GAME #43 at Wichita
2/4/23 | INTRUST Bank Arena | 7:05 p.m. CT
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LAST TIME OUT: The Rush outshot the Utah Grizzlies 38-17 but ultimately were beaten 4-3 on Saturday night at Maverik Center. Alex Aleardi, Rory Kerins and Matt Marcinew each scored in the loss, Rapid City’s third in a row.
IT’S HARD NOT BEING HOME: Rapid City’s loss on Saturday at Utah was its third consecutive road loss and dropped its season-long road record to 8-14-1-0. The Rush are 0-3-0-0 in Wichita this season. Rapid City is 12-7-0-0 on home ice and 2-1-0-0 at home against Wichita.
KERINS TO IR: The Rush placed rookie forward Rory Kerins on injured reserve on Wednesday. Kerins has appeared in 31 games fore Rapid City and has 15 goals and 16 assists. He has also spent time in the AHL with the Calgary Wranglers, where he has a goal and an assist in six games. The 20-year-old was a sixth-round draft choice of the Calgary Flames in the 2020 NHL draft and is signed to an NHL contract.
THE SEASON SERIES: Rapid City and Wichita will meet a total of 13 times this season, with six games being played in Rapid City and seven in Wichita. Matt Marcinew leads the Rush with six points on one goal and five assists and Alex Aleardi paces the team with four goals against the Thunder.
TROUBLE WITH THE PK: In six games against the Thunder, the Rush have been shorthanded 30 times and killed off 20 of those power plays, good for a 66.7% success rate. In the last game between the two, a 7-4 loss in Wichita on December 23, Rapid City went 3-for-7 on the penalty kill and the four power play goals it allowed were the most allowed by the Rush in a game this season. Wichita has at least one power play goal in five of the six games the two have played this season.
WHO TO WATCH: Wichita has been paced offensively by the duo of Brayden Watts and Michal Stinil. Stinil has 20 goals and 30 assists over 35 games played and Watts has 22 goals and 31 assists in 40 games. Watts is currently third in the ECHL in points and Stinil is second in points per game.
ODDS AND ENDS: The Rush allowed only 17 shots on Saturday night in Utah, the fewest amount of shots they have allowed in a game this season... Brett Gravelle was activated off the reserve list on Wednesday. He has missed the last four Rapid City games...Rapid City went 5-5-1-0 during the month of January.
UP NEXT: The Rush and the Thunder will play the second of their back-to-back over the weekend on Sunday afternoon. Puck drop at INTRUST Bank Arena is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. CT.
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