REGULAR SEASON GAME  FORTY-TWO- 1/24/2020

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

Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Ice Arena

THIS SEASON

Wichita: 44gp, 18-19-7-0, 43pts (5th Mountain)

• Last Game - 1/18 @ Utah (3-1 L)

Rush: 41gp, 22-16-3-0, 47pts (4th Mountain)

• Last Game - 1/19 @ Cincinnati (3-1 L)

HEAD TO HEAD - 5 of 10 Games Played

Wichita: 2-3-0-0, 4pts

• Power Play: 20% (5/25)
• Penalty Kill: 76.2% (16/21)
• Leading Scorer(s): Patrik Parkkonen (5gp, 5 assists)

Rush: 3-2-0-0, 6pts

• Power Play: 23.8% (5/21)
• Penalty Kill: 80% (20/25)
• Leading Scorer(s): Keeghan Howdeshell (5gp, 1g-6ast-7pts)

NOTES

BACK FROM BREAK: Following a brutal stretch of 4 games/5 nights/3 cities, the Rapid City Rush are back from the All-Star Break to begin the rest of the 2019-20 ECHL season. On last week’s stretch, the Rush went 2-2-0-0, defeating Wichita (8-2) and Indy (5-3), but falling to Cincinnati in the final two games (6-3, 3-1).

CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN: Entering the last 31 games of the season, the Rush are 22-16-3-0, holding onto the last Mountain Division playoff spot with 47 points. With that in mind, the final 31 games of the season are strictly against Mountain Division rivals, with 7 games remaining against Idaho, 6 against Utah, 5 against Kansas City and Wichita, and 4 against Tulsa and Allen. Against the Mountain Division this season, the Rush boast a record of 20-9-3-0, with the best records coming against Tulsa (7-1-0-0), Idaho (5-0-1-0), and Utah (5-2-0-0). To put this in perspective, the Rush finished 25-26-3-4 against the Mountain Division.

HEY NOW, YOU’RE AN ALL-STAR: Of the many Rush players returning after the All-Star Break is Rush rookie forward and 2020 Western Conference All-Star Brennan Saulnier. On Wednesday night in the ECHL’s midseason showcase, Saulnier became the second player in Rush history to register a point in the ECHL All-Star Game, scoring twice and adding two assists throughout the festivities. The Western Conference finished as a runner-up to the two-time ECHL All-Star Champions, the Eastern Conference.

PULLING THE KART(Y): Rush rookie Tanner Karty comes into the post-All-Star Break action on his first point streak of his ECHL career. Karty earned a point in all three games on the Road against Indy and Cincinnati, scoring twice and assisting three times for five points in that span.

41 RETURNS TO THE 605: Also making a highly-anticipated return from the AHL is Rush net-minder Tyler Parks. Parks returns to the Rush after earning the trifecta at the AHL level: his debut appearance (1/10 @ Colorado in relief), and his first start and win (1/11 @ Colorado, 31sv/33sh). This season, Parks has been a heartbeat of the Rush, going 11-6-3-0 with 2 shutouts, a 2.91 GAA, and .919 SV%.

WE’RE GOING STREAKING!: Only one player carries a statistical streak into tonight’s first of three matchups against the Thunder:

• Tanner Karty - has points in three straight games (2g-3ast-5pts)