CAITOS OT HEROICS GIVE RUSH WIN

(RAPID CITY, SD) – Peter Sivak triggered a shower of teddy bears in the first period and Matt Caito triggered an explosion from the home crowd with his winning strike with 23 seconds in overtime as the Rapid City Rush won the rubber match against the Tulsa Oilers by a 2-1 score on “Guns n’ Hoses Night” on Saturday night.

For the fourth game in a row, and a third against Tulsa, the Rush drew first blood on the scoreboard. In a physical period that showcased fireworks sparking from three fights prior, it was Peter Sivak who triggered a shower of teddy bears with his firework of a shot. With 4:47 left in the first period, Kenton Miller fought for a loose puck on the near wall of the attacking zone and found Peter Sivak, who rifled a shot off the post and in by Oilers goaltender Jake Hildebrand to give the Rush a 1-0, and signal a barrage of bears for the annual “Teddy Bear Toss” (Miller eanrd the lone assist).

The Rush lead lasted until the third Tulsa power play of the contest within the final seconds of the second period. With 12.4 seconds left, Joey Sides and Tommy Vannelli worked a loose puck to their captain, Adam Pleskach, who rifled the loose change over the shoulder of Adam Vay to deadlock the game at 1-1 heading into the last period of play (Vannelli and Sides assisted).

Both teams skated to a scoreless deadlock in the third period, but it didn’t come without theatrics. With 5:29 left in regulation, Matt Caito, while on the power play, hooked Dylan Hubbs with a clear path to the net on a shorthanded opportunity. Hubbs was correctly awarded a penalty shot, but was denied on his attempt by Vay. Both teams would play some free hockey, ending their series on an exclamation point.

Caito would prove to be the hero once again past sixty minutes, and struck in the final minute of overtime to secure the second point. With 23 seconds left in overtime, Kenton Miller sent the puck to Caito, who entered the Oilers zone and faked a drop pass to Miller, hanging onto the puck in the high slot. Caito fired up high and beat Hildebrand to give the Rush the win, 2-1, to win the series and take 4 points out of 6 on the weekend.

Adam Vay stopped all but one of 37 shots on net, earning the win to conclude the homestand (3-3-0). All three of Vay’s wins have come in overtime this season.

The Rush now embark on a weekend road trip to Allen next week, facing the Americans on Friday, December 1st, and Saturday, December 2nd. Puck drop for both contests at the Allen Event Center are slated for 6:05 p.m. MST.

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