(TULSA, Okla.) – Matt Marcinew and Alex Aleardi both scored and Nicholas Latinovich made 36 saves but the Rapid City Rush were beaten by the Tulsa Oilers 5-2 on Sunday afternoon at the BOK Center.
The game remained scoreless until the second period when Marcinew got the lid off the jar. He took a pass in the high slot and buried a wrist shot to the glove side of Daniel Manella, giving Rapid City a 1-0 lead.
Tulsa then answered with a pair of goals to tie and then take the lead. First, with Latinovich scrambling to get back in his net, Karl Boudrias took a pass from Max Golod and snapped it past Latinovich and in, evening the score. Then, Dante Sheriff carried the puck to the left circle and sent a pass to Golod alone in the slot. He one-timed it to the top shelf and the Oilers took a 2-1 lead.
Rapid City evened it up late in the second when it forced a turnover and Logan Nelson nudged the puck to Aleardi, who was streaking up the right wing. Aleardi flicked a wrist shot top shelf and past Manella on the short side to make the score 2-2.
The Oilers regained the lead in the third period while on a power play. Tag Bertuzzi received a pass to the right of the crease, spun and took a shot that was blocked. But the rebound bounced back to him and he slid it under that pads of Latinovich, putting Tulsa on top, 3-2.
It added to that lead later in the period when Bertuzzi won a faceoff back to Boudrias. He slid the puck to Kylor Wall, who cranked a one-timer through traffic and in, pushing the advantage to 4-2.
The Rush pulled Latinovich for an extra attacker late in the third but quickly Tulsa forced a turnover and got the puck to Eddie Matsushima, who slung a shot into the empty net and extended the lead to 5-2.
Latinovich made 36 saves on 40 shots, Aleardi scored for the third straight game and Marcinew netted his team-leading 23rd goal of the season. The Rush dropped to 24-27-1-0 in the loss while Tulsa improved to 18-24-7-1. Rapid City will continue its road swing next weekend with a pair of games in Allen against the Americans. It begins on Saturday night with a 7:05 p.m. CT puck drop at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center.
###
Adirondack Thunder
Allen Americans
Atlanta Gladiators
Bloomington Bison
Cincinnati Cyclones
Florida Everblades
Fort Wayne Komets
Greenville Swamp Rabbits
Idaho Steelheads
Indy Fuel
Iowa Heartlanders
Jacksonville Icemen
Kalamazoo Wings
Kansas City Mavericks
Maine Mariners
Norfolk Admirals
Orlando Solar Bears
Rapid City Rush
Reading Royals
Savannah Ghost Pirates
South Carolina Stingrays
Tahoe Knight Monsters
Toledo Walleye
Trois-Rivières Lions
Tulsa Oilers
Utah Grizzlies
Wheeling Nailers
Wichita Thunder
Worcester Railers