RUSH HANDLE THUNDER, 4-2

(RAPID CITY, S.D.) – Adam Carlson made 29 saves, Carter Robertson had a goal and an assist and the Rapid City Rush beat the Wichita Thunder 4-2 on Friday night at The Monument Ice Arena.

The Rush got the goal-scoring started in the first period when Robertson sent a backhander toward the front of the net. It bounced off bodies but was corralled by Weiland Parrish, who sent a backhanded pass to Keegan Iverson at the left post. Iverson tapped it past Justin Kapelmaster and Rapid City took a 1-0 lead.

It extended that lead in the second period after Brett Gravelle took a pass in the right wing corner and snapped the puck to Max Coatta at the top of the right circle. Coatta blasted a one-timer top shelf and in to make it 2-0.

Wichita then got on the board late in the second with a power play strike. Cole MacDonald took a pass at the point and fired a snap shot through traffic. It got past a screened Carlson, cutting the Rush lead to 2-1.

Rapid City grabbed some more breathing room in the first minute of the third period. Off a won faceoff, Logan Nelson hit Robertson cutting toward the left circle. Robertson fired a wrist shot that beat Roman Basran on the glove side to extend the lead to 3-1.

Late in the third, Peter Bates took a wrist shot that was deflected by Jay Dickman in front of the net. It bounced past Carlson to make the score 3-2. But the Rush quickly answered after Matt Marcinew grabbed the bouncing puck at his own blue line and fired it into the open cage at the other end of the ice, pushing the lead to 4-2.

Carlson stopped 29 of the 31 shots he faced, Coatta scored for the third straight game and both Robertson and Marcinew had a goal and an assist. Rapid City snapped a four-game losing streak and improved to 25-30-1-0 with the win. Wichita Fell to 27-26-5-0 in the loss.

The Rush and Thunder will finish out their three-in-three stretch on Saturday afternoon. It’s Wrestling Night, sponsored by Loyal Plumbing, and puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at The Monument Ice Arena.

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