GAME NOTES: 2/1 @ IDAHO

REGULAR SEASON GAME  FORTY-SIX- 2/1/2020

Rapid City Rush @ Idaho Steelheads - 7:10 p.m. MDT

CenturyLink Arena

THIS SEASON

Idaho: 47gp, 25-15-3-4, 57pts (T-2nd Mountain)

• Last Game - 1/31 vs Rapid City (3-2 W/OT)

Rush: 45gp, 24-17-4-0, 52pts (4th Mountain)

• Last Game - 1/31 @ Idaho (3-2 OTL)

HEAD TO HEAD - 7 of 13 Games Played

Idaho: 2-4-0-1, 5pts

• Power Play: 13.8% (4/29)
• Penalty Kill: 79.3% (23/29)
• Leading Scorer(s): Anthony Nellis/Marc-Olivier Roy (7pts Each)

Rush: 5-0-2-0, 12pts

• Power Play: 20.7% (6/29)
• Penalty Kill: 86.2% (25/29)
• Leading Scorer(s): Brennan Saulnier* (7gp, 5g-3ast-8pts)

NOTES

MOUNTAIN DIVISION HIGH: Since following the Christmas Break, the Rush have had outstanding success against Mountain Division rivals. Thanks to taking two out of three against the Wichita Thunder last weekend and earning a point in an overtime loss last night, the Rush have won 7 of their last 10 against the Mountain Division, and have points in 8 of those meetings.

ONE MORE AWAY: Last night, Rush forward and 2020 ECHL All-Star Brennan Saulnier pocketed the 19th goal of his rookie season, giving the Rush an early 2-0 lead in last night’s overtime loss. Should Saulnier hit pay dirt just one more time in the remainder of the season, he’ll become the sixth rookie in Rapid City Rush history to score 20 goals in a season, and the third rookie in each of the last three seasons to accomplish the task. Additionally, Saulnier is not only on pace to be the second-fastest rookie to 20 goals in team history, but he’s on pace to shatter the single-season rookie scoring record, which was set by Derek LeBlanc in the inaugural 2008-09 season at 26 in 64 games. If that’s not enough, Saulnier’s teammate, Tyler Coulter, is also on pace for a 20-goal rookie season. If both his 20, it’ll be just the second time in team history that the Rush have a pair of rookies with 20 or more goals, joining LeBlanc and Jon Pelle from the inaugural 2008-09 season.

HOME IN BOISE: This weekend’s series marks the first time since late November that the Rush and the Steelheads will square off against each other, starting the remainder of the rivals’ 13-game series. The Rush have a 5-0-2-0 record against the Steelheads in the previous seven meetings, and are 2-0-2-0 in Boise this season. Dating back to last year, the Rush boast a 6-2-4-1 showing at CenturyLink Arena, and are currently on both an 8-game point streak in Boise (5-0-2-1) dating back to February 16, 2019, and a 10-game point streak overall against the Steelheads (7-0-2-1) dating back to March 27, 2019.

WE’RE GOING STREAKING!: A pair of players carry statistical streaks into tonight’s final showdown against the Idaho Steelheads this weekend:

• Jalen Smereck - has assists in three straight games and points in five straight (5gp, 2g-5ast-7pts)
• Brennan Saulnier - has goals, assists, and points in three straight games (3gp, 5g-3ast-8pts)
  • Saulnier also has multi-point outings in three straight games