral zone, get by the defense, and beat Boron to tie the game with 13:56 left in regulation to knot the game up at 2-2.

Both teams would be unable to score, despite the Rush coming up with countless opportunities late in the game. Overtime would suffer the same fate, with either team failing to ignite the goal lamp. It would take four and a half rounds of a shootout, but Winston Day Chief would score his first shootout winner of the season, and Tim Boron would stone all five shooters, giving the Rush a hard-earned 3-2 win.

Tim Boron stopped 22 shots en route to increasing career-high for wins in a season to 28 (28-12-1). Both teams failed to score on the man-advantage, going a combined 0/7 on the power play. With his assist on Jared Brown’s goal, Ben Power recorded his first point in a Rush uniform in just 3 games in the Black Hills. Jared Brown extended his point streak to nine games with his tying-goal in the second period, scoring 3 goals with 7 assists for 10 points in that span. With his perfect shootout round, Boron has now stopped 13 straight shooters and 19 of his last 20, with the only shot given up in that span ironically allowed to the Quad City Mallards in the team’s last meeting in February. The Rush gear up to close out their home schedule this weekend, playing their final two games against the Brampton Beast on Friday and Saturday.

Other Rush News:

Playoff tickets are now available for the 2013-14 postseason as the Rush gear up for their Rush for the Ray Miron President’s Cup!! Call the Rush office at 716-7825 for details.

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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