(MOLINE, IL) – The newest blue-liners of the Rapid City Rush are ready to go to work this weekend with their new club. Defensemen Mathieu Brisebois and Dallas Ehrhardt have arrived in Moline, Illinois and have begun to prepare for their Rush debuts tomorrow night against the Quad City Mallards at the iWireless Center.

“Making trades in the ECHL sometimes materialize over several weeks, or in this case very quickly. In order to improve our team, you have to give up good players as we did in Landon Oslanski to receive good players in return,” said Rush Head Coach and GM Joe Ferras. “When the opportunity arose to add two new d-men to our club that fill voids that we have been looking to fill, we jumped at it. Dallas is a physical presence (6’4”, 220-pounds), and brings us a combination of size, grit, and mobility that we were lacking. In the last 20 + games, we have played with either five defensemen, or when we had six d-men five were right-shot players. We have been actively searching for a left-shot d-man, and Dallas gives us that option on the blue line.”

Ehrhardt, 22, was a part of the trade that sent Landon Oslanski to the Missouri Mavericks. In 23 games in Independence, Missouri, Ehrhardt tallied a lone goal and 3 assists for 4 points, with his only goal coming against the Rush. The second-year pro from Calgary spent 47 games last year with the Allen Americans, recording 7 assists. “I’m excited to be playing for the Rush. I know a lot of the faces on this roster, having played with against these players, so it’s a great spot personally,” said Ehrhardt on his new opportunity with the Rush. “I view myself as a steady d-man. I do the simple things right and I hope I can bring a big, physical presence to this defensive unit.”

Brisebois, 22, was assigned to the Rush by the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks. The second-year pro from Mont-St-Hilaire, Quebec played 31 games with the ECHL’s newest franchise, the Indy Fuel, tabulating 2 goals with 12 assists for 14 points. His entire rookie season last year was spent in the AHL with the Portland Pirates, affiliate of the Arizona Coyotes, and the Rockford IceHogs, affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks.

“For me, this is a fresh start. I get to come to Rapid City, not think about anything else, and just play this great game of hockey,” Brisebois commented on his new beginning with the Rush. “I feel that my top quality is my offensive ability. Being able to create offense from the blue line is something I hope to add to this team.”

“With my relationship with Mark Bernard, the Director of Hockey Operations/GM of Minor League Hockey Affiliations with the Chicago Blackhawks, Mathieu was made available to us,” continued Ferras on his new NHL-contracted defenseman. “Mathieu is a highly talented, young hockey player on his second year of his NHL contract, and brings great offensive ability and will be a vital piece to our power play and defense corps.”

“We are thrilled that we were able to assign one of our prospects to a first class organization like the Rapid City Rush,” said Mark Bernard, the Director of Hockey Operations/GM of Minor League Hockey Affiliations with the Chicago Blackhawks. “Knowing Joe (Ferras) for so long, I have the utmost confidence in him and Coach DeSantis that they will do a great job in fostering Mathieu’s development in the pro game.”

The Rush begin a three-game-in-three-night road set tomorrow night that takes them back-and-forth between the Quad City Mallards (Friday-6:05 p.m. MST, and Sunday-3:05 p.m. MST), and the Missouri Mavericks (Saturday-6:05 p.m. MST).

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Join Rush Nation for only $10 per game! Call the Rush office at 716-7825 for details, and stay informed on all Rush happenings this summer 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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