SUMMERHAYS BLANKS RUSH IN ROAD TRIP FINALE

(INDEPENDENCE, MO) – Steve Summerhays stopped all 18 shots that he saw from the Rapid City Rush, and powered the Missouri Mavericks to a 3-0 win on Sunday afternoon in the finale of the Rush’s three-game-in-three-night road trip.

The first period featured offensive spurts between both clubs, but it was the Mavericks that would strike first in the first half of the opening frame. With 9:35 played in the first, Matt Finn took a blue line shot through a traffic jam in front of the Rush net by Ross Johnston and eventually behind Rush net-minder Sam Marotta to put the Mavericks up 1-0 (Chris Owens and Andrew Courtney assisted).

Both teams wouldn’t score until the opening moments of the third period, when David de Kastrozza doubled his club’s lead. Missouri captain Trevor Ludwig sent a shot through traffic in front of Marotta’s net that was deflected by him by de Kastrozza, giving his Mavericks side a 2-0 lead with 17:25 left in the game (Ludwig and Reed Seckel notched the assists). The Mavericks earned some insurance from one of the top scorers in the ECHL, Tyler Barnes, who scored his 21st of the season to bring the Mavericks to their win by a final score of 3-0 (Josh Holmstrom earned the lone helper).

Sam Marotta stopped 19 of 22 Mavericks shots, suffering the loss in the effort (4-10-1 overall).

The Rush gear up for a four-game home stand, starting with a three-game-in-three-night series against the Fort Wayne Komets (Friday, March 4th and Saturday, March 5th), and the defending Kelly Cup Champion Allen Americans (Sunday, March 6th). Puck drop for the first of the two Fort Wayne showdowns is slated for 7:05 p.m. MST at Premier Home Mortgage Ice in Rushmore Plaza Civic Center.

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