BEAST RUN AWAY IN THIRD, BLANK RUSH FOR SECOND STRAIGHT NIGHT

SLAPSHOT POSTGAME COVERAGE PRESENTED BY ASSURANT SOLUTIONS

BEAST RUN AWAY IN THIRD, BLANK RUSH FOR SECOND STRAIGHT NIGHT

(RAPID CITY, SD) – Chad Painchaud potted a hat-trick for a second consecutive game, David Ling added three assists, and Grant Rollheiser stopped all 35 Rush shots thrown towards his net as the Brampton Beast blanked the Rapid City Rush for a second night in a row with a 5-0 score. This marks the second time this season that Rush have been shutout in consecutive games.

Three games in a row in this series, Chad Painchaud got things started for the Beast. After a scoreless first period, Painchaud cashed in on a breakaway set up by David Ling, and beat Rush net-minder Joe Howe at the 2:19 mark. Just over the midway point of the period, Frank Littlejohn doubled the Beast lead, slamminga cross-ice pass from Mike MacIsaac to lift the Canadian visitors to a 2-0 lead at the 10:39 mark of the second.

The Beast eventually pulled away from the Rush, taking advantage of two power plays in the final stanza. Captain Cal Wild deflected a pass from Painchaud with just less than four minutes gone by in the final period to extend the Beast advantage to 3-0. Moments later, as a result of a J.M Rizk high-stick and Dylan Clarke disputing the call, the Rush went down two men and the Beast went on a five-on-three power play for a full two minutes. The Rush almost weathered the storm, but Painchaud added another goal for the Beast, his second of the night, with 12 seconds to play in the two-man power play to afford his visiting side a 4-0 lead. Six minutes later, he closed the scoring entries with his third goal, his second hat-trick in as many nights, with 3:25 left in the game, ultimately resulting in a 5-0 Beast victory.

.Joe Howe received his first loss in a Rush uniform, stopping 16 shots in the effort (2-1-0 with Rush, 6-4-2 overall).

The Rush continue their home stand against the Missouri Mavericks in a two-game mid-week set prior to their next road trip on Tuesday and Wednesday, February 17th and 18th at Premier Home Mortgage Ice in Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. Both games are slated for a 6:35 p.m. MST puck drop.

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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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