RUSH START HOT, COOL OFF IN LOSS TO MAVERICKS

SLAPSHOT POSTGAME COVERAGE PRESENTED BY ASSURANT SOLUTIONS

RUSH START HOT, COOL OFF IN LOSS TO MAVERICKS

(RAPID CITY, SD) – Lindsay Sparks scored twice to tie the game and Andrew Courtney won it for the Missouri Mavericks in the third period, who ended a six-game losing streak to the Rapid City Rush on Tuesday night in the Black Hills by a 3-2 score. The loss keeps the Rush in a tie for fourth place in the ECHL’s Central Division with 18 games remaining in the season.b

For the fifth consecutive game, it was the Rush drawing first blood. Patrick Cullen extended his point streak to five games with a goal not even three minutes into the game. Winston Day Chief hit Cullen on the tape with an east-west pass from behind the net, and Cullen finished from between the faceoff dots past Missouri goaltender Josh Robinson to give the Rush a 1-0 lead at the 2:43 mark of the first. With just over a minute to play in the opening act, Mathieu Brisebois helped extend the lead for the Rush, carrying the puck all the way around the Mavericks zone, and eventually firing a shot that was tipped by Dylan Clarke in front of the net by Robinson. Clarke’s 14th ignition of the goal lamp doubled the Rush lead to 2-0 with 1:04 left in the first.

Lindsay Sparks brought the Mavericks back in the game in the second period with two goals in the span of 1:50. The first came at 5:39 of the second period, when Sparks finished a two-on-one break, sliding the puck by Rush net-minder Johnny Griggs, halving the Rush lead to 2-1. Sparks tied it moments later, sliding the puck by Griggs in the far face-off dot in the Rush zone to tie the game at 2-2 at the 7:29 mark of the period.

Andrew Courtney scored his fourth goal in his last three games just 2:42 into the final frame to lift the Mavericks to a 3-2 lead on a breakaway through neutral zone, beating Griggs one last time in regulation. The Rush thought they evened things up Cody Ferriero scoring with an extra-attacker with 18.4 seconds left in the game, but the officiating crew waved off the goal due to goalie interference. The Rush could not tie the game, and lost for just the third time in their last 12 games, 3-2 the final score.

Johnny Griggs received his third loss in a Rush uniform, and his fifth on the season (6-3-1 with Rush, 9-5-1 overall), stopping 28 shots on 31 attempted.

The Rush play for more important divisional points this weekend when the Tulsa Oilers travel to town on Friday and Saturday, February 27th and 28th. Puck drop for both games is slated for 7:05 p.m. MST at Premier Home Mortgage Ice in Rushmore Plaza Civic Center.

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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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