MORRISONS 49 SAVES POWER RUSH TO WIN

(ANCHORAGE, AK) – Sam Rothstein scored the first two goals of his professional career in just his second game played, and Adam Morrison stopped all but one of 50 shots towards his net, powering the Rapid City Rush to a 2-1 win over the Alaska Aces on Friday night. The regulation win keeps the Rush in the playoff hunt with 7 games remaining.

The Rush jumped on the board first in the first with a career first from one of their newest players. With 11:45 gone by, Anchorage-native Hunter Fejes sprung his linemates, Mark Cooper and Sam Rothstein down the ice on a two-on-one break down the ice. Cooper deferred to Rothstein, who fired a wrist shot over the shoulder of Aces goaltender, Kevin Carr, to notch his first career goal and give the Rush a 1-0 lead (Fejes and Cooper notched the assists). Alaska fired back moments later to ensure a tie heading into the second period. With 5:01 left in the period, Mackenze Stewart blasted a Tim Coffman saucer pass from the blue line past a screened Rush net-minder, Adam Morrison, to square the game up at 1-1 (Coffman and Charlie Sampair assisted the tally).

Late in the second period, Rothstein and Cooper connected for a second time to push the Rush to another lead heading into the third. With 3:23 left in the second, Geoff Fortman worked the puck to Mark Cooper in the neutral zone, who tapped the puck to a streaking Sam Rothstein. Rothstein split the defense and pushed the puck through the five-hole of Carr to give the Rush a 2-1 lead (Cooper and Fortman assisted).

The third period turned into the Adam Morrison show. He faced a barrage of 18 shots to bring Alaska’s game total to 50, and turned each one aside including three spectacular saves to keep the Rush ahead within the last two and a half minutes of play. In the last moments of the game, Kevin Carr was pulled from the Aces net for the extra-attacker, but Morrison and the Rush stood tall and hung on for the win, 2-1 in regulation. The regulation win keeps the Rush playoff hopes alive with 7 games left.

Adam Morrison earned first star honors with a career-high 49 saves on 50 shots face (15-15-4).

Both teams square off in a rematch tomorrow night, with puck drop slated for 9:15 p.m. MST.

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