GAME PREVIEW: RUSH vs MISSOURI 1/8

GAME NOTES

Rapid City Rush vs. Missouri Mavericks

Game #31-January 8, 2016

Where We Left Off: Salty Win – Spencer Pommells scored twice and Danick Gauthier added two assists in his Rapid City Rush debut, but Danny Battochio made 41 saves to lead the Rush to a 3-1 road win over the Utah Grizzlies on Wednesday night. Meeting for the first time since November 21st of 2015, the Rush jumped out to a 1-0 lead over their West Division leaders. With 9:26 gone by in the first period, Spencer Pommells unloaded a rocket of a one-timer towards the end of the first Rush power play of the game, beating Utah net-minder, Ryan Faragher, up high to put the Rush up 1-0 (Michael Young and Winston Day Chief recorded the assists). Entering the second period, the Rush had almost three minutes of power play time due to a double-minor for high-sticking assessed to Utah’s Erik Higby, but nothing would come of it. Despite the Grizzlies outshooting the Rush by a 28-16 margin through two periods, the Rush would utilize quick scoring for a second straight night, igniting the goal lamp twice within 24 seconds. Pommells notched his second of the night as he tapped a Danick Gauthier shot by Faragher with 8:11 to go in the game, affording his Rush club a 2-0 lead (Gauthier, in his Rush debut, recorded the assist, while James Melindy received the other). Less than half a minute later, Gauthier and Day Chief went on a two-on-one through the neutral zone, with Day Chief deflecting an area pass in the low slot by Gauthier by Faragher to quickly triple the Rush lead to 3-0 with 7:47 remaining in regulation (Gauthier and Young both picked up their second assists of the game on the goal). Danny Battochio, Rush net-minder, kept the Grizzlies off the board for the majority of the game, but after 55:42 of gametime, TJ Syner put the home side on the scoresheet. With 4:18 left in the game, Josh MacDonald fired a shot on Battochio from the far faceoff circle of the Rush zone, and Syner followed up by hacking the rebound in the Rush net to cut Utah’s deficit to 3-1 (MacDonald and Ryan Walters were credited with the assists). In a last-ditch effort to even the score, the Grizzlies pulled Faragher from their net, but could not come back in the game, leading to a 3-1 Rush win.

Deuces Wild – In Wednesday night’s 3-1 win over the Utah Grizzlies, five Rush played inked themselves on the scoresheet. Of those five, four of them recorded more than one point in the affair. Spencer Pommells led the way with 2 goals, including one on the power play and another that eventually won the game, captain Winston Day Chief evened out with a goal and an assist each, and Michael Young and Danick Gauthier each added two assists. It’s the fifth time this year that the Rush have had four players record two or more points in a game, the last time being December 8th when the Rush had six players, including Mikhail Stefanovich’s second hat-trick of the season, in a 7-2 rout of the Wichita Thunder.

The Dark Knight Rises – For the 10th time this season, Danny Battochio emerged from his crease victorious as he powered the Rush to a 3-1 win. “The Batman” stopped 41 shots out of 42 thrown towards his net from the Utah Grizzlies, good enough for the third-best performance in a single game this season, and second-best in a winning effort this year.

Another Solid Debut – As has been referenced above, forward Danick Gauthier made his Rapid City Rush debut on Wednesday night, and was an immediate impact on the ice. His two assists less than half a minute apart to Spencer Pommells and Winston Day Chief allowed the Rush to quickly triple their lead to 3-0 late in the game. Players making their Rapid City Rush debuts have been solid this season, as within their first two games in a Rush sweater, newcomers to Rapid City have combined for a goal and 9 assists for 10 points.

In the Blink of an Eye – For a second straight game, the Rush have utilized quick scoring to come within striking distance or pull away from their opponent. Spencer Pommells and Winston Day Chief each scored 24 seconds apart in the third period, joining Dan O’Donoghue and Daniel Barczuk (11/7 vs ALN-35 seconds) and Kale Kerbashian and Scott Brannon (last Saturday vs TUL-28 seconds) as the fastest exchanges of goals scored in a game this season, now three in under 40 seconds.

CRUNCHING NUMBERS: vs the Mavericks – With this being the first matchup of the regular season against another former ECHL Central Division and CHL rival, let’s review last year’s head-to-head numbers and some stats from this current season:

• 11 – the number of Rush wins against the Mavericks in 15 games last season. This includes a six-game winning streak from December 27, 2014 to February 21, 2015. At the turn of the New Year to 2015, the Rush lost ONCE in 9 games
• 15 – the number of combined wins between the two clubs when leading after two periods this season in travel/home scenario. The Rush boast a 6-1-0 home record with a lead through 40 minutes, while Missouri remains perfect with a 9-0-0 record away from home

We’re Going Streaking! – Three Rush players carry statistical streaks into tonight’s showdown against Missouri:

• Spencer Pommells – points in his last three games (2 G, 2 Ast, 4 Pts)
• Danick Gauthier – assists and points in his last three games (4 Ast, 4 Pts dating back to 1/2/16 with Wichita)
• James Melindy – assists and points in his last three games (3 Ast, 3 Pts)