(RAPID CITY, S.D.) – The Rapid City Rush, proud affiliate of the NHL’s Calgary Flames, announced Wednesday in conjunction with the ECHL league office, rookie forward Blake Bennett has been named the Howies Hockey Tape ECHL Rookie of the Month for March.
Bennett was a force in 14 games this past month, scoring 11 goals and adding seven assists for a total of 18 points. He scored at least one point in nine of the 14 games for the Rush in March.
The highlight of the month was his March 29 performance against the Allen Americans where he set the single-game point record for the Rush this season with five and scored his first professional hat trick in a 6-3 Rapid City win.
Bennett leads all ECHL rookie goal-scorers with 33 goals this season and sits third in overall goals in the ECHL. He is also ranked fifth in overall rookie scoring with 57 total points this season. Bennett leads all Rush skaters with five game-winning goals, just one off the ECHL rookie lead in the category.
Coming out of American International College, Bennett was a near point-per-game player for the Yellow Jackets, logging 72 points in 80 games in his NCAA division-I career. The 25-year-old, Grand Island, New York product is just one goal from tying Jesse Schultz’s Rush ECHL single-game goals record (34).
The Rush and the newly-minted Howies Hockey Tape ECHL Rookie of the Month square off against the Idaho Steelheads tonight at 7:10 p.m. at Idaho Central Arena.
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