GAME NOTES: 1/15 vs WICHITA

REGULAR SEASON GAME  THIRTY-EIGHT- 1/15/2020

Rapid City Rush vs Cincinnati Cyclones - 7:05 p.m. MDT

Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Ice Arena

THIS SEASON

Wichita: 41gp, 18-16-7-0, 43pts (T-4th Mountain)

• Last Game - 1/12 @ Tulsa (1-0 L)

Rush: 37gp, 20-14-3-0, 43pts (T-4th Mountain)

• Last Game - 1/11 vs Cincinnati (6-2 L)

HEAD TO HEAD - 4 of 10 Games Played

Wichita: 2-2-0-0, 4pts

• Power Play: 15.8% (3/19)
• Penalty Kill: 87.5% (14/16)
• Leading Scorer(s): Stefan Fournier (4gp, 3 goals)

Rush: 1-1-0-0, 2pts

• Power Play: 12.5% (2/16)
• Penalty Kill: 84.2% (16/19)
• Leading Scorer(s): Keeghan Howdeshell (4gp, 4 assists)

NOTES

20 FOR THE CAPTAIN: To the surprise of no one, Rush Captain Peter Quenneville became the first player to 20 goals for the Rush this season, deflecting a puck off of a Brennan Saulnier shot and in to cut the deficit to 4-2 on Saturday night. Quenneville is the first 20-goal scorer for the Rush this season, with Tyler Coulter (15) and Brennan Saulnier (12) not too far behind him. To put this in perspective, Cedric Montminy was the only 20-goal scorer the Rush had last year, accomplishing the task in 57 games. Quenneville accomplished the task in 20 games less than Montminy from the previous season.  For his efforts, Quenneville was  awarded a call-up to the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs.

HE’S BACK!: Making his highly anticipated return to the lineup is Rush Assistant Captain Cedric Montminy, who missed action due to an upper body injury. Montminy has been out of the lineup since November 2nd, and departed the team for his recovery efforts with 2 goals, 3 assists, and 5 points in 8 games along with a +5 rating, which has consistently remained the best on the team since his absence began. 

SAUL POWER: Rush forward Brennan Saulnier has been on a consistent offensive pace in recent memory. With points in four of his last five games, Saulnier has 3 goals, 6 assists, and 9 points in that timespan, along with a +6 rating. Saulnier is second among Rush rookie with 25 points behind Tyler Coulter, and is tied for 9th in scoring and 8th in goal-scoring among ECHL rookies this season.

CONSISTENT OFFENSE: In the last 11 games, the Rush are 5-6-0-0. Despite the sub-.500 showing, the Rush have consistently provided offense throughout that stretch, scoring in 22 of their last 33 periods of play, and in 11 of their last 15 periods of play.

A HELPING HAND: Rush rookie defenseman Eric Israel has chimed in with assists in each of his last two games, giving him 11 on the season. Currently, Israel is tied for 10th among ECHL rookie defensemen with his 11 helpers.