GAME NOTES: 1/18 @ CINCINNATI

REGULAR SEASON GAME  FORTY- 1/18/2020

Rapid City Rush @ Cincinnati Cyclones - 5:35 p.m. MDT

Heritage Bank Center

THIS SEASON

Cincinnati: 39gp, 23-10-6-0, 52pts (1st Central)

• Last Game - 1/17 vs Fort Wayne (4-1 L)

Rush: 39gp, 22-14-3-0, 47pts (4th Mountain)

• Last Game - 1/17 vs Wichita (5-3 W)

HEAD TO HEAD - 3 of 5 Games Played

Cincinnati: 2-1-0-0, 4pts

• Power Play: 12.5% (1/8)
• Penalty Kill: 92.9% (13/14)
• Leading Scorer(s): Jesse Schultz (3gp, 1g-4ast-5pts)

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

• Power Play: 7.1% (1/14)
• Penalty Kill: 87.5% (7/8)
• Leading Scorer(s): Peter Quenneville/Brennan Saulnier (6pts Each)

NOTES

THREE’S COMPANY: Leading the charge offensively for the Rush were Stephane Legault and Tanner Karty, who both registered 3 point nights in the 5-3 win over the Fuel. For Legault, it’s his fourth multi-point outing of the season with the Rush. Karty, on the other hand, earns his first points in a Rush uniform since earning his call-up from the SPHL’s Huntsville Havoc, including an impressive solo effort for the empty-net goal to seal the 5-3 victory.

I HAVE THE POWER: The Rush capitalized on the man-advantage once again, doing so for a third game in their last four dating back to last Friday, January 10th. For a second straight game, the Rush earned their first power play goal of the contest within their first two power plays of the game. Since the second game against Cincinnati last week, the Rush power play clocks in at 5/19, or 26.3%.

DEFIEL-ING GREAT: Making his Rapid City Rush debut last night, coincidentally against his former team, was Gordon Defiel, who earned his first win of the 2019-20 season by stopping 18 of 21 shots on net. Defiel didn’t see much work in the first two periods, only seeing 11 total shots, but hunkered down in the final period to deny 10 attempts on his net. With the Fuel this year, Defiel was 0-2-0-0 in as many starts before his release and acquisition by the Rush, and coupled with his time from last season, holds a 1-7-0-0 record as a member of the Fuel in 9 appearances.

CONSISTENT STRENGTH: The Rush have done a great job within the last week of scoring often and on an even pace, claiming wins in three of their last four as a result. Dating back to Wednesday’s 8-2 win over the Thunder, the Rush have scored in six consecutive periods of hockey, and in 11 of their last 12 periods dating back to their January 10th win over the Cyclones. In 7 of those 11 periods, the Rush have scored 2 goals or more, touching 3 goals twice.

WE’RE GOING STREAKING!:  Only one player carries a statistical streak into tonight’s first of a pair of matchups against the Cyclones in resuming their series:

• Brennan Saulnier: has points in four straight games (4gp, 3g-6ast-9pts)