TENDECK BLANKS ECHL’S BEST ON 31 SAVES

(INDIANAPOLIS, IN) – Butrus Ghafari netted his first professional goal with 38.9 seconds remaining in the opening period, and Peter Quenneville hit pay dirt for a third game in a row. However, it was the Rapid City Rush penalty kill (7/7) and Dave Tendeck that stole the show, the latter with 31 saves for his second professional shutout in a 2-0 win against the ECHL’s top-ranked Indy Fuel on Friday night. The win gives the Rush back-to-back victories and a 3-2-0-0 record on the annual “Stock Show Road Trip”, with one more game remaining tomorrow in a rematch against Indy.

The Rush were outshot 16-9 in the opening period, but the final shot of the frame proved to be the difference maker. With 38.9 seconds remaining in the opening period, Rush defenseman Butrus Ghafari collected a Peter Quenneville cross-ice pass, and rifled a shot past Indy goalie Billy Christopolous for his first career goal, giving the Rush a 1-0 lead on the milestone (Quenneville and Kevin Spinozzi assisted). Dave Tendeck stood tall in the opening frame, and stopped all 16 Fuel shots.

Peter Quenneville doubled the Rush lead in the second period on a point-blank sequence, and it proved to be the final goal of the night. With 6:25 played in the second period, Avery Peterson tried to set up Quenneville for a one-timer, which was denied originally. Quenneville stuck with the rebound and poked the loose change past Christopoulos to double the Rush lead to 2-0 (Peterson and Mikael Tam assisted). Tendeck again remained perfect in the middle act, staving off 11 shots.

Tendeck’s resolve, and that of his penalty kill, was tested in the final frame, as the Fuel earned four of their seven power plays, including back-to-back two-man advantages, in the third period. Somehow, the Fuel only managed four shots on net in the 20 minute stanza, and Tendeck and his penalty kill unit shined. After 60 minutes, he picked up his second career shutout, 2-0 the final against the first place team in the entire ECHL.

Dave Tendeck stopped all 31 shots he saw to earn his fourth career win, and his second career shutout (4-6-0-0). He now improves to 3-1-0-0 in four starts on the “Stock Show Road Trip”, and is 2-0-0-0 this week alone.

The Rush conclude their annual “Stock Show Road Trip”, which tok them through three cities for six games over the nine nights. The final game of the trip is a rematch against the ECHL’s #1 team, the Indy Fuel. Saturday’s showdowns on 6th is slated for 5:05 p.m. MDT at Indiana Farmers Coliseum.

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