GAME NOTES: April 11 - Wichita Thunder at Rush

(RAPID CITY, S.D.) - The Rapid City Rush, proud affiliate of the NHL's Calgary Flames, square off against the Wichita Thunder, AA-affiliate of the San Jose Sharks, tonight at The Monument at 7:05 p.m.

The Rush have been eliminated from postseason contention, but can spoil the season for a scrappy Wichita bunch that just won't go away. 

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EMBRACING THE ROLE OF SPOILER

The Rapid City Rush have been officially eliminated from 2024 ECHL postseason contention, however, the Wichita Thunder have not. The Thunder need to take all three games in the series to maximize their chance of a post-season berth, but it comes at a premium of hoping Utah loses twice or that the Tulsa/Allen series is a sweep. The Rush will look to hit 60 standings points with another victory, and if Rapid City sweeps, the team would avoid a last place finish in the Mountain Division.

ROOKIE SNUBBED

Rookie forward Blake Bennett, the ECHL rookie goal-scoring lead, was snubbed from the ECHL all-rookie team in yesterday’s league press release. The team, partially voted on by members of the working media, included three Mountain Division rookies (Cade Borchardt, Max Andreev, and Kyle Mayhew), but neglected to include the lone 30-goal scorer among rookies. Bennett is also ranked fifth in overall points for league first years and is two goals shy of setting the Rush ECHL single-season goal scoring record. 

POST-SEASON P’ARDI

Alex Aleardi has enjoyed the most productive season in his career with 75 points in 69 games for the Rush this season. Aleardi, who will finish as better-than-point-per-game player, is two points shy of tying and three points shy of breaking the Rush ECHL single-season points record. The record has stood since the first Rush of Rush play with Jesse Schultz owning it since 2015 (77). 

30 ON THE TABLE

If the Rush can take all three of their final games at home, the team would finish with 30 wins for the fourth-consecutive season under Scott Burt. Between all previous Rush ECHL coaches, the team has only hit 30 wins on three occasions (Daniel Tetrault x2, Joe Ferras). Burt has led the Rush to 96 wins, second among all Rush ECHL coaches. He is also one of only two Rapid City coaches to lead the team to an ECHL Kelly Cup Playoff berth (Joe Ferras).

STILL A LOT TO PLAY FOR

Under the ECHL year-to-year contract system, the Rush still have a lot to play for. Aleardi and Bennett are chasing records, while some players are looking to improve their prospects for next season’s contract. The Rush currently have five affiliated players on the roster (Matt Radomsky, Mark Duarte, Jarrod Gourley, Will Riedell, and Ilya Nikolaev) – the most they’ve had this season. Rapid City also has five players that potentially could dress in every regular season game this year: Maurizio Colella, Keanu Yamamoto, Brett Gravelle, Alex Aleardi, and Blake Bennett. 

HOME SWEET HOME

The Rush have suffered 18 regulation home losses this season, however, they came in only spurts of two. The Rush opened the season on a 0-7-1 slide at The Monument before the team won eight of its next nine at home. Then an 11-game home losing skid broke during the last homestand, and the Rush are 4-0-1 at home in their last five. Rapid City can conceivably finish the year by taking points in each of their last eight home games.

HEL-BENT

Tyson Helgesen has scored five goals this season, marking the most in his professional career. The Rush were previously 4-0-0 when Helgesen scored until Friday’s loss to Idaho on the road. Helgesen is tied for second on the team with three game-winning goals this season. He also leads the team in fights with eight tilts this season, including fights in two-of-three games in the Idaho series, both against Connor Mylymok.

INJURY BUG BITES

The Rush still have six players on the injured reserve list, which has impacted the season greatly. Chris Perna, Mason McCarty, T.J. Fergus, Logan Nelson, Charles Martin, and Brandon Yeamans will most likely end the season on the injured reserve list. Martin was the second-leading scorer amongst rookie defenseman at the time of his injury and Logan Nelson is still the second-overall leading scorer for the Rush. 

APRIL SHOWERS AND SUNFLOWERS?

The Sunflower State’s lone hockey team has not fared well against the Rush this season. In fact, the Thunder are one of two teams that Rapid City has swept at home this year (Iowa). The Rush are 5-2-0 against the Thunder this season, but are 1-2-0 in opening games of series losing on both November 17 and December 2. This will be the first times the teams have seen each other since before the new year.

THE MOUNTAIN DIVISION RACE IS STILL ON

Heading to the final weekend of the season, the Mountain Division still does not have its playoff picture completely determined. Tulsa, Allen, Utah, and Wichita all still have paths in. Ostensibly, the winner of the best-of-three series between Tulsa and Allen would get it, but both the Oilers and the Americans could reach the postseason with losses by Wichita and Utah. The Grizzlies can only earn a maximum of 70 points, while both Allen and Tulsa already have collected 66. 

ON THE HORIZON

The Rush will finish the season with games tomorrow and Saturday. Tomorrow’s game is Beach Night as the Rush kick back and go tropical for an evening. It will also be Teacher Appreciation Night. On Saturday, we join the next sport in season on Major League Night, celebrating the 35^th anniversary of the movie Major League. Actor Tom Berenger, who portrayed Jake Taylor will be in attendance and fans can purchase tickets that include a meet-n-greet package with the Academy Award-nominated A-lister.