GAME NOTES: 4/13 vs Tulsa

GAME #70 vs Tulsa

4/13/22 | The Monument Ice Arena | 7:05 P.M.

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LAST TIME OUT: The Rapid City Rush fell into a 6-1 hole after two periods, hung five goals in the third, but their comeback attempt fell one goal short as they lost to the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, 7-6, Sunday afternoon at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Alec Butcher had two goals and an assist, Tyson Helgesen had three assists and Max Coatta, Brett Gravelle and Avery Peterson each had a goal and an assist in the loss.

A POINT AWAY: Rapid City’s magic number to clinch a playoff spot is one. If the Rush pick up a point in any way on Wednesday, via a win, overtime loss or a shootout loss, they punch their ticket to the Kelly Cup Playoffs. Rapid City has not qualified for the playoffs since the 2014-15 season, the first season it competed in the ECHL. The Rush’s magic number to clinch home ice in the first round of the postseason is three. A win in regulation over the Tulsa Oilers combined with an Allen Americans loss in their game against the Iowa Heartlanders would ensure Rapid City opens the postseason at home.

ON A ROLL: Brett Gravelle scored on Sunday and now has goals in each of his last four games. Gravelle leads the Rush with 27 goals, tied for the fourth most among ECHL rookies. Calder Brooks also owns an active streak; he had a goal and an assist on Sunday afternoon, pushing his point streak to nine games. Brooks has five goals and five assists during the life of his streak, which is the second-longest point streak for the Rush this season.

TULSA’S OUTLOOK: Tulsa enters Wednesday’s game with a magic number of four; any combination of four points gained by the Oilers or lost by the Idaho Steelheads would put Tulsa in the postseason. If the Rush beat the Oilers in regulation on Wednesday, it would become mathematically impossible for Tulsa to pass Rapid City.

THE MATCHUP: The Rush and Oilers have met ten times this season, with Rapid City owning a 5-5-0-0 record. This is Tulsa’s first trip to the Black Hills since the teams met for and split the first two games of the regular season.

ODDS AND ENDS: Max Coatta had a goal and an assist the last time the Rush and Oilers played, a 5-2 Rapid City win in Tulsa on February 27. Coatta leads the Rush with six goals and five assists in 10 games against the Oilers...in its past seven games, Rapid City is 2-for-21 on the power play, including 0-for-9 in the past two. For the season, the Rush have the eighth-best power play in the league at 20.2%...Rapid City has completed its regular season road schedule and finishes with a 18-14-2-2 mark away from home. The Rush are 16-10-4-3 on home ice thus far this season.

UP NEXT: The Rush and Oilers will meet again on Friday night. Puck drop at The Monument Ice Arena is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.