(RAPID CITY, SD) – Ryan Walters, Mark Cooper, and Dysin Mayo each logged 2 points, but Adin Hill stole the show with a 30-save shutout, the second of his career, as he powered the Rapid City Rush to a 4-0 win over the Alaska Aces on Wednesday night. The shutout win marks the first on home ice for the Rush since the 2013 CHL Playoffs.
Ryan Walters started the scoring entries in the first period when he forced a turnover on the Rush blue line. He went on a breakaway down the ice and beat Aces goaltender Kevin Carr to give the Rush a 1-0 lead at 5:41 of the first (the goal was unassisted).
The Aces put up a fight in the second period, and received a five-minute major power play after Triston Grant was assessed five minutes and a game for elbowing in the early stages of the second period. Despite a quick moving Aces power play, Rush net-minder Adin Hill and the penalty-kill stood tall and outlasted the Aces for the five minutes. Shortly after its conclusion, Dysin Mayo scored his first professional goal when he blasted a Mark Cooper pass from the blue line that got deflected in front by traffic past Carr to double the Rush lead to 2-0 at 11:10 of the second (Cooper and Brett Perlini assisted). Less than three minutes later, Mayo hit the scoresheet again when he found Josh MacDonald on a drop pass coming into the Aces zone. MacDonald rifled a wrister off the bar and in, tripling the Rush lead with his thirteenth of the season to give the Rush a 3-0 lead heading into the final period (Mayo and Ryan Walters assisted, with both earning their second points of the game on the play).
Nick Miglio finished the scoring entries when he slammed his third goal of the season by Carr from just outside of his crease, bringing the Rush lead to 4-0 with 11:04 left in the game (Mark Cooper earned his second assist and point of the game on the goal). In the last period, Hill saw 10 shots, as he did in the other two, but he held on strong and earned his second career shutout when the clock hit triple-zero, sealing a 4-0 Rush win.
Adin Hill stopped all 30 shots he saw, earning his first Rush and ECHL win (1-2-0).
Both teams rematch Friday night on “Dream Protectors Night” when the Rush honor all local first responders. Puck drop is slated for 7:05 p.m. MST, and is the final game before the Christmas holiday.
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