RUSH START OFF HOT, BEAT BEAST FOR SIXTH STRAIGHT WIN

SLAPSHOT POSTGAME COVERAGE PRESENTED BY ASSURANT SOLUTIONS

RUSH START OFF HOT, BEAT BEAST FOR SIXTH STRAIGHT WIN

(BRAMPTON, ON) – The Rapid City Rush tied a franchise record with 5 goals in the opening period, as they defeated the Brampton Beast for a second straight night, this time by a 6-3 score on Friday night. The Rush, now winners of six straight games, maintain their positioning in second place in the ECHL’s Central Division with now 6 games remaining in the season.

The Rush continued their offensive dominance in this rematch, and tied a franchise record as a result of their hard work. Two nights in a row, Ontario-native Kale Kerbashian gave the Rush a 1-0 lead on his 19th goal of the season, beating Brampton goaltender Ryan DeMelo with just 5:11 gone by in the first. Exactly 46 seconds later, Rush Captain Winston Day Chief doubled the Rush lead to 2-0, finishing a chip through neutral ice from Dallas Ehrhardt and Kevin Harvey at 5:57 of the first. The quick two goals ended the evening of the Beast’s rookie goalie, prompting his substitution with Parker VanBuskirk. The Rush would earn their first power play of the game midway through the frame, and tripled their lead on the man-advantage. At 11:57 of the first, Mathieu Brisebois unloaded a one-time slap shot off of a Cody Ferriero pass, extending the Rush lead to 3-0. Within 43 seconds, Daniel Barczuk quadrupled the Rush lead to 4-0, scoring for his fourth consecutive game at 12:40 of the first, sending home a turnover past VanBuskirk. Rounding out the scoring entries in the first for the Rush was Kevin Harvey, who slammed home a Winston Day Chief pass with 1:29 left in the opening frame, giving the Rush a 5-0 lead after 20 minutes. The 5 goals scored by the Rush ties a franchise record that was set back in the inaugural season on March 9, 2009 against the Amarillo Gorillas.

Brampton came out with some life in the second period, cutting their deficit to 3 goals heading into the third period. The first Brampton goal came with 8:42 gone by in the second, as Dean Wilmott recorded his first professional goal in just his second professional game, sending the shot by Rush netminder Danny Battochio to put the Beast on the board, down 5-1. With 11.8 seconds left in the frame, Brandon Devlin scored for the second time in as many nights on a Beats four-on-three power play, cutting their deficit to 5-2 heading into the final period of play.

The Beast came within 2 goals, striking late in the game on 13 shots in the third period. With 3:23 left in the game, Bobby Hughes scored unassisted to bring closer with a 5-3 score, but it would be the final goal for the home side. With the VanBuskirk pulled from the Beast net, Riley Weselowski sent the puck into the empty Beast goal, getting an assist from Danny Battochio on a clutch save prior to the clearing attempt. His 3rd goal of the season led the Rush to their sixth straight win with a 6-3 final score.

Danny Battochio won his sixth straight appearance in what was his ninth straight start, stopping 24 of 27 shots in the game (23-17-2). 11 Rush players recorded points in Friday night’s game, 2 more than the previous night’s matchup.

The Rush and the Beast conclude their series on Sunday afternoon, playing for the final time this season, with puck drop slated for 12 p.m. MST at the PowerAde Centre.

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