GAME NOTES: 1/8 vs CINCINNATI

REGULAR SEASON GAME  THIRTY-FIVE- 1/8/2020

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

Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Ice Arena

THIS SEASON

Cincinnati: 35gp, 21-8-6-0, 48pts (1st Central)

• Last Game - 1/4 vs Wheeling (4-0 W)

Rush: 34gp, 19-12-3-0, 41pts (4th Mountain)

• Last Game - 1/5 @ Utah (5-2 W)

HEAD TO HEAD - 2018-19 Season (1 Game)

Cincinnati: 1-0-0-0, 2pts

• Power Play: 33.3% (2/6)
• Penalty Kill: 80% (4/5)
• Leading Scorer(s): Myles Powell (1gp, 2g-2ast-4pts)

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

• Power Play: 20% (1/5)
• Penalty Kill: 66.7% (4/6)
• Leading Scorer(s): Justin Faryna/Darby Llewellyn (2pts Each)

NOTES

2020 FIRE WORKS: Since finishing 2019 with a pair of wins in the last two games, the Rush have started off 2020 with two wins in their last three, ultimately giving them four victories in their last five contests after losing six in a row.

POWER’S BACK ON!: Prior to Sunday’s matinee, the Rush were 1/49 on the man-advantage dating back to December 7th’s 3-0 loss to the Utah Grizzlies at home. On Sunday, Tyler Coulter struck twice in the second period on the power play, ending a streak of six games without a power play goal for the Rush. Coulter now holds the team lead with 6 power play tallies on the season, which is also good for second among ECHL rookies.

GO TO EXTREMES: Exactly like the name of Billy Joel’s fourth track on his 1989 album “Storm Front”, the Rush went to both extremes in Sunday’s win regarding shots on goal. For a second time this season, the Rush allowed 51 shots on net, with Tyler Parks staving off all but two of them. On the flip side, the Rush only managed 19 shots on net against the Grizzlies, a fourth instance of 20 shots or less in a game this year. In both scenarios, allowing 50+ shots and shooting 20 or less, the Rush are undefeated this season at 2-0 for the former and 4-0 for the latter.

DON’T GO CHASING [GOALIES]: We’re sure goalies are what TLC meant by “Waterfalls” in their 1994 pop hit. The Rush chased Martin Ouellette in the second period of Sunday’s win, marking the second time the Rush have prompted the removal of a goaltender in a game. The other was Mitch Gillam of the Wichita Thunder on December 27th in a 4-3 win.

BRENNAN “GORDIE HOWE” SAULNIER: For the fourteenth time in Rush history, a player scored a goal, recorded an assist, and got in a fight. Brennan Saulnier channeled his inner NHL Hall of Famer in Sunday’s 5-2 win against Utah, opening up the scoring entries and assisting a second tally 14 seconds later, while getting into a fight in second period. It is the 14th “Gordie Howe Hat Trick” in team history, and the eighth to come on the road. Saulnier’s features the second most PIM registered in one for the Rush at 17 (the record is Anthony Perdicaro’s 27 PIM against Tulsa on March 8, 2014. For the record, when Saulnier scores in a game, the Rush are 7-1-0-0.

WELCOME TO THE BLACK HILLS!: The Rush and Cyclones have shared the same ice surface twice before in Cincinnati, but both teams will square off in the same building for the first time ever in Rapid City. Previously, both teams have met twice, oddly enough both times on February 1st: once in 2017 (Rush won 3-1 behind Ryan Walters’ hat trick), and last season (Cincinnnati won 6-3 behind Myles Powell’s 2g-2ast performance).