GAME NOTES: 12/28 vs WICHITA

REGULAR SEASON GAME  THIRTY-ONE - 12/28/2019

Rapid City Rush vs Wichita Thunder - 7:05 p.m. MDT

Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Ice Arena

THIS SEASON

Wichita: 33gp, 14-14-5-0, 33pts (5th Mountain)

• Last Game - 12/27 @ Rapid City (4-3 L)

Rush: 30gp, 16-11-3-0, 33pts (T-3rd Mountain)

• Last Game - 12/27 vs Wichita (4-3 W)

HEAD TO HEAD - 3 of 10 Games Played

Wichita: 2-1-0-0, 4pts

• Power Play: 18.8% (3/16)
• Penalty Kill: 84.6% (11/13)
• Leading Scorer(s): Stefan Fournier/Patrik Parkkonen (3pts Each)

Rush: 1-2-0-0, 2pts

• Power Play: 15.4% (2/13)
• Penalty Kill: 81.2% (13/16)
• Leading Scorer(s): Keeghan Howdeshell (3gp, 4 assists)

NOTES

THE STREAK IS NO MORE!: For the first time since December 6th, the Rush could triumphantly listen to “Oh Sandy” by the Junkyard Boyz in celebration of a win. The Rush ended their losing streak at 6 games last night after roaring out to a 4-0 lead over the Thunder, withstanding a late Wichita surge to win 4-3. The win also marked the first victory in three head-to-head meetings against Wichita this season.

SHOOTING RANGE: For a second game in a row, the Rush not only managed to outshoot their opponent, but managed to do so with 10+ shots in each period of regulation. As a matter of fact, the Rush have registered 10+ shots in 10 of their last 12 periods of hockey, peaking as high as 17 in a frame, which came in the first period of last night’s 4-3 win over the Thunder.

LET’S MEET THE NEW GUYS: Last night, the Rush saw a pair of centermen make their team debuts against Wichita. Second-year AHL-contracted forward Matteo Gennaro chipped in with an assist on the eventual game-winning goal in his first action of the 2019-20 season after beginning his career with the Tucson Roadrunners last season. Gennaro, the 203rd overall pick to the Winnipeg Jets in the 2015 NHL Draft, turned pro after a five-year career in the WHL, where he won the 2018 title with the Swift Current Broncos. Rookie forward Darian Romanko also earned an assist in his first action of 2019-20 after turning pro with the Norfolk Admirals last season following his NCAA career. A former Minnesota Golden Gopher, Romanko was a two-time Big Ten Regular Season Champion, and also helped the NAHL’s Minnesota Wilderness to the 2015 Robertson Cup Championship.

MULTIPLICITY: Last night, Tyler Coulter (2g), Tyler Poulsen (G, Ast), and Dexter Dancs (2ast) all chipped in multi-point outings in the win over the Thunder. On the season, the Rush have 48 mutli-point outings. The season high for multi-point performances in a game is five, which came on December 6th against Utah in a 5-4 OT win. Peter Quenneville (2g), Stephane Legault (2ast), Keeghan Howdeshell (2g-1ast), Myles McGurty (2ast) and Ryker Killins (3ast) all hit the scoresheet more than once.

WE’RE GOING STREAKING!: Only one Rush player carries an active statistical streak into tonight’s rematch against Wichita:

• Stephane Legault - has points in four straight games (4gp, 1g-3ast-4pts)