(ALLEN, Texas.) – The Rapid City Rush exploded for eight goals and cruised to an 8-2 win over the Allen Americans on Saturday night at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center. Rapid City won for the third consecutive game and the sixth time in its past seven outings.
The Rush opened the scoring in the second period after Matt Marcinew forced a turnover and fed Lucas Feuk. Feuk slid a pass back to Marcinew who sent it into the net and the Rush led 1-0.
Allen tied the game later in the second with a power play tally. Colton Hargrove snapped the puck to Hank Crone on the back door for a one-timer that beat Daniil Chechelev, evening things at one.
From that point, the Rush would take control. First, Jon Martin scored on a wrist shot from the right circle. Then, in the final seconds of the period, Marcinew took a shot from just above the goal line that Alex Aleardi deflected in front of the net. It caromed over Luke Peressini’s shoulder with less than a second to play in the period and the score was 3-1.
The Rush kept it rolling in the third, starting when Max Coatta buried a wrist shot from the right circle just eight seconds into the period. Then Colton Robertson took a slap shot from the blue line that Keanu Yamamoto deflected on the way through. It skipped past Peressini and the score was 5-1.
Allen pulled Peressini in favor of Eric Dop following the fifth goal but that would not stop the momentum as Rapid City cashed in again when Marcinew forced a turnover on the forecheck. Coatta picked up the puck and hit Marcinew in front of the net for a one-timer that hit paydirt to make it 6-1.
Yamamoto struck again on a feed from Rory Kerins that extended the lead to 7-1. Allen got one back in the form of an Aidan Brown power play goal but the Rush punctuated the game with a Logan Nelson tap-in in the final minutes that pushed the score to its 8-2 final.
Marcinew had two goals and two assists, Yamamoto had two goals and an assist and Chechelev made 29 saves in the win. The Rush put up a season-high 49 shots and improved to 10-8-0-0 with their third straight win. Allen lost for the fifth time in a row and dropped to 5-10-1-0.
Rapid City and Allen square off again on Sunday afternoon. Puck drop is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. CT at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center.
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