KOVACS PACES MALLARDS TO SWEEP

(RAPID CITY, SD) – Lindsay Sparks scored for a third consecutive game, this time shorthanded, to bring the Rapid City Rush within one, but the Quad City Mallards were paced by the three-point performance of Justin Kovacs and swept the Rush in their weekend set with a 4-1 win on Saturday night in Rapid City.

Two nights in a row, the Mallards opened up the scoring entries. With 3:43 gone by in the game, Sam Warning sprung Justin Kovacs on a break up the near side of the neutral zone. After Kent Patterson stopped the initial shot, Kovacs found his rebound and potted it to put the Mallards up 1-0 (Warning earned the lone assist). Following the Mallards goal, the Rush generated multiple scoring opportunities, yet on three separate occasions were denied by two inches of hollow iron: the posts of Mallards goaltender CJ Motte.

Quad City extended their lead in the early stages of the second period. With 6:30 played in the middle frame, Alex Petan finished a three-on-one rush down the ice, knocking a rebound by Patterson to double the Mallards lead to 2-0 (Kovacs earned his second point with an assist, while Warning earned his second of the game). Following the goal, the Rush had four straight minutes of power play time, including a two minute stretch of five-on-three hockey. Despite the barrage of chances for the Rush, Motte stood strong for the Mallards and preserved his club’s 2-0 lead.

The Rush got on the board within the first half minute of the third to halve the Mallards lead. In 26 seconds, while the Mallards were on their first power play of the game, Lindsay Sparks broke down the ice, one-on-one against Mike Wilson of Quad City’s defense. Sparks pulled off a nifty move and backhanded the puck by Motte, ending his shutout putting the Rush in striking distance down 2-1 with virtually a full period remaining (the goal was unassisted). The spark wouldn’t last for the Rush, however, as the Mallards re-established their multi-goal lead. Donnie Harris came off of his blue line and sent a wrist shot by Patterson in the far faceoff circle of the Rush zone and put the Mallards up 3-1 with 12:39 left in the game (Nathan Todd and Grant Arnold assisted). The Mallards added one more goal almost five minutes later when Justin Kovacs added his second of the night by knocking in an Alex Petan rebound, bringing the game to its concluding score of 4-1 with 7:49 left in regulation (Petan notched his second point with an assist, while Mike Monfredo notched his first).

Kent Patterson made 23 saves on 27 shots, suffering the loss in his second Rush start (0-2-0).

The Rush travel next weekend to play in a four-game-in-five-night series, starting with the arch rival Colorado Eagles on Wednesday, October 26th. Following that 7:05 p.m. MST puck drop, the Rush fly to Anchorage to play the Alaska Aces in the first of a trio of games starting Friday, October 28th at 9:15 p.m. MST. Catch the action on 100.3 The FOX, or head to our watch party locations: Buffalo Wild Wings and Native New Yorker.

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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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