NAGLE SHINES AGAIN AS KOMETS SWEEP RUSH

(FORT WAYNE, IN) – Mikhail Stefanovich’s second period goal was not enough for the Rapid City Rush as they fell to the Fort Wayne Komets by a 3-1 score on Sunday night at the Allen County War Memorial Colliseum.

For the first time on this road trip, one of the two teams involved ignited the goal lamp in the first period, and for a second straight night it was the Komets. Instead of waiting 56 minutes to jump to a 1-0 lead, Joe Perry sent a rebound into the net of Rush goaltender, Danny Battochio, with 5:10 gone by in the first (Nikita Kashirsky and Cody Sol collected the assists). Five and a half minutes later, Shawn Szydlowski found a trailing Garrett Thompson on a rush into the Rapid City zone, and Thompson finished with a wrist shot up high that doubled Fort Wayne’s lead to 2-0 with 9:15 left in the frame (Szydlowski and Brett Perlini added the assists).

Mikhail Stefanovich sparked the Rush in the early stages of the second period, cutting his team’s deficit to 1 with his 12th ignition of the goal lamp this season. A loose puck bounced to the stick of Stefanovich in the far faceoff circle of the Komets zone, and he rifled a wrist shot over the outstretched glove of Komets goaltender Pat Nagle to bring the Rush in striking distance at 2-1 with 93 seconds played in the second (the goal was unassisted).

In the third, Fort Wayne pulled away from the Rush late with the 6th goal from Kyle Thomas this year. Carrying the puck into the Rush zone with his back-hand, Thomas let off a backhanded shot that went off of Battochio and in, re-establishing Fort Wayne’s two-goal cushion at 3-1 with 4:52 left in the game (Justin Hamonic picked up the lone assist). The Rush went shorthanded with 86 seconds left in the game, thwarting any comeback attempt against their old CHL rivals, who held on for a 3-1 victory.

Danny Battochio fell to 12-10-2, stopping 29 of 32 shots in 60 minutes of play.

The Rush head back home to take on their archrivals, the Colorado Eagles in games 6 and 7 of the Crystal Cup Series. Friday’s contest on January 22nd and Saturday’s showdown on January 23rd are both slated for 7:05 p.m. MST puck drops at Premier Home Mortgage Ice in Rushmore Plaza Civic Center.

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