GAME NOTES: February 3 - Rush at Maine Mariners

(PORTLAND, Maine) - The Rapid City Rush, proud affiliate of the NHL's Calgary Flames, take on the Maine Mariners on Saturday afternoon at Cross Insurance Arena. 

The Rush saw two players get their first ECHL points in yesterday's win and Matt Radomsky logged his first professional shutout with a 36-save performance. Puck drop is slated for 4:00 p.m. this afternoon. 

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RECORD NIGHT LEADS RUSH TO WIN

For the second time this season, the Rush defeated an opponent by five goals in a 5-0 win over the Maine Mariners during the first meeting between the two teams in history. Rapid City saw two players earned their first ECHL points, and Matt Radomsky logged his first professional shutout. The win snapped a five-game losing skid for the Rush and gives them a stellar 8-1-0 record outside the Mountain Division this season.

NEIN, NYET, NO

Matt Radomsky said no 36 times in last night’s win for his first professional shutout. Radomsky still leads the ECHL in overall saves made this season as only a rookie. For the Rush, the shutout win ended a spell where the Rush had been shutout eight times since their last shutout win. R.C. has been blanked twice this season both by in-division opponents. Radomsky’s clean sheet marks the first Rush shutout win since December 27, 2021 when Lukas Parik had 46 saves in a 3-0 win over Utah.

ON THE BOARD

Simon Boyko scored his first ECHL goal in last night’s win. Boyko, called-up from the Fayetteville Marksmen, still has an active 20-game SPHL point streak. He saw his first ECHL action with the Norfolk Admirals last year and now has his first league goal after only four games with the Rush. Riley Ginnell logged his first professional point in last night’s win with a primary assist on Keanu Yamamoto’s goal. Ginnell was placed on the I.R. within the first month of his pro career, but since his return has steadily created opportunities for the Rush. 

ANOTHER VICTORY

The Rush standings position was aided by losses from both Allen and Utah last night. The Rush are in sole possession of the Mountain Division’s fifth-place spot, but can track down Allen with a victory as soon as tonight. The Rush have 30 games left in the regular season.

BILL-ETIN BOARD MATERIAL

After 29 games spent with the Maine Mariners this season, Billy Constantinou was claimed off the waiver wire by the Rush on Sunday. Constantinou was part of the starting five in yesterday’s lineup for Scott Burt and victimized his old team with a third period insurance marker for the Rush. The Scarborough, Ontario-native now has 13 points in 33 games between three teams this season. 

KEN YOU DIG IT?

Kenton Helgesen returned to the Rush lineup after a trip to the injured reserve list from January 7 onward. He celebrated his return with an assist that brings him to within two points of 100 professional points in his career. Helgesen is a WHL product of the Calgary Hitmen. He was coached by Joel Otto, a 1989 Stanley Cup champion with the Calgary Flames. Otto is one of five Flames alumni visiting Rapid City for Affiliation Night on Saturday, February 10.

WORKING FOR THE WEEKEND

The Rush win last night marked their first road, regulation win on a Friday this season. The team had not won a Friday road game since October 20 in Iowa. Now, the Rush have a Saturday, Sunday slate where the team is 10-7-1 during weekend games.

SOME FAMILIAR FACES

Mariners goaltender Brad Arvanitis and defenseman Jason Horvath are both former Rush players. Arvanitis has a career 3-2-1 record with the Rush in stints over two seasons with Scott Burt and company. Horvath was acquired by the Rush last season in a trade with Trois-Rivieres. He had three assists in 10 games for Rapid City.

A WORD ON THE PK

The Rush penalty kill is on a 12-for-12 kill streak over the course of the road trip. It is the longest stretch this season where the penalty kill has not allowed a goal.

MIND YOUR MAINE-ERS

The first trip to New England wasn’t as friendly as the Rush had hoped. While only one fighting major was assessed, gloves came off with post-whistle roughing penalties given three times (and a fourth went unpenalized). Nathan Noel gave Zack Hoffman a baseball bat-whack over the shinpads with under 30 seconds to go in the game prompting the only fight in the contest.

WINS UPDATE

Scott Burt now sits at 87 career victories as an ECHL head coach. Burt is on track to celebrate 1,000 games of involvement in the ECHL next month between his coaching and playing career.

NELSON APPROACHES ANOTHER CAREER MARK

Logan Nelson now sits just eight games shy of his 500^th ECHL game. Nelson, with 403 points, is 14 points shy of tying Jesse Schultz as the player with the most career points to play for the Rush. He is also set to become just the sixth Rush player to hit 200 games in Rapid City in team history (CHL and ECHL).