GAME #34 vs Utah
1/7/23 | The Monument Ice Arena | 7:05 p.m.
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LAST TIME OUT: Max Coatta had a hat trick and Lucas Feuk recorded his first ECHL goal but the Rush were beaten by the Utah Grizzlies 6-4 on Friday night at The Monument Ice Arena.
HATS OFF: Max Coatta scored three goals on six shots on Friday and recorded his second career ECHL hat trick. Coatta’s first hat trick with the Rush occurred on November 12, 2021 in a 4-3 win over the Idaho Steelheads. It was the second hat trick of the season for Rapid City as Matt Marcinew had previously registered a hat trick in a 7-5 win over the Kansas City Mavericks on November 26, 2022. Prior to Friday’s game, Coatta had not scored in 14 games and had not had a point in seven games.
SHIPPING UP TO CALGARY: The Rush lost three players on Saturday as the Calgary Flames reassigned forwards Rory Kerins and Ilya Nikolaev to the AHL Calgary Wranglers and the Wranglers recalled forward Matt Marcinew. Marcinew leads Rapid City in scoring with 37 points, Kerins is third with 27 and Nikolaev is fifth with 25.
THE SEASON SERIES: Rapid City and Utah are even in the season series, 2-2-0-0, through four games. The Rush and Grizzlies will face each other a total of ten times this season with five games in each building. Matt Marcinew leads the Rush with three goals and three assists and Rory Kerins has four goals and one assist in the three games against Utah thus far. Daniil Chechelev has been in net for all four meetings and is 2-2-0-0 with a 3.28 GAA and .903 save percentage.
THREE-IN-THREE: The Rush and Grizzlies finish their stretch of three games in three days on Saturday. The Rush won 5-2 on Thursday and fell 6-4 on Friday. It’s the fourth time this season Rapid City has had a three-in-three and the Rush are 6-5-0-0 in the 11 games so far.
PENALIZED FOR PENALTIES: The Grizzlies went 2-for-4 on the power play on Friday and are now 4-for-8 with a man advantage in the two games with Rapid City this week. The Rush have allowed a power play goal in nine of their last 10 games and are 25-for-42 on the penalty kill in those 10 games.
ODDS AND ENDS: Tyson Helgesen is available for Saturday night’s game after completing his two-game suspension...Lucas Feuk scored in the third period on Friday, his first ECHL goal and his first North American professional goal...Friday was only the second time this season the Rush have lost a game during which they scored four or more goals.
UP NEXT: The Rush and the Grizzlies finish their three-in-three stretch on Saturday night. Puck drop at The Monument Ice Arena is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
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