SLAPSHOT POSTGAME COVERAGE PRESENTED BY ASSURANT SOLUTIONS

RUSH CLINCH HOME ICE DESPITE LOSS IN SEASON FINALE

(ALLEN, TX) – Daniel Barczuk netted the only goal for the Rapid City Rush, but the Allen Americans had five different scorers make their way onto the gamesheet, as the Americans spoiled the Rush regular season finale with a 5-1 win. By virtue of a Tulsa win that came in a shootout against Wichita, the Rush earn home-ice advantage in the opening round of the ECHL’s Kelly Cup Playoffs.

Two nights in a row, the Americans got themselves on the board and were too much for the Rush in the first. Scoring the first of 4 Americans goals was Chad Costello, who finished a breakaway on a pass from Patrik Valcak, beating Rush netminder Johnny Griggs to lift Allen to a 1-0 lead at 5:12 of the first. Greger Hanson doubled the Americans’ lead to 2-0 at 10:28 of the period, finishing a pass on the backdoor of Griggs’ net from Chad Costello. Dyson Stevenson slammed a rebound off of a Chris Crane shot past Griggs to triple the Americans advantage to 3-0 at 14:37 of the first, and then Patrik Valcak finished the scoring entries with 1:55 left in the frame, navigating through the Rush defense and eventually beating Griggs to perpetuate the Americans lead to 4-0.

Chris Crane added his names to the scoring entries with 9:17 gone by in the second on a high shot over Griggs’ blocker on the far post to increase the Rush deficit to 5-0, while also ending the Americans’ scoring entries for the remainder of the evening. Daniel Barczuk eventually got the Rush on the board with 3:49 left in the game, tapping home a trickling puck past Allen goaltender Riley Gill, leading to the 5-1 final score that concluded the game, and the regular season for the Rush.

Johnny Griggs stopped 31 of the 36 shots thrown towards his net, receiving the loss in his first game since March 9th (10-6-3).

The Rush will open up the playoffs against either the Quad City Mallards or the Tulsa Oilers in the opening round of the 2015 Kelly Cup Playoffs, with Game 1, regardless of the opponent, taking place on Friday, April 17th, at Premier Home Mortgage Ice in Rushmore Plaza Civic Center at 7:05 p.m. MST. Tickets for Game 1 are on sale at www.gotmine.com, and playoff packages begin at $40 per-seat-per-round. Call 716-PUCK for more details.

Other Rush News:

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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