GAME NOTES: 11/19 at Tulsa

GAME #12 at Tulsa

11/19/22 | BOK Center | 7:05 p.m. CT

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LAST TIME OUT:  Simon Lavigne scored his first professional goal, Tyson Helgesen netted his first of the season and Brad Arvanitis made 32 saves but the Rush were beaten by the Tulsa Oilers. 3-2, Thursday morning at the BOK Center.

FREQUENT MATCHUPS: The Rush and Oilers will play on Saturday for the second of three games this week and the second of 14 games between the two teams this season. Tulsa is tied for Rapid City’s most frequent opponent this season, even with the Idaho Steelheads, who they also play 14 times. The two teams will play six times in Rapid City and eight times in Tulsa.

BUSTIN’ LOOSE: Ilya Nikolaev scored twice in the first period last Saturday night, his first two professional goals. This came one game after he recorded his first pro point in the 4-2 loss to Idaho the night before Nikolaev assisted on Tyson Helgesen’s goal in the second period on Thursday and now has points in three in a row after starting the season with eight straight pointless outings.

SAVE THE PUCK: Simon Lavigne scored on a rebound in the third period on Thursday for what was his first professional goal. Lavigne, who is on an AHL contract with the Calgary Wranglers, is in his first professional season. He played four years in the QMJHL with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada and had 15 goals and 52 assists in 194 games.

PUCKS ON NET: Rapid City outshot Tulsa, 41-35, in the 3-2 loss on Thursday morning. It was the first time this season the Rush had outshot an opponent and the first time they had broken the 40-shot threshold. Rapid City has been slowly increasing its shot total in recent games. It has 32 or more shots in each of the last four games. In the first seven, the Rush had fewer than 30 shots six times.

LAST SEASON: Rapid City and Tulsa faced off a total of 13 times during the 2021-22 season and the Rush got the better of the Oilers to the tune of a 7-6-0-0 record. In the eight games the Rush played at the BOK Center they went 4-4-0-0. Max Coatta paced Rapid City with seven goals and six assists in the season series against Tulsa.

ODDS AND ENDS: The Rush started the season with power play goals in each of their first three games. Since then, they are 1-for-27 on the power play over the past eight games...Tulsa has points in every home game it has played this season. The Oilers are 3-0-1-0 on home ice. On the flip side, the Rush are 1-5-0-0 in road games. Rapid City is 3-2-0-0 at home...Brad Arvanitis allowed a goal on the first shot he faced on Thursday. He then proceeded to stop the next 28 shots Tulsa put on his net before Cameron Supryka scored during a 5-on-3 power play.

UP NEXT: The Rush and Oilers will finish their week with one another on Sunday afternoon. Puck drop is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. CT at the BOK Center.