(RAPID CITY, SD) – In a rematch of the most historic occurrence in South Dakota history, the Rapid City Rush and Allen Americans squared off for the first of a two-game set on Friday night. Rushmore Plaza Civic Center played host to a close game, the normal trend for matchups between these two clubs over the last five years. At the end of sixty minutes though, the Americans took their third straight in the series, defeating the Rush 4-2 behind Daniel Tetrault’s three-point night.
The Americans wasted no time in getting started in the game. Just 1:15 in, Darryl Bootland put the Americans up first, finishing off a textbook passing play on the back door, giving the visitors from Texas an early 1-0 lead. Exactly 2:09 later, Rush captain Jesse Schultz would even things up, tipping in a shot from Bobby Preece at the point to make the score 1-1. The Americans would retake the lead before the break, scoring with 9:16 left in the first, courtesy of a one-timer from Daniel Tetrault to give the Americans a 2-1 advantage after one.
The Rush would tally an early goal of their own in this game, cashing in on a scrum in front of Bryan Pitton’s net just 53 seconds into the middle frame. Hacking away in the lower slot was Anthony Perdicaro, who sent his rebound by Pitton to score his sixth goal in eight games for the Rush, knotting up the game at 2-2. The score would remain all square until the third period, when Johnathan Lessard would settle a high lofted puck, breeze by everyone, and beat Tim Boron to give the Americans the 3-2 lead with just 15:29 left in the game. The Rush would receive four of their six power plays of the night in the third, but would be unable to solve Pitton, and eventually, Bruce Graham would score an insurance power play goal with less than three minutes to go to eventually lead the Americans to a 4-2 win over the Rush.
Tim Boron stopped 27 of 31 shots on the evening, recording his twelfth loss of the season (27-12-1). The loss snaps a streak where the Rush have recorded a standings point in five games, and extends the Americans winning streak to three games over the Rush this year. With their loss and a win by the Denver Cutthroats earlier in the evening, the Rush fall to third in the CHL standings with seven games remaining in the regular season. Both teams will rematch for the final time in their regular season head-to-head series, with puck drop slated for 7:05 MST.
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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