FOUR MULTI-POINT SCORERS POWER RUSH TO FIFTH STRAIGHT WIN

SLAPSHOT POSTGAME COVERAGE PRESENTED BY ASSURANT SOLUTIONS

FOUR MULTI-POINT SCORERS POWER RUSH TO FIFTH STRAIGHT WIN

(RAPID CITY, SD) – Johan Ryd recorded his second multi-goal game in a Rush uniform and three other players recorded multiple point outings as the Rapid City Rush kicked off their five-game home stand with a 6-3 win over the Brampton Beast. The win, along with a Tulsa Oilers loss at the hands of the Missouri Mavericks, gave the Rush sole possession of the fourth and final playoff spot in the Central Division of the ECHL’s Western Conference.

The Beast drew first blood at the midpoint of the first period. A mishandled puck in the Rush defensive zone led to a pileup of four Beast forwards in front of the Rush net. Through all the calamity, Chad Painchaud found the puck and flipped it by Rush net-minder Danny Battochio to give the Beast an early 1-0 lead at the 9:05 mark of the period. The Beast outshot the Rush by an 11-5 margin in the first frame, but the Rush would bounce back in the second behind a four-goal rally.

Patrick Cullen extended his point streak to five games by kicking off a six-goal second period, with all of the scoring taking place in just over 10 minutes. On passes from Brett Kostolansky and Dylan Clarke, Cullen sped up the far wall of the neutral zone and into Beast territory, sending the puck past Beast goaltender Grant Rollheiser to even the game at 1-1 at the 4:36 mark of the second. Exactly 23 seconds later, the Beast’s Jason Pitton responded with a bar-down shot past Battochio to re-establish the Beast’s advantage at 2-1. At the 6:44 point of the middle act, Cody Ferriero and Kale Kerbashian led a Rush charge down the ice, with Kerbashian setting up Ferriero for a quick shot on the front door. Ferriero’s shot went off of Rollheiser’s mask and rolled right to Mathieu Brisebois, who slammed home the loose puck to even the game at 2-2. Shortly after, minors were assessed to both sides at staggered times, and ultimately would resolve in the third Beast power play of the night. In the waning minutes of four-on-four hockey, Brett Kostolansky made an important defensive stop in the Rush third of the ice and chipped the puck to Johan Ryd. Ryd turned into his sixth gear, broke all three lines, and rifled a wrister past Rollheiser, scoring the fourth shorthanded goal of the season for the Rush, and lifting his team to a 3-2 lead with 8:58 to play in the second. However, Brampton stormed right back and Chad Painchaud added his second score of the night just 54 seconds later to re-tie the game at 3-3. Daniel Barczuk closed the second period scoring entries by rifling a rebound off of a shot from Johan Ryd to afford the Rush a 4-3 lead with over five minutes remaining in the second, a lead that would hold over to the third period.

Cody Ferriero gave the Rush a cushion with 12:03 left in the game, firing a one-timer on a cross-ice pass from Jesse Schultz to double the Rush advantage to two goals at 5-3. Johan Ryd added his final point of the night on an empty-netter with 48.1 seconds left, sealing a very important two points for the Rush with what ultimately finished as a 6-3 win over the Beast.

Danny Battochio received his fifteenth win of the season, his fourth straight, stopping 23 shots thrown towards his net (15-15-2). Both teams finished a combined 0/5 on the power play.

The Rush and the Beast square off in a rematch on Friday, February 13th, at Premier Home Mortgage Ice in Rushmore Plaza Civic Center, with puck drop slated for 7:05 p.m. MST.

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