PAINCHAUD'S FOUR GOALS DOWN THE RUSH

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PAINCHAUD’S FOUR GOALS DOWN THE RUSH

(RAPID CITY, SD) – Chad Painchaud ignited the goal lamp four times, and Trevor Cann stopped all 38 shots thrown towards his net, as the Rapid City Rush fell at the hands of the Brampton Beast 5-0 at Premier Home Mortgage Ice in Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. The home loss for the Rush, along with a Tulsa Oilers win in their contest earlier this evening, brought the Rush back down to fifth place in the Central Division of the ECHL’s Western Conference with 24 games to play.

Two games in a row it was the Beast that struck first. Scoring twice for the Beast was Chad Painchaud, executing a two-on-one presented to him after a Rush defender fell in neutral ice. With Justin Donati to help, Painchaud beat Rush goaltender Danny Battochio to give the visitors a 1-0 advantage at the 7:16 mark. Painchaud closed out the period with a second strike to double the Beast lead heading into the first intermission. On the first Rush power play of the game, Painchaud chipped the puck by a Rush defender coming in on the blue line and set up a three-on-one opportunity. Painchaud kept the puck and beat Battochio with 16.1 seconds in the frame, shorthanded, to lift the Beast to a 2-0 first period advantage.

Brampton would triple their lead as Frank Littlejohn took advantage of a bouncing puck in front of Battochio’s net with 1:23 left in the second, and despite a stretching effort by the Rush net-minder, was able to send it in the net, affording the Beast a 3-0 lead with 20 minutes to play.

Painchaud completed his hat-trick, just the second one the Rush have allowed this season, less than two minutes into the frame. Taking a pass from David Ling, one of his two assists of the evening, Painchaud beat Battochio for a third time just 1:54 into the period. The Beast, with a 4-0 lead now, ended the evening of Battochio, and saw Joe Howe mind the Rush goal for the remaining 18:06 of regulation. Painchaud would notch one on the newest Rush goaltender, dancing around a defenseman in the low slot and tucking the puck home to complete the scoring entries for the evening with 7:10 left in the game, sealing a 5-0 win over the Rush. Trevor Cann earned his second shutout of the season, both against the Rush on their opponent’s home ice.

Danny Battochio received his sixteenth loss of the season in his thirty-sixth appearance, ending a four-start winning streak (15-16-2). The Rush’s winning streak, the longest of the season, ends at five games.

Both teams will play for the final time in Rapid City tomorrow night, with puck drop slated for 7:05 p.m. at Premier Home Mortgage Ice in Rushmore Plaza Civic Center.

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