SIVAKS THREE POINTS NOT ENOUGH IN SHOOTOUT LOSS

(RAPID CITY, SD) – Peter Sivak scored a pair of goals as part of a three-point night, but Matt Register forced an eventual shootout won by Drayson Bowman and the Colorado Eagles by a 4-3 score over the Rapid City Rush on Friday night. The game marked the first of a three-game series this weekend, the final one to be played ever between the bitter rivals.

Peter Sivak scored his first of two goals on the night to put the Rush on the board first in what turned out to be a back-and-forth affair. With 5:43 played in the game, the puck was played into the attacking zone and bounced awkwardly by Eagles defenseman Matt Register. Sivak swooped in to play the puck, and rifled it by Eagles goalie Sam Brittain to put the Rush up 1-0 (Gustav Bouramman and Shaquille Merasty assisted). Colorado tied the game in the final five minutes of the period when Joey Ratelle made a move into the attacking zone and dropped the puck off to Ryan Olsen. Olsen cut to the right wing side and fired a shot by Rush net-minder Adam Vay to square the game at 1-1 with 4:33 left in the first (Ratelle and Matt Register assisted). The Rush reclaimed the lead on their second power play of the game over two minutes later when Sivak connected with Bouramman for a one-timer from the point. Bouramman’s shot was deflected by Merasty, who gave the lead back to the Rush with his first in a Rush uniform to make it a 2-1 game with 2:05 left in the first (Bouramman and Sivak assisted). The Eagles knotted the game up before the period ended when Drayson Bowman snuck behind the Rush defense, went one-on-one with Vay, and rifled a shot over his glove shoulder to square the game at 2-2 with 32.3 seconds left in the opening period (Register had the lone assist).

Sivak reclaimed the lead for the Rush with his second goal of the game in the second, and it proved to be the only ignition of the goal lamp in the second period. With 6:38 played in the second, Sivak took another Register turnover past the Eagles blue line and unloaded a rocket by Brittain to re-establish the Rush lead at 3-2 (the goal was unassisted).

Matt Register stole what could have been two Rush points in the standings away from his adversaries in the final minutes of the third to knot the game up. With 2:41 left in the game, Register fired a Ryan Olsen pass from the blue line through a sea of bodies and by a screened Vay, squaring the game at 3-3 and forcing overtime (Olsen had the lone assist).

The Rush had numerous chances in overtime to take the win, including on a power play with just over two minutes remaining in the session, but Brittain and the Eagles stood tall. In the end, both teams dueled in a shootout for the first time head-to-head this season. Drayson Bowman provided the only goal in the shootout in the bottom of the second round to eventually seal the deal and give Colorado the second point with a 4-3 win after 65+ minutes of hockey.

Adam Vay stopped 40 of 43 shots in the shootout loss (12-14-1-1).

The Rush continue their busy week of hockey with a “three-in-three” two different cities. The rally continues tomorrow, March 10th, as the Rush host the archrival Colorado Eagles for their final series ever with the Eagles moving to the AHL next season. Puck drop at Premier Home Mortgage Ice in Rushmore Plaza Civic Center is slated for 7:05 p.m. MST.

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