GAME NOTES: 1/1/22 vs Utah

GAME #30 vs Utah

1/1/22 | The Monument Ice Arena | 7:05 P.M.

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LAST TIME OUT: Alec Butcher had two goals and an assist, Logan Nelson recorded the primary assist on all three Rapid City goals and Lukas Parik made 23 saves on 24 shots as the Rush defeated the Utah Grizzlies, 3-1, on New Year’s Eve at The Monument Ice Arena.

PACK THE PLACE: The Rush welcomed a season-high 4,307 fans on Friday for their 3-1 win over the Grizzlies. That surpassed their previous high of 4,237, set on November 20 against the Allen Americans. Rapid City is averaging 3,126 fans per game over its 14 home games thus far this season.

THE LEAGUE LEADER: Logan Nelson handed out three assists on Friday night, which pushed his league-leading total to 25 on the season. Nelson now also leads the league in points with 35, he has ten goals and 25 assists over 28 games played. He is six points shy of his ECHL career-high of 41, which has been achieved twice, first in the 2018-19 season with the Indy Fuel, then in 2019-20 for the Atlanta Gladiators. Nelson’s three assists on Friday matched a season-high for him and gave him his 11th multi-point game of the campaign.

POWERED UP: All three of Rapid City’s goals on Friday night came on the power play as the Rush went 3-for-7 with a man advantage. That raised their season-long power play percentage to 23.7%, which is the fifth-best mark in the ECHL. Rapid City has power play goals in all three of its games against Utah this week and is 5-for-12 on the power play in those three games.

PENALTIES BEWARE: The Rush went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill on Friday and have now killed off seven consecutive opposing power plays. Rapid City’s penalty kill is now the third best in the ECHL at 86.2%.

BUTCHER CARVED ‘EM UP: Alec Butcher had two goals and an assist on Friday night, his first two goal game of the season. Three points matched a season-high and his goals were his ninth and tenth of the year, making him the fourth Rush skater to reach double digit goals. Five of Butcher’s ten goals have been scored on the power play.

ODDS AND ENDS: Rapid City now has points in three straight games and in five in a row at home. The Rush are 4-0-1-0 in their last five home games and are three games into a stretch of seven straight that will be played on home ice...Rapid City went 6-5-1-0 during December...Lukas Parik is second in the ECHL with a .934 save percentage...Garrett Klotz fought Utah defenseman Austin Crossley in the first period on Friday and in doing so recorded his team-leading fifth fighting major of the season

UP NEXT: The Rush will stay at home for three games against the Iowa Heartlanders next week, beginning on Friday night. Puck drop at The Monument Ice Arena is scheduled for 7:05 PM